New Brakes On 336D

Markey · Mar 26, 2007

It's time to change brakes on my 336. Best way to access brake cover is to remove wheels. I have no air tools, and have no way to safely lift the 250 lb. wheels back onto the hub. Has anyone changed brakes on a larger Yanmar without removing wheels? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

normde2001 · Mar 26, 2007

Markey said:
It's time to change brakes on my 336. Best way to access brake cover is to remove wheels. I have no air tools, and have no way to safely lift the 250 lb. wheels back onto the hub. Has anyone changed brakes on a larger Yanmar without removing wheels? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

You normally can't just change brakes. there is a lot of cleaning and sanding to be done. If you jack it to the proper height, you can just roll the wheel away and roll it back. I don't know if you have priced brake shoes, but I would just reverse them, or if necessary, have them relined by somebody like NAPA.

LMTC · Mar 26, 2007

The shoes are not cheap, but certainly not outrageous at $29.95 per shoe for the 336.

I have never seen brakes worked on without removing the wheel. I would think access would be very limited that way.

Markey · Mar 27, 2007

Gentlemen:
Thank you for your feedback. I will try to unbolt the brake cover without removing wheel. I can remove the small fender piece for freerer access. After that, I will remove while on my back on the ground. Since most of the work (reversing shoes, new springs,etc.) is contained in the cover that I will be removing, I do not anticipate any problems. Of course, If things don't work out, then I can go to the trouble of removing that heavy wheel. I'll let you know how it works out.

kenmac · Mar 27, 2007

I have worked on my brakes 3110D. You can use a piece of pipe or 2x4 to move the wheel around to align back up to the hub. I used a floor jack to jack the tractor up.

normde2001 · Mar 27, 2007

Markey said:
Gentlemen:
Thank you for your feedback. I will try to unbolt the brake cover without removing wheel. I can remove the small fender piece for freerer access. After that, I will remove while on my back on the ground. Since most of the work (reversing shoes, new springs,etc.) is contained in the cover that I will be removing, I do not anticipate any problems. Of course, If things don't work out, then I can go to the trouble of removing that heavy wheel. I'll let you know how it works out.

Those wheels are just not that big of a problem. You don't have to lift them unless you let one fall over.

Markey · Mar 27, 2007

Thank you Norm. I really appreciate the input. If I had air, airtools, impact wrench, etc. , I would not hesitate to remove the wheels. Unfortunately, I do not own airtools. If the job proves too difficult, I will use the largest ratchet I own with a large hollow steel pipe over the handle for leverage, in order to break free the bolts. When reinstalling the bolts, I will definitely have to purchase a much beefier torque wrench.

California · Mar 28, 2007

Markey said:
Has anyone changed brakes on a larger Yanmar without removing wheels?

I don't know about the larger ones. Due to the same concern about safety, both the heavy loaded tire and the cribbing it would take to support the tractor, I opened up the left brake on my YM240 (YM2000) with the wheel still on. (Right side should be identical.) That was a dry brake system - I don't know if the 336 is as simple.

It turned out all it needed was to free the shaft where it passes through the outer cover, and the linings looked fine.

I loosened the fender U-bolts and rotated the fender back a little to get some elbow room.

Then it was still tight working space but no worse than under the hood of a small car. Overall time for the project was probably less than I would have taken to deal safely with a detached wheel.

If you have a ROPS that attaches at the fender mount then rotating the fender might not work.

Markey · Mar 28, 2007

California-- We are on the same page! I think that I also have sufficient space between the attached wheel and the brake cover. The brake system on the 336 is also the dry type -- probably the same as yours. I figure that you had to free up a stuck operating cam lever that was preventing the brake shoes from expanding. Glad it was an easy fix. In my case, when I press the brake pedal as far as it will go (about 4 inches), the tractor will stop. Of course, 4 inches is way too much free travel. Brake free travel should be 1-2 inches. As a matter of fact, my pedals travel so far down, they actually go past the parking brake lever. I am waiting for the gaskets which are on order. I know that sealant will work fine, however, the gaskets are neater. Thank you for relating your experience. I will do the same after completing the job.

California · Mar 28, 2007

Markey - You are probably aware of all this, but just in case:

I assume you (or prior owner) already adjusted the rods to the pedals as short as possible. While you are waiting for those gaskets, clean up the threads on the rods in preparation for adjusting them back to full length.

You likely will find you don't need new linings. You can swap leading shoe/trailing shoe, and rotate the anchor cam a quarter turn, to get the second half of the life out of the original linings.

Good luck with your project!

normde2001 said:
You normally can't just change brakes. there is a lot of cleaning and sanding to be done.

Norm usually we see things alike but so long as he doesn't find a bad oil seal behind the drum I think all the work is on the cover/linings assembly, and can be done over on his workbench. It's a US model, so it probably has never run in water deep enough to go in the brake enclosure vents. Inside that sealed enclosure, all it needs is wiping out the lining residue with a rag. (And Markey those may be asbetos linings, so no compressed air blast please!)