Wrong grease put in Meritor calipers- What now?

[Emerson Smith]

Greetings, my name is Emerson Smith and I have been a member for a year and a lurking guest for over five years. We finally were able to purchase a  2002 Marquis about a year ago and have been full timing since.  Up until now, I have been able to gain the information needed to address the issues I have encountered by searching the posts, (many thanks to all who contribute to the forums, what a wealth of knowledge)! But I need direct help now.

I had significant brake service done in September, new slide pins, helper springs, one rear caliper, pads and so forth.  Spent one on one time with the service tech making sure all was done as per the Meritor manual. Lots of effort spent to insure correct and quality work.  All was well!

But, yesterday a Caterpillar shop put regular lithium grease into the calipers.   I was traveling and stopped to have something checked .  Somehow work assignments were mixed up and our coach received a complete and standard service (oil,fuel filter,Lube,ect) including the brake calipers. Which I did not request or require. 

So, after some lengthy and stern conversation explaining that the lithium grease they used could destroy the brakes in a little as 5000-6000 miles and that nothing less than the Meritor brand clay based grease would be acceptable, they have agreed to do what they must in order to rectify the problem. 

However, I don't know what has to be done to correct the problem and purge all of the lithium grease from the calipers.  Can someone please advise me of what measures must be taken; so I can tell the Service Manager what I require them to do?

Many thanks,
Emerson & Rose Smith

[Jim Murray]

Emerson
In 2004 we purchased a 2000 Marquis from BCS in Bend, after over 150,000 mi we traded it in for another coach, also from BCS. In that 150,000 mi I went through 5 sets of rotors and pads, damn near had to get a second on my house. One of the most knowledgeable people ( besides Gerald Farris ) is Jeff at Bend RV Repair. He taught me A LOT about Meritor Disc Brakes. One of the BEST TIPS EVER was to install a plastic tie wrap around the grease fittings you DON'T want touched.
Tell Bubba when he does the LOF not to touch them, if they are missing after the service  " Bubba Screwed up "!  The plastic tie wraps prevent the lube gun from snapping on to the grease fitting.

[Pat Long]

If you watch the video they show you how to purge the caliper of any trapped air by pulling out the pawl of the slack adjuster and rotating the nut of the slack adjuster Clockwise it will squeeze out the air and also the grease in the caliper.  You will also have to open the vent between the 2 grease zerks so as to allow the grease and air to escape the caliper, leave it out during the process.  Rotate the nut Counterclockwise and add the correct grease and the clockwise again to squeeze out the grease until you get the flow of Bentonite grease flowing out.  Thats what I would do.  Then when all done you will have to adjust the brakes again.

Basically you are adding good to get rid of the bad.   You will no doubt have some left over contamination but I don't think it will hurt the caliper.   The Bentonite Grease is a Non Melting grease, and the Lithium will melt after severe heat but I still think you will be ok.    jmho in this matter


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N-St4Px8cs

[Frank Bergamo]

Emerson, other than complete disassembly of brake calipers all you can do is remove bleeder plug, back off slack adjuster and try to push out as much grease as possible. You might also try to lube caliper, using proper clay grease to push out as much of wrong grease as possible thru bleeder hole. The clay grease is white, so you can tell when the darker grease stops coming out that is all you are going to get out. Also, if you look at current topics on forum, there is a topic with video addressing this exact topic. Hope this helps, Frank.

[Emerson Smith]

Thank you gentlemen for your prompt and helpful replies. I have a meeting with the service and other management of the CAT shop tomorrow morning to discuss a course of action to correct this problem.  Based on your input, I am optimistic that purging the calipers per your recommendations will remedy the issue.  And of course the plastic ties to make sure this is a one time mistake!  Fingers Crossed!

Emerson

[Gerald Farris]

Emerson,
As mentioned above, I think that purging the old grease out of the calipers and then lubricating them with the correct procedure and grease will be sufficient. However, if you are going to take your coach to shops for service, you might consider doing like some other owners and remove the caliper grease fittings and installing plugs until you are ready to service the brakes again. It only takes a few minutes and it will prevent anyone from doing this again.

Gerald

[Jim Edwards]

just a thought. If you know the gtease that was used you can try to contact the manufacturer of the grease and meritor to see if yhe grease used meets the requirements. There have been  lot of improvements in grease technology. My 05 manual called for a number of different grease types so, having too much time on my hands, and not wanting to have a number of grease types around I was able to consolidate all grease except steering box into one type (Mobil Delvac extreme grease)

Just a thought.