Anyone here have any experience servicing/replacing the brakes on the M4500? When we were running the tractor on the farm the brakes were decent, but now after many years of little use the brakes barely work. I have a fair amount of experience with brakes on most other kinds of equipment, but I have never delved into tractor brakes. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.
Brakes on 1979 M4500DT
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rbargeron
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Equipment
L5450, L48, L3250, L345 never enough attachments
If the brakes just don't hold, they may need linings (disks). But if they are hard to operate and don't release, it could be rusted actuator lever(s).
The wet brakes on this rig are similar to the smaller models - but scaled up a bit. The most common problem I've seen is the actuating lever arm going into the housing gets sticky - the part outside the o-ring gets corroded and stuck in the housing bore. I've taken them apart only to find that working in some penetrant around the shaft eventually frees it up from the outside. I'd certainly try that first - getting at the inside is a lot of work (wheel and axle has to come apart. If you unhook the brake rod the lever is easier to move back and forth with vise grips etc until it frees up. Hope this helps. Dick B
The wet brakes on this rig are similar to the smaller models - but scaled up a bit. The most common problem I've seen is the actuating lever arm going into the housing gets sticky - the part outside the o-ring gets corroded and stuck in the housing bore. I've taken them apart only to find that working in some penetrant around the shaft eventually frees it up from the outside. I'd certainly try that first - getting at the inside is a lot of work (wheel and axle has to come apart. If you unhook the brake rod the lever is easier to move back and forth with vise grips etc until it frees up. Hope this helps. Dick B
Thanks for your quick response. I'll certainly try that first, but wouldn't that mean that the brake pedals wouldn't move? Mine move easily, but you have to put all of your weight on the pedal to feel an effect. Makes it fairly scary on hills
Hello
I would do just as dick said. Remove the linkage and check the arm that goes into the axle housing be sure moves free. Also be sure the brake linkage under the transmission is greased well and moving freely. How many hours are on the tractor. I have not seen the disk wore out until four or five thousand hours.
Good luck. Lance
I would do just as dick said. Remove the linkage and check the arm that goes into the axle housing be sure moves free. Also be sure the brake linkage under the transmission is greased well and moving freely. How many hours are on the tractor. I have not seen the disk wore out until four or five thousand hours.
Good luck. Lance
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Thanks Lance. I'll look into it this weekend as the tractor is at my cottage. It has about 2000 hrs on it, but it has sat outside at my dad's farm for the last 10 years or so with minimal use, so your thoughts (and Dick's) that the linkage is seized is probably on the money.