Brake Adjustment

[TracThor]

G'day all, I'm a newbie here, and to tractors in general.

I'm into the brakes on a Carraro, first time I'm doing this job, and to me the lining looks fine:



What is the correct way to adjust from here? I did check for a general brake adjustment article somewhere but couldn't find one, so guidance would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

TracThor

 

[LouNY]

Is there a slot in the backing plate behind that star wheel?
Rotate the star wheel to see which way pushes the adjusters out, put the drums on the transmissions in neutral so the drum can be rotated, adjust the star wheel till the brakes just drag apply the brakes a few times check the adjustment to make sure its still dragging a bit and then back it off about 5 clicks do them all the same and you should be good.
Oh yes go pick up a couple of brake spoons to rotate the star wheel with and the left and right sides will quite likely rotate in opposite directions to adjust out.

 

[TracThor]

Thanks Lou. I ended up doing pretty much that - rotated the star wheel/pinion to just shy of grabbing with no pedal pressure. I'll refit the wheels after a lunch break and see how it all goes - they're full of water and heavy as buggery so will no doubt involve a bit of swearing.

 

[TracThor]

For the record, there's about 1500 hours on the tractor and it looks like nobody's ever been inside the hubs before...

 

[TracThor]

OK - from here I think I have the internals adjusted just about so, next question...is the weight of the brake pedals supposed to cause the brakes to drag every so slightly, or am I missing a retention spring or something somewhere to hold the pedals up while the brakes aren't applied?

 

[TracThor]

Oh, and should the springs and cam get a little grease while the hubs open?

 

[TracThor]

Well, any answers to the above couple of questions will be much appreciated - but for the moment, she brakes like a new one. We're in hilly territory here, and all tests passed this afternoon. Happy days!

 

[LouNY]

Personally I use never seize on the adjuster threads, I disassemble them lube minimally and reinstall. As far as a spring most equipment has a spring to return the pedal but not all.

 

[Texasmark]

Don't worry about the adjuster turning.

I too lubricate the threads when doing the brakes. I also apply high temp (red #2) grease to the backing plane on the places where the shoe contacts the backing plate...helps the springs get the shoes back where they were before you applied pedal pressure.

The pedals should have a grease zerk to ensure that they move freely on the supporting shaft.

Return springs are there under the foot rest plate to ensure that the pedals return to the proper height. At 1500 hrs I'd doubt they were "sprung" and sagging.....more like binding due to need for lube somewhere.

On adjusting , one side goes in and the other side goes out on the "brake spoon" (aka large screwdriver when you don't have one) to tighten or loosen....you'll get the hang of it. I mark my fenders with a felt pen on which side goes which way to tighten.

On working alone and getting the tires back on, I set the height of the tractor so that the tire is about an inch off the ground initially. I then use a 2"x4" piece of wood as a fulcrum just out from the side of the tire and a "crow" (wrecking) bar to get leverage in moving the tire off and on. To rotate the tire to line up the holes, just move the bar to the front or rear of the tire to lift and it will spin the tire to line things up.