Mark Niedzielski (min@kodak.com):
>I am in the process of dismantling a car, and upon removing the brake
>system expect the hydralics to sit for a time before being used again.
>What should I do to prevent corrosion and breakdown of the seals?
Here's what I did:
1. Drain all the lines and cylinders of fluid, then rinse them out with
acetone. (Unless you're using the silicone fluid, you've got to get rid of
all the brake fluid or else it will absorb moisture.) Polyethylene squirt
(not spray) bottles like chemistry labs use are great for rinsing things
with acetone, but keep it away from sparks and flames. Let the parts dry
thoroughly in a warm place. Blow out the rinsed lines with dry air or
nitrogen. (The acetone will also absorb a little moisture if in a confined
space and can't evaporate.)
2. Dissasemble the master and wheel cylinders (and/or calipers) and toss
the seals; you'll want to replace them all with new seals. Make sure
they're clean and dry. I even bead blasted the outside of mine. (Since I
knew mine would be stored for a long time, I even sprayed WD40 on the shiny
surfaces of the calipers and pistons --- I'll clean it off before
reassembly.)
3. Get some of those heavy-duty Ziploc freezer bags and bag up all the
parts to keep out air and moisture. I hung the long brake lines up on my
garage wall after they dried out.
Don't know if all of these practices are "approved", but I'll bet the parts
will still be clean, dry, and uncorroded when I put them back together.
Lee M. Daniels - Laboratory for Molecular Structure and Bonding - Texas A&M
daniels@lmsbvx.tamu.edu | DANIELS@TAMLMSB.BITNET | (409) 845-3726
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