Parking brake question

[THEBUS]

On my TC40D the parking brake does not want to stay locked in. It is hard to engage and then when it does engage, it will pop loose sometimes by itself and sometimes when you get off of the tractor (I think putting weight on the step on the brake side of the tractor releases it). Looking at it, the bar that the parking brake lever teeth engage to lock the brake, is worn or rounded to the point it won't hold the brake. Has anyone had this problem? I will talk to the dealer soon, I wanted to get some input first.

It would be easy to fix by grinding the bar down or re-sharpening it but it appears that the metal is not hard enough to hold up.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[jinman]

I don't personally have a problem with my parking brake (yet) but a lot of people have reported this. It seems the most popular option is to file the teeth so they take a bigger bite if/when the brake starts to disengage on its own.

 

[Steelfan]

I'm assuming that your bigger tractor is built the same way, that my TC21D is. I had that problem, and believe it or not it just need greasing. My Parking would pop off about half the time before I greased it. Now it still does it sometimes, but I'm at fault for some of them. I get in a hurry. I hope this helps. Good Luck. Kent

 

[RickB]

I have repaired at least two tractors with these symptoms. The adjustment I made was to the bracket the brake lock pawl pivots on. If you look closely, you will see the pawl pull rod coming from the engagement lever bottoms out in the slot in the pivot bracket before the pawl's teeth fully engage the bar on the pedal. Loosen the two bolts attaching the bracket to the LH deck plate and slide the bracket rearwards as far as possible. This increases the pawl's throw, and gives it better engagement.

 

[tc35dforme]

thebus,

I have experienced the same issue on my TC35D ( 20 hrs ). I did notice a minor bit of wear on the points of the teeth on the locking critter, but nothing that I felt would cause an engagement issue. It does look like a replacement part will be needed in a year or two !!

I have found that setting the brake 'hard' holds better. That extra 'click' seems to allow the return spring force to hold the lock better. I like the idea that RickB noted about adjusting the mount.

I'm going to look into that this afternoon. If it makes a difference I'll let you know.

 

[jtn]

THEBUS,

I have had the same problem on my TC45D (265 hours). I found the best way to keep the brake engaged is to hold up the park brake lever and then step on the brake petal. This does wear the teeth out faster but the brake seems to engage better. I also agree with pushing down harder on the petals. I intend to check out the fix RickB suggested As I would like a more permanent solution.

JT

 

[THEBUS]

Thanks for the info. I will try the fixes mentioned and post back with the results.

Thanks

THEBUS