Specific Cure for Parking Brake Problem?

[Charles Billings]

Jjbath, Were your parts worn, or just sticking? I am guessing that yours are not worn, even being 3 years older than my TC45. My problem was never that it would stick. The problem from the time that I purchased it with about 150 hours was its propensity to release. Without looking at the parking brake I asked my dealer to fix the problem. He said he adjusted it. I noticed no improvement after the "adjustment" and now realize that there is no adjustment. I wish that I had looked at it and tried to understand what was going on at that earlier date. But, I see no way that my parking brake was sticking in a postion that the ratchet pawl could continue to rub against the lock plate. When disengaged they are not adjacent to each other. I am at a loss to explain my problem being anything other than both engagement parts being made from soft metal. Soon, I hope to have someone who can weld help me get the part off and see what we can do to remake the existing parts, or replace them with new NH parts. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[jjbath]

Occasionally it would rub. I've only had the tractor for a couple of weeks so it didn't get too bad. It looks like the previous owner never used the parking brake. I had a hard time engaging it because it had rust and dirt on the shaft.

I took it apart the other day and cleaned it up real good. I also took a little emery cloth to it too. I greased it and put it back together and now it works like new.

For yours to wear like it did seems like someone was misusing the parking brake. Maybe it was swapped with another machine by a dealer or previous owner.

 

[Charles Billings]

I did wonder if the brake had been swapped out for a much older, worn one. But, that doesn't make sense when you examine the metal and paint. Both parts looks new, except for the wear.

 

[jjbath]

I doubt its related to the steel being soft. What are the odds that the pawl and the brake pedal both are defective.

Maybe the previous owner had no clue how the brake worked or even what that lever was for. In any case I would just buy a new pawl or fix it with a grinder. Fixing the pedal may be alittle more difficult.

Hope it works out. Good luck

 

[Charles Billings]

Hi, Today my cousin came over to look at my TC45. He has a similar earlier model Ford 45HP. He couldn't believe the wear on my Parking Brake. When he has some time I will run my tractor over to his house and he will help me take things apart and put in a new ratchet pawl that I will purchase. I hope that he can then weld some metal over the worn groove in the knife engagement part that is welded to the brake pedal, and shape this out with a grinder. For anyone who has not looked at these parking brake parts, my desription probably doesn't make much sense. And, had mine not failed very prematurely, I wouldn't have know about or cared about this design either.

 

[Charles Billings]

I feel like I am beating this thread to death, but still think there is value in continuing this because it has to affect more tractors than mine.

After my cousin Gary examined my TC45 parking brake he came to a very reasonable conclusion, as follows. While the tractor was still a lease (before I purchased it with about 150 hours) someone tried to correct the parking brake release problem that results when the person's dismounting weight on the step causes enough flex to dislodge the parking brake pedal knife from the ratchet pawl. Gary has his own blacksmith shop and does welding, and sees no way that this depth of V-groove could have been worn into the pedal knife, but rather someone must have used a grinder hoping to correct the premature release problem.

The possibility that someone had tried to do a fix by grinding a V-groove in the pedal knife was first mentioned by Ford850. I think we can now say he was correct. Whomever cut the groove only made things worse, and that probably exacerbated the wear on the tips of the ratchet pawl.

Julichris, Jwstewar, and Ford850 have all acknowledged the parking brake release, as did RickB when he spoke about the "parking brake release due to flexation of the platform during operator entry and exit." Hopefully, this same ill-advised grinding solution didn't happen to many more tractors. But, it is probably true that many tractors with this design still suffer from premature release because of the flex problem.

In my case Gary will help me install a new ratchet pawl (need to get that ordered, not an off the shelf item locally) and repair the V-groove in the brake pedal knife. Gary will also fashion some supports for the platform/steps to solve the original flex problem. In my case the supports will tie the platform to my backhoe subframe. It should be possible to do something similar, even if one doesn't have a subframe.

I will post some pictures when we have a chance to get this done.

 

[jinman]

Don't worry about "beating this thread to death." You have a very real problem and one that others share. The details of your repair and it's success should be of interest to lots of people. Your accurate descriptions are welcomed by me for sure. Don't hesitate to post. I read everything you post and it is always well thought out and interesting. Let's hope you come up with a great fix with Gary's help.

 

[Charles Billings]

Jinman, Thanks for your reply. I have been looking at many many of your posts, and greatly respect your opinion. I hope to contribute just a small fraction of what you and many others have done here.

 

[Charles Billings]

In my last post for this thread I indicated that my cousin Gary offered to help me resolve the parking brake problem. We have now done that and I offer a few photos to illustrate what we have done. The first photo shows the parking brake knife with a V-groove, which we think someone ground into it in an attempt to keep the parking brake from releasing when the operator's weight flexed the platform stepping on and off the tractor. The second photo shows the old (left) and new ratchet pawls. The old pawl still has the actuator attached. The new pawl doesn't look like it should cost very much, but its delivered cost was $63, the best deal I could find. The third photo shows the MIG welder that was used to close the V-groove in the brake knife. The fourth and fifth photos show the knife being ground and the finished knife edge. When the new ratchet pawl was re-attached it engaged perfectly with the rejuvenated knife at the third and fourth teeth (depending on how hard the brake pedal was engaged). We had one more thing to accomplish, which was to add a support to the steps that would eliminate platform flexing, which often results in parking brake release. Photos 6, 7 and 8 show Gary in the process of heating and bending a 5/16 steel bar to reinforce the steps and platform. Photo 9 shows the reinforcement bar being attached to the steps and the one of the bolts on the subframe. This setup did eliminate the flexing/parking brake release problem. Hopefully, people with similar problems will let their NH dealers know that there is relatively straight forward correction. This is the first time since I have owned the tractor that the parking brake has truly worked, and it feels like a new tractor!

 

[jinman]

Nice work Charles. It looks like you and Gary really used your heads and made some big improvements. Thanks for the detailed photos too.