The following article is reprinted with the permission of Newport's Heavy Duty Trucking Magazine.

October 2001

KILLER CHEMICALS

What the states are using to de-ice roads is ruining your equipment & compromising safety.

Contributing to this story were Steve Sturgess, Senior Editor, Jim Winsor, Executive Editor and Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor

Ordinary salt - sodium chloride - has been de-icing winter roads ever since it was pioneered in 1938 by New Hampshire's State Highway Maintenance Engineer LeRoy F. Johnson. It very quickly became the de-icer of choice across the nation and currently something like 15 million tons is spread over American highways each year, to the dismay of highway users who see the corrosive effects on the undersides of their vehicles.

Years of testing by car and truck manufacturers has seen the development of paints and other surface protections that keep the worst ravages at bay.

Now, though, there are new de-icing chemicals increasingly going down on the nation's roadways that are posing a different corrosion threat. And the parts that are corroding are electrical wiring, truck frames and suspension parts.

And, most alarmingly, brakes.

MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE: A MIRACLE CORRODES

Back in the early 1990s, the people who maintain roads in cold climates thought they had found a miracle. It came in the form of a chemical compound, a liquid solution of magnesium and chloride, that lowers the freezing point of water. When sprayed onto roads before a storm, mag chloride prevents snow from sticking and ice from forming.

Everywhere they looked, state road departments saw benefits from mag chloride. By keeping roads clear they prevented accidents and kept traffic moving. They didn't have to use as much sand, so they had less pollution. Less salt meant fewer complaints about corrosion, and less environmental damage to farmers' fields. The chemical was more expensive than their traditional tools, but when they were done with the math it was no contest: mag chloride delivered more than it cost.

Snowfighters are committed to public safety yet face the public's wrath when snow and ice gain the upper hand. In mag chloride, they were thinking, they had found a way to conquer demon winter.

But real miracles are few and far between, and it is clear that mag chloride is failing to make the grade. The compound is turning out to have long-term effects that tarnish - literally - its early reputation as the salvation of winter travel.

Truckers, who face the greatest exposure, are saying that mag chloride packs a killer punch. They have found that its corrosive properties are eating away at vital components.

Often the damage is cosmetic -the chemical eats into aluminum and stainless steel, pitting and scarring the surfaces that give well-maintained equipment a pleasing appearance.

But some damage runs deeper. Fleets that have been exposed to mag chloride report that their wiring systems are deteriorating at an alarming rate. Maintenance people believe the chemical wicks into connection points and eats away at copper wiring.

And truckers in some types of operations are expressing even more serious concerns. They are seeing damage that scares them: corrosion in structural elements that could lead to catastrophic failure at highway speed. One maintenance vice president at a national LTL fleet described pushing his pen clean through a structural element on a trailer suspension that he believes had been rotted by mag chloride.

In fact, truck maintenance professionals are alarmed. The Technology and Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations has scheduled a study session on corrosion problems in brakes, and ATA has asked the Federal Highway Administration to support an in-depth study of de-icers, including mag chloride.

With these bells going off, you would think that trucking companies, equipment suppliers and the highway maintenance community would be arm-in-arm in search of a solution. But that's not happening, at least not in an effective way. Lack of information, poor communications, political interests and plain-old hard-set attitudes are hampering progress.

What's most worrisome to trucking interests who are following the issue closely is the potential long-term threat. For one thing, states are using more mag chloride, which increases exposure. For another, corrosion problems are being spread through the national fleet by equipment turnover.

Generally, fleets say it takes time for mag chloride damage to show up. So fleets that wash their equipment regularly, and turn it over on a two- to three-year cycle, might avoid much of the problem. But maintenance professionals say that once mag chloride wicks into a joint between two metals, it's there to stay unless you disassemble the pieces, clean them and paint them. In effect, equipment turnover shifts the corrosion problem to the second or third owner, who may or may not be prepared for the hassle and expense of proper maintenance.

This could lead to safety and repair issues that expand far beyond the states where mag chloride is used.

"We're only at the beginning of the problem," says Greg Fulton, president of the Colorado Motor Carriers Assn. Fulton is involved because Colorado is a leading user of mag chloride, and his members are reporting serious problems.

Dino Guadagni, vice president of Western Distributing, a nationwide truckload carrier of dry and refrigerated freight based in Denver, says that at first mag chloride just caused cosmetic problems. It corroded the aluminum on tractors, dry vans and reefer trailers.

But now he's experiencing "astronomical failures" in his wiring systems, he said.

Mag chloride corrodes his wiring several feet at a time - on equipment that is only four months old, he said. "I've never seen anything like it."

The trouble is, the Colorado Department of Transportation has never seen anything like it, either - so it is not convinced that there's a problem.

Tom Norton, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, said he has heard concerns about wiring problems related to mag chloride. But he has seen no specifics.

"There is no scientific evidence to prove it," he said. "We are having trouble confirming that from a laboratory perspective."

Asked about a study under way at CDOT on mag chloride corrosion, Norton said, "We have learned nothing that confirms or denies concerns about corrosion."

These conflicting perceptions exacerbate the problem. Truckers are nothing if not practical, and to them the cause of the damage is self-evident. With regular washing and proper maintenance you eliminate all the other explanations, and what's left is mag chloride. Yet as far as Colorado is concerned, it has to be proven in the lab before it can be officially recognized.

This disconnect has contributed to tension in Colorado. Truck lines and the DOT say they want to work together, but each expresses frustration with the other.

Bureaucrats love magnesium chloride, because it solves their problems, said a trucking vice president who asked that his name not be used. The way Colorado truckers see it, CDOT's insistence on scientific proof of wiring corrosion is just a way to shift the problem away from itself.

Says Norton of CDOT, "We have tried to work with the industry. We have had many ups and downs. But the industry has been very much less cooperative than we would wish."

Norton adds: "We want to work with truckers in an equal way. We will continue in spite of negative attitudes."

On behalf of Colorado carriers, Greg Fulton says, "We recognize that there are clear values and benefits related to mag chloride. But there are inadvertent consequences related to corrosion. We need to work together toward a solution. We don't want to get rid of mag chloride, we just want to fix its problems."

Meanwhile, what are trucking companies supposed to do to protect their equipment?

For answers, HDT turned to the segment of the industry that has the greatest exposure: the fleets that put the product to the road.

While Colorado awaits laboratory results, maintenance personnel for state fleets in Idaho and Montana do not hesitate: the problem is mag chloride.

"I think the number one corrosion problem with de-icer is that it attacks the wiring the worst," said Montana state fleet manager Jack May.

"If you have a wire that you have probed, it will eat through the conductor in a week," he said. "De-icer will seep into junction boxes and electrical components with wiring connections and circuit boards and destroy them in short order."

His recommendation: "A rigorous program of faithfully washing the vehicles." He also suggests improving wiring harnesses, sealing junction boxes and painting exposed surfaces.

Of course, a rigorous washing program is one thing for a route operation in which the trucks return home each day, but quite another for an interstate truckload carrier that is passing through a mag chloride zone. Dino Guadagni of Western Distributing expressed frustration at the suggestion: there aren't too many truck washes on the roads he uses west out of Colorado, and in any case it takes special washing to actually get the mag chloride off the truck, he said.

One tank trailer manufacturer reports it has solved the problem. William Boyd, vice president of engineering and purchasing for Heil Trailer International, Chattanooga, Tenn., said his company has worked with its paint supplier to come up with a combination of coatings that resist mag chloride corrosion.

The process begins with surface treatments, is followed by undercoats, including a "shock absorbing" layer to protect against flying stones, and is finished with a surface coat. In addition, wiring harnesses and junction boxes are completely sealed, and the junction boxes are packed with grease.

This protects the tanker but costs the customer $2,000 per trailer for the paint alone, Boyd said. That's an incremental cost that may not stand up as well in the dry freight market where trailers are more of a commodity than a capital investment.

One of the reasons trucking concerns have only slowly been recognized is that automobile owners are not reporting similar problems. That is partly because cars have less exposure than trucks, but Boyd also faults truck equipment manufacturers.

"Auto manufacturers have invested in protective materials," he said. "Shame on us."

One fleet executive who did not want to be identified said that fleets also need to get involved by specifying their equipment more carefully. They should demand metals that are more resistant to corrosion, he said.

Practically everyone agrees that in the long run the answer will be found in better formulations of mag chloride - in particular, through the addition of the right kind and quantity of corrosion inhibitors. This won't be easy, since mag chloride's performance depends on how it is applied and the climatic conditions.

As trucking interests try to raise the profile of the issue, it may help that others are pointing to new problems.

In Colorado, power companies are complaining that mag chloride mist stirred up from the road by passing vehicles is settling on the insulators on their power poles - causing them to conduct electricity rather than block it. The result has been power outages and spontaneous combustion of power poles, according to news accounts.

Also, Colorado residents are charging that mag chloride - previously thought to be harmless to vegetation - is killing spruce and fir trees.

These and other complaints may help accelerate the process of completing the scientific examination of mag chloride - but the politics and chemistry of the issue still make for an uphill climb.

As Dan Williams of the Montana Department of Transportation put it, "We are concerned and will continue to look for chemicals that reduce negative impacts.

"To date, there are no silver bullets."

SAFETY THREATENED BY BRAKE CORROSION

Of immediate safety concern is widespread evidence that the significant increase in the use of de-icing chemicals on highways is impacting the life and performance of S-cam brake shoes and linings. Severe rust build-up on the brake shoe table, called "rust jacking" by brake engineers, is causing brake linings to deform, work loose, crack and break.

Not surprisingly, the worst cases we've seen come from tractors and trailers domiciled in western New York state right in the heart of the aptly named "rust belt." These Eastern and Midwestern states are heavy users of rock salt. In addition, some states have added or changed over to calcium chloride and magnesium chloride compounds, which have an affinity for attracting moisture and consequently do a better job of melting ice.

The problem is not restricted to rust-belt domiciled carriers. Darry Stuart is an independent consultant working with eight different fleets. He has seen fleets domiciled in Nashville, but running nationally, with bad rust jacking. Stuart says some shoes look like they expanded as rusting set in and then rust flaked off in pieces the size of corn flakes. Lower-priced aftermarket shoes/linings appeared the worst, he said.

Stuart also works with a large New England-based fleet with rigs running constantly in salt spray during the winter months. That company - because of its awareness of the corrosion issue - is not having rusting problems. Stuart says its preventive maintenance checks are on shorter intervals and are very thorough. Consequently, brake lining life is excellent.

That, however, wasn't always the case. Stuart is a major practitioner of "management by wandering around," spending at least an hour or more on shop floors, digging through dumpsters and analyzing scrap piles. "They all tell a story," he says, "and it was a brake shoe scrap pile with over 100 shoes in it that really got my attention. Mechanics were pulling off brake linings which weren't 50% worn but were cracked, loose around the rivets and showed very uneven lining wear. No one in management was paying any attention to what was obviously a problem. Mechanics just slapped on new shoes to get the vehicles back out on the road."

Why is "rust jacking" showing up now? Road chemicals are acknowledged to be the culprit. Chemical-laden road spray gets onto brake shoes and, depending on the quality and type of coating on the shoe itself, goes to work. Corrosive moisture works its way between the shoe and lining and eats away at the shoe table, gradually undermining the lining until it becomes loose, cracks or fails.

Larry Strawhorn, vice president of engineering of the American Trucking Assns., says he remembers "rust jacking" as an issue back in the '60s when he was an engineer for a major truck manufacturer. "But things have changed significantly for the better since then," he says. "For one thing, once we realized what was happening, the industry adopted new ASTM test procedures and parts were exposed to salt sprays for hundreds of hours. Brake manufacturers developed better paints and coatings and for the most part, we haven't heard much about rust jacking until recently."

Strawhorn points out there can be significant brake safety issues because with uneven, loose, cracked or broken linings, brake performance can deteriorate gradually and often not be noticed by a driver. "This is one reason that DOT and CVSA have stringent inspection standards for brakes including the linings. Any crack more than 1/16-inches wide and 1-1/2-inches long is cause for inspectors to place a vehicle out of service." This means the vehicle can not be driven until repairs are made.

The message here is that fleets must pay more attention to brake linings whether they are in the "Rust Belt" or not. Bob Rosenthal, national service manager for ArvinMeritor, one of the principal OE brake suppliers, points out that many improvements and technical changes have been made in S-cam brakes in the last 20 years, so brakes in most applications are not the high-maintenance items they once were.

Prakash Jain, ArvinMeritor's director of technical support, adds that his company - as well as others - developed long-life or extended life S-cam brakes which among other features have thicker brake linings. The lining industry changed to longer-lasting non-asbestos. These changes alone mean that in many over-the-road fleets, 500,000 miles or more between relines are not unusual, especially when engine brakes are used.

As Darry Stuart points out, five years between brake relines isn't unusual on tractors anymore. "And if you have trailers that sit around at customer's facilities, these don't get the miles and I've seen seven years on the same linings." Translation: It used to be that worn-out linings meant more frequent brake jobs. Now it doesn't. Years can go by without thorough brake shoe and lining inspections . . . thorough meaning the removal of brake drums so mechanics can see the entire lining surface and the brake shoe web, rollers, cam, etc.

Jim Clark, Dana Corporation's chief brake engineer, points out several other key issues that fleets need to consider, especially in the selection of replacement brake shoes and linings. Aftermarket parts do not have to meet the same DOT FMVSS-121 performance standards as new. So there are varying quality levels, driven by competitive pricing.

Clark says brake shoe paints and/or coatings have changed a lot over the years and this has impacted resistance to "rust jacking." He says some manufacturers and jobbers paint or dip shoes; that with the change in EPA regulations pertaining to paint VOCs, water-based paints have become more popular as have dips. When asked what's most durable, Clark said, ". . . Epoxy coatings are the best. You'll find that the premier brake products we sell to our OE customers are e-coated." This is not to say, however, that all new S-cam foundation brake shoes are e-coated. Fleets should check on both new and replacement shoes.

Does this mean that all e-coated shoes are impervious to "rust jacking?"

Not necessarily. Clark, who is very active on SAE brake committees, said the time has probably come to re-evaluate test procedures. "With the increased use of road chemicals, especially the use of the new chlorides, maybe we (the brake industry) need to take a new look at the ASTM test procedures we've been using. Do we now need new and longer durability spray tests using some of the newer road chemicals?"

In the meantime, Clark shares the same recommendations all the experts we interviewed have: Inspect brakes thoroughly on a schedule. Pull brake drums on a regular basis, especially on vehicles five years and older. When replacing shoes and linings, thoroughly examine the ones coming off, don't just scrap them.

Know what you're buying for replacements including shoe treatment. Some OE shoes have labels on the shoe web which identify the linings on the shoes. Often this label is removed or painted over by local shoe reliners.

Don't ignore automatic slack adjusters. If "rust jacking" is a problem, make sure ASAs are thoroughly lubed and that there's no evidence of internal rust/corrosion.

In conclusion, "rust jacking" produces short lining life, sometimes 50% less than is expected. "Rust jacking" leads to brake safety issues. The problems are driven by premature shoe deterioration that damages linings. Both safety and economic issues are involved. Don't ignore them.

WHAT TO DO

Electrical:

• Specify premium wiring systems where an option.
• Opt for sealed wiring connectors, J560 socket on trailers.
• Always use dielectric grease when opening and resealing plugs and junction boxes.
• Never probe through insulation when checking for electrical continuity.
• Never splice into wiring even with shrink tubing to reseal.

Chassis:

• Wash frequently, especially undersides and dirt collection points.
• Specify self-healing undercoats on trailer crossmembers, frames.
• Wax polish aluminum and stainless steel appearance accessories.
• Repair chassis paint stone chips as soon as possible.
• Specify fender liners when available.
• Minimize specs combining dissimilar metals/separate such components with insulation.
• Hose out radiator/AC condenser regularly when deicing chemicals are in use.
• Replace/repair mudflaps, use full fenders.
• Don't drill unnecessary holes, paint edges where you do drill.

Brakes:

• Specify rust-proof painted or epoxy-coated shoes when rebuilding.
• Opt for premium shoes when ordering trailers.
• Inspect regularly for lining cracks, rust and loose rivets.
• Trailers five years and older should have brake inspection with drums off.
• If cracking present on half-worn lining, review with supplier.
• Spec and retain brake dust shields.