...an I right in guessing that 90s sierra's don't use asbestos? If they did (gulp), would it be safe enough to just remove and dispose of them?

I would imagine if they did then they wont have the originals on there so will be fine.

Im sure they stopped using asbestos before them anyhow.

thats what i thought too, but as i wasnt sure i thought id keep schtum. Seems damned unlikely that they would have asbestos in them still, just be careful if in doubt - a breather mask or somesuch. I doubt if such temporary exposure would be harmful anyway - if you smoke, i wouldnt worry about the brake linings!

If you spray the inside of the drum/caliper with water before changing the pads, this will keep the dust down. Then remove damp dust "paste" with a cloth. Even without asbestos, you don't really want to be breathing brake dust.

David

Put them in the empty box and drop them in the bin, I won't tell anybody if you don't I once threw an AA battery in and nothing happened.

Asbestos hasn't been used since the early 1980's so your Sierra should NOT have Asbestos based brake linings.

However - you still don't want to handle them roughly or inhale the dust.

These days they contain lots of other types of fibres that are still small enough to do exactly the same type of damage to your lungs that Asbestos used to do

Asbestos in brake linings is like the asbestos roofing sheets etc. in that left alone they are relatively stable and only poses a risk if knocked/damaged (is also found in the fire proof mats all school science labs used to have).

The asbestos used in insulation is a different ball game (almost wooly lose fibres rather than a dence sheet), and is the stuff that knackers up builders when demolishing old buildings.


Its not just small fibres that can damage you, any small partcals (ie. dust) is bad for your lungs if inhailed.

[Edited on 12/7/05 by clbarclay]