trikepilot
Well-known member
Equipment
B2620HSD LA364/BH65 48SQ Bush Hog LP FDR1660 LP RB1560 B2672 42in forks LP1266
I have a 2013 RTV400ci that has 211 hours on it. It gets used but not abused out at my lake/hunting property. I recently had an odd experience with the brakes that I will describe below and I wanted to see if there were any thoughts on it from the collective wisdom of this group. I have never had a mechanical issue with this machine and I keep up on all the regular maintenance myself.
About a month ago I as running a slow/moderate speed down a rocky/rooty dirt path that I have driven thousands of times. I pressed the brakes and I got an immediate throbbing/pulsating sensation and the pedal went to the bottom of its stroke. The brakes still worked but the pedal went WAY further than normal and the brakes were "weaker" than normal. I troubleshot the brake issue on the remaining drive back to the shop and this behavior continued. Once back in the shop, I popped the hood and could see the master brake cylinder had fluid at the normal level. Upon unscrewing the cap, a bit of pressurized brake fluid burst out. I cleaned it all up and replaced the cap as I had to be somewhere in 30mins. I figured I'd address the issue when I was next out there.
The next time out there was a month later and that had given me time to consult the interwebs and delve into my years of experience with all kinds of brakes and I even found the master cylinder I would need to order if my suspicion of it as the culprit proved to be true. So I got out there last weekend, and the brake fluid was still within its normal limits between the two lines of the master cylinder so I had not lost enough fluid to be a detriment. I jacked up the rear and took off the rear wheels and everything with the brakes looked normal - still had good pads left, no fluid leaks, no anything out of the ordinary. So I fired it up and the brake pedal felt normal. I took it out for a spin and everything felt and operated like normal. I spent the rest of the weekend really being unkind to the brakes to put them under stress as a test. No issues!
So I am at a loss as to what happened? Is my master cylinder on its way out and I should expect to see this behavior again? I have gone thru every scenario I can imagine - what am I missing?
About a month ago I as running a slow/moderate speed down a rocky/rooty dirt path that I have driven thousands of times. I pressed the brakes and I got an immediate throbbing/pulsating sensation and the pedal went to the bottom of its stroke. The brakes still worked but the pedal went WAY further than normal and the brakes were "weaker" than normal. I troubleshot the brake issue on the remaining drive back to the shop and this behavior continued. Once back in the shop, I popped the hood and could see the master brake cylinder had fluid at the normal level. Upon unscrewing the cap, a bit of pressurized brake fluid burst out. I cleaned it all up and replaced the cap as I had to be somewhere in 30mins. I figured I'd address the issue when I was next out there.
The next time out there was a month later and that had given me time to consult the interwebs and delve into my years of experience with all kinds of brakes and I even found the master cylinder I would need to order if my suspicion of it as the culprit proved to be true. So I got out there last weekend, and the brake fluid was still within its normal limits between the two lines of the master cylinder so I had not lost enough fluid to be a detriment. I jacked up the rear and took off the rear wheels and everything with the brakes looked normal - still had good pads left, no fluid leaks, no anything out of the ordinary. So I fired it up and the brake pedal felt normal. I took it out for a spin and everything felt and operated like normal. I spent the rest of the weekend really being unkind to the brakes to put them under stress as a test. No issues!
So I am at a loss as to what happened? Is my master cylinder on its way out and I should expect to see this behavior again? I have gone thru every scenario I can imagine - what am I missing?
