Great write up, thank you for taking the time to share. Since this seems to be a problem with several it would seem to be a design flaw. Wondering if there is enough meat or access so that a grease fitting hole could be drilled and tapped for lubrication on the cam lever?
Brake pedal return spring
- Thread starter Grand_Pooba
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VashonFarmer
Bronze Member
Interesting idea. If it is feasible, do you think you'd go through the cam lever or the housing? Would be a long hole down the bolt. I've never tapped for a zert. What size would you be at for the grease hole beyond the zert?
I have never tapped one either. My thinking would be a very small hole would do for passage of the grease. Seems to me 1/8" would be plenty big. You would only need to get by the o-ring if you tapped the bolt. How far would that be? I imagine the housing is cast iron and would be easier drilled and tapped but not having actually laid my eyes on it I guess I am just rattling with ideas.
VashonFarmer
Bronze Member
I had a chat with the Bobcat service guy this morning. Very nice guy, by the way. Not too surprisingly, he can't say too much about the tractor because there ain't that many out there. He has only worked on a couple in the last decade.
Having chickened out on trying winston1's idea of adding a zert, I decided to just give it a good smear of lithium grease and put it back together. Service guy agreed. I will also add a step to my annual lube job. I'll pull the linkage off and put a new smear under the washer. Hopefully that will be enough to keep out any extra moisture.
So I put it all back together this AM. I'll dump the oil back in tomorrow to let the Permatex dry for a day and will cross my fingers that I got a good seal. Assembly went well enough to make me nervous!
Having chickened out on trying winston1's idea of adding a zert, I decided to just give it a good smear of lithium grease and put it back together. Service guy agreed. I will also add a step to my annual lube job. I'll pull the linkage off and put a new smear under the washer. Hopefully that will be enough to keep out any extra moisture.
So I put it all back together this AM. I'll dump the oil back in tomorrow to let the Permatex dry for a day and will cross my fingers that I got a good seal. Assembly went well enough to make me nervous!
VashonFarmer
Bronze Member
To add a post script to the drama, I waited 24 hours and dumped some oil back in, then something made me pause and look closer at the gasket material that had squeezed out. I had used Permatex 2, which is "non hardening", but I was still able to smear it with my finger. That made me paranoid not just about leaks, but bits of gasket breaking free in the oil and doing bad things.
So, I took it all back apart, cleaned it up well, and redid the gasket with a different product. Permatex has a new line out called The Right Stuff. It comes in an aerosol style can, which makes application much easier than the tube, and it states that you can immediately put the parts back in service. I still waited. I had a couple days away from the barn anyway, so I left the sump dry till today.
The machine is back in service today and the brake issue is solved.
So, I took it all back apart, cleaned it up well, and redid the gasket with a different product. Permatex has a new line out called The Right Stuff. It comes in an aerosol style can, which makes application much easier than the tube, and it states that you can immediately put the parts back in service. I still waited. I had a couple days away from the barn anyway, so I left the sump dry till today.
The machine is back in service today and the brake issue is solved.
tman1020
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2014
- Messages
- 1,466
- Location
- north west indiana
- Tractor
- Bobcat ct225 and Bad Boy zero turn
Great! Thanks for the update
John in BC
New member
Maybe I got lucky! CT225 with 500 hours. Having the same brake problem and reading Andy's very explicit procedures for rectifying I prepared to tackle the problem. But what a lot of work for such a little thing, and all that oil to drain. So I procrastinated and investigated, and here is the result.
I first uncoupled the brakes, then found I could move the lever slightly by heavy tapping it with a hammer. I sprayed penetrating fluid ( "MOOVIT" to be exact ) liberally above lever, on the housing, so that it could run down behind the lever and hopefully onto the shaft. Then I tapped slightly again, and waited a while. I went back and repeated the procedure 3 more times, gaining progressively more movement. Then with a neighbour working the pedal up and down and me tapping the lever, it was eventually free.
Did the same for both brakes however it did seem that the LEFT one was most affected. So with about 20 minutes labour over 2 days the problem was solved. Now I plan to add regular squirts in these areas to my maintenance program.
I first uncoupled the brakes, then found I could move the lever slightly by heavy tapping it with a hammer. I sprayed penetrating fluid ( "MOOVIT" to be exact ) liberally above lever, on the housing, so that it could run down behind the lever and hopefully onto the shaft. Then I tapped slightly again, and waited a while. I went back and repeated the procedure 3 more times, gaining progressively more movement. Then with a neighbour working the pedal up and down and me tapping the lever, it was eventually free.
Did the same for both brakes however it did seem that the LEFT one was most affected. So with about 20 minutes labour over 2 days the problem was solved. Now I plan to add regular squirts in these areas to my maintenance program.
Last edited:
VashonFarmer
Bronze Member
Glad the info helped, and it seems you managed it with a fraction of the work! Well done. And good advice on the penetrating oil.
PILOON
Super Star Member
Oh, when I service my CUT I always have an oil can on hand and everything that moves gets a shot of oil. So far that has saved me lots of headaches.
Especially all the 3 point parts,
My snow blower gets it share as well. I also rattle can sprat all the bare metal in the blower simply to deter rust as snow loves to stick to rusty bare metal.
First snow event naturally removes that rattle can spray but it leaves a nice shiny bare 'non stick' metal surface, well better that coarse rust.
Especially all the 3 point parts,
My snow blower gets it share as well. I also rattle can sprat all the bare metal in the blower simply to deter rust as snow loves to stick to rusty bare metal.
First snow event naturally removes that rattle can spray but it leaves a nice shiny bare 'non stick' metal surface, well better that coarse rust.
fatboycowen
Silver Member
Well, I've just done it. Did both sides this weekend. Massive thank you to VashonFarmer for the write up.
Some comments about it.
- Be exceptionally careful supporting the tractor, especially if it's parked on dirt. It's difficult to make stable, since everything to support is right in the middle of the tractor.
- This was my first time moving loaded tires. Intimidating, but not that bad. Just do it slowly.
- I left the upper roll hoop attached (because of my LED light bar wiring i didn't want to disconnect), and did one side at a time. The upper roll hoop will stay up when one support is missing. The only negative is, i bashed my head on it about 47 times.
- I didn't need to support the axle housing from above. I used a floor jack and a block of wood. It's not that heavy. I could easily lift it up and set it on it's studs, then moved the jack in place for support while i continued.
- On both sides, the brake lever pin was seized in really good. Both sides needed heat and a big hammer to knock them out. I used sand paper and a file to clean it up. I re-used the o-rings as they were in good shape. I liberally greased everything with the thickest grease i could find. It's super smooth now.
- The insides of my brake housing and axle were very clean, even at 1445 hours. However, i think my brake disks were worn, as one side was dragging hard when i bought it. Who knows how long it ran that way. There were heat marks around all of the depressions where the ball bearings ride. I decided that ignorance was bliss and didn't measure anything.
- When re-assembling the brake disks, make sure to align the big holes. The manual mentions that it's important for oil flow.
- I used Permatex Motoseal, because it's what i had on hand. It seemed to work. We'll see if it leaks over time.
- It's tricky to get both the brake housing and the axle housing to drop into their dowel pins. Don't use the bolts to do it. Wiggle things until it drops in. It will, it just takes patience. I mallet helps.
- The brake linkage arm has a specific install direction. It can be installed upside down. If you look at the lever, you'll see what i mean. I didn't notice the difference until i did it wrong.
- I would not want to do this job without a strong impact wrench, a large variety of sockets and extensions, ratcheting wrenches, etc. Also, i used plastic bags and a marker to mark bolts for the different steps. There are a variety of different bolt types, and they are easy to mix up.
I refilled the transmission, adjusted the brakes, and took her for a ride. It's the first time i had two working brakes that don't require pulling the lever back up to release. The brakes work well. I put the tractor on a mild hill, put it in neutral, and checked both sides. They easily lock up and work quite well, and seem to release on their own. I'm so glad this is done.
I must work slow, because I'd guess i have about 15 hours into this job. I did it outside on dirt, in the sun, so it was pretty miserable. Side #2 was much faster than side 1.
Thanks again to VashonFarmer
Some comments about it.
- Be exceptionally careful supporting the tractor, especially if it's parked on dirt. It's difficult to make stable, since everything to support is right in the middle of the tractor.
- This was my first time moving loaded tires. Intimidating, but not that bad. Just do it slowly.
- I left the upper roll hoop attached (because of my LED light bar wiring i didn't want to disconnect), and did one side at a time. The upper roll hoop will stay up when one support is missing. The only negative is, i bashed my head on it about 47 times.
- I didn't need to support the axle housing from above. I used a floor jack and a block of wood. It's not that heavy. I could easily lift it up and set it on it's studs, then moved the jack in place for support while i continued.
- On both sides, the brake lever pin was seized in really good. Both sides needed heat and a big hammer to knock them out. I used sand paper and a file to clean it up. I re-used the o-rings as they were in good shape. I liberally greased everything with the thickest grease i could find. It's super smooth now.
- The insides of my brake housing and axle were very clean, even at 1445 hours. However, i think my brake disks were worn, as one side was dragging hard when i bought it. Who knows how long it ran that way. There were heat marks around all of the depressions where the ball bearings ride. I decided that ignorance was bliss and didn't measure anything.
- When re-assembling the brake disks, make sure to align the big holes. The manual mentions that it's important for oil flow.
- I used Permatex Motoseal, because it's what i had on hand. It seemed to work. We'll see if it leaks over time.
- It's tricky to get both the brake housing and the axle housing to drop into their dowel pins. Don't use the bolts to do it. Wiggle things until it drops in. It will, it just takes patience. I mallet helps.
- The brake linkage arm has a specific install direction. It can be installed upside down. If you look at the lever, you'll see what i mean. I didn't notice the difference until i did it wrong.
- I would not want to do this job without a strong impact wrench, a large variety of sockets and extensions, ratcheting wrenches, etc. Also, i used plastic bags and a marker to mark bolts for the different steps. There are a variety of different bolt types, and they are easy to mix up.
I refilled the transmission, adjusted the brakes, and took her for a ride. It's the first time i had two working brakes that don't require pulling the lever back up to release. The brakes work well. I put the tractor on a mild hill, put it in neutral, and checked both sides. They easily lock up and work quite well, and seem to release on their own. I'm so glad this is done.
I must work slow, because I'd guess i have about 15 hours into this job. I did it outside on dirt, in the sun, so it was pretty miserable. Side #2 was much faster than side 1.
Thanks again to VashonFarmer
