m5040
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2008
- Messages
- 895
- Location
- CT
- Tractor
- Kubota M6040 L2250, JohnDeere 310D, Ford 841 Elenco, Ford 961, Trapmaster, PT180 w/LM bucket and 45" brush cutter, PT1430 Deutz w/grapple bucket, Antonio Carraro Tigrecar 6500. John Deere 5300. Former owned Steiner 430 max, Goldoni REV Maxter 7
Who here thinks the parking brake on the Power Trac can be a little quirky to release? As you may know and for those that don't the parking brake consist of a cog wheel (like a gear on your bicycle chain, only big) and when you apply the parking brake, a pin moves between two teeth. The tractor then tends to drift causing the cog to rotate into the pin and when you want to release it you then have to move the tractor slightly in the opposite direction (whichever that is?) to get the pressure off the pins (one on each front wheel) for it to release. Although it only takes a few seconds, it feels like minutes if your in a hurry. So you don't use the parking brake like you should, right?
Here is a picture of my cure for this. It shows the mod done for only one brake which is a massive improvement, but you can do both. Here is how.
1. Loosen the lock bolt on the clevis and remove one cable.
2. Insert a strong spring in place of the cable (a strong spring is one where you can't pull it apart by hand.)
3. Cable clamp the other end of the spring to the park brake cable removed in step 1.
4. Adjust to the same spot or maybe a tad shorter.
5. Jack up and make sure it engages and releases as planed with enough extra, ie: the pin engages for some distance and not just barely in, and that the pin releases with a little more travel left in the release handle.
You might find a spring out of a drum brake kit for a pickup truck, I found some laying around the shop.
With two springs this mod allows you to just move the handle to release without dealing with getting the pins in a loose state. Once the handle is in the release position, the heavy springs are trying to pull the pins to release and when you steer the tractor they tend to pop right out. You can visible watch it happen and know you can hammer down on your way.
With one spring it allows you to concentrate on getting that one direct pin in a loose state then the handle can move to release and with spring tension on the other it pops out shortly.
Good luck.
Here is a picture of my cure for this. It shows the mod done for only one brake which is a massive improvement, but you can do both. Here is how.
1. Loosen the lock bolt on the clevis and remove one cable.
2. Insert a strong spring in place of the cable (a strong spring is one where you can't pull it apart by hand.)
3. Cable clamp the other end of the spring to the park brake cable removed in step 1.
4. Adjust to the same spot or maybe a tad shorter.
5. Jack up and make sure it engages and releases as planed with enough extra, ie: the pin engages for some distance and not just barely in, and that the pin releases with a little more travel left in the release handle.
You might find a spring out of a drum brake kit for a pickup truck, I found some laying around the shop.
With two springs this mod allows you to just move the handle to release without dealing with getting the pins in a loose state. Once the handle is in the release position, the heavy springs are trying to pull the pins to release and when you steer the tractor they tend to pop right out. You can visible watch it happen and know you can hammer down on your way.
With one spring it allows you to concentrate on getting that one direct pin in a loose state then the handle can move to release and with spring tension on the other it pops out shortly.
Good luck.
