Brakes again?

[Sysop]

As long as you're aware ya could have arms like Olive to set the parking brake, it just catches where ever you push the pedal to. It is the pedal you need to be mashing on with all your might. At a buck-ninety yer just a li'l feller. You ain't going to be able to hurt it any, push like a sumo wrestler...

In all seriousness, it does sound like you have that covered. If the dealer can't get it adjusted I'd say someone drove too long with the parking brake well set and ruined the friction materials on the brakes. Perhaps the old dealer or someone they let operate the tractor.

I hope they get it sorted for you, they are a nice machine!

 

[George2615]

Thanks George. Much appreciated. Though I know you have a XR3037HC, your tractor is pretty much the same as mine. Just a few more HP's and the cab option, so that's why I wanted someone with some insight to help me out. IIRC, my tractor has just under 65 hours on it now. I really haven't had the opportunity to work it hard due to regular work, rain, or other commitments.

Hard to believe come July of this year I've already had it a year. Time flies whether you're having fun or not.

I said the same thing in February. Mine was a year old then. My tractor doesn't get worked hard either. I have the factory parts manual on CD for all models of LS (they are free online) and the service manual for the XR3000 series. If you have any questions I can help with just PM me.

 

[s219]

How could I possibly depress the brake pedals any more? I'm using all of my 190+ lbs to push against the brake pedals. Then, at the bottom (which has about a space of around 4 inches between the backside of the pedals and floorboard), I pull up on the parking brake as hard as I can.

We're talking former wrestler (real stuff) and former high level catamaran racer (22 years) here. I've been called "Popeye" because of my forearms before.

No, that IMHO isn't the answer.

You shouldn't need to pull up "hard" on the lever at all -- it's just a simple stop to hold the pedals down. So far, I haven't been getting the impression that is happening in your descriptions, whether it's your fault or the tractor's. It would really help to know if the brakes work when you press the pedals during normal use, then trace backwards to determine why they are not working when the parking brake lever is supposed to be holding the pedals down.

And as far as pressing the pedal, it's not only how hard you press them (shouldn't be abnormal) but that you press them down far enough for the parking lever to catch and hold them. As I said earlier, it's a pawl/ratchet type of arrangement. The pedals need to go down far enough so the pawl can engage the teeth on the pedal linkage. If that's not happening, it should be simple to figure out why.

 

[windcatcher]

Olive Oil arms? There are at least one or two in every peanut gallery.

Tractor was back home yesterday afternoon. It didn't appear to be in the same parking place, and some other things out of order. No note or anything. I drove it a little bit and parked it on the same areas of land
where I'm having a problem with the parking brakes.

Same problem. Stop tractor. Push down on both brake pedals until it can't be pushed on anymore. Pull up on hand brake lever until it stops. Either shut off engine or let it idle, and watch the tractor slowly move backwards.

I'll call the dealership owner again and see what's up. Less than 65 total hours so there IMHO is no way those brakes can be wore out.

George, did you get your LS hats you were asking me about? Let me know.

 

[George2615]

Olive Oil arms? There are at least one or two in every peanut gallery.

Tractor was back home yesterday afternoon. It didn't appear to be in the same parking place, and some other things out of order. No note or anything. I drove it a little bit and parked it on the same areas of land
where I'm having a problem with the parking brakes.

Same problem. Stop tractor. Push down on both brake pedals until it can't be pushed on anymore. Pull up on hand brake lever until it stops. Either shut off engine or let it idle, and watch the tractor slowly move backwards.

I'll call the dealership owner again and see what's up. Less than 65 total hours so there IMHO is no way those brakes can be wore out.

George, did you get your LS hats you were asking me about? Let me know.

I did get hats. In fact I ordered 2 hats, 2 coffee mugs, a coffee travel mug, an LS jacket, and a couple T-shirts from another dealer who is a member on this board..

 

[whis]

will your tractor roll if you keep your foot on the pedals? or only after you pull up the brake lever

 

[Gary Fowler]

Not sure how the park brake works on that model, but on most tractors, it's just a ratchet/pawl setup, where the brake lever locks the pedals down in whatever position you push them down into. On my Kubota, I can press lightly on the brake pedals and set the brake for flat areas. However, if on a hill, the tractor will roll slowly with that setting. So in those cases, I press harder on the brake pedals before locking the lever, and probably get another 1-2 notches down on the ratchet with the pawl. Then it does not move at all.

You mention pulling hard on the lever, but are you sure the lever is controlling the actual braking mechanism? If it's like many other tractors, the brake pedals do the braking and the parking brake lever just holds the pedals down.

I don't know how the tractor in question brake lever works, but on my P7010, it locks the brakes (has nothing to do with the pedals: there is no pedal lock like on some tractors that is used for parking). If I set the parking brake and forget to release it (red parking light warning is on ) it will stall my engine and not move the tractor.
The OP's parking brake should do the same thing. If the steering brakes are working properly, it could be just needing the cable adjusted a bit on the parking brake but I am not sure that the systems use the same brake mechanisms. The parking brake may use a completely different mechanism to lock the transmission.

 

[Gary Fowler]

TO the OP:l have you tried just pulling up on the parking brake lever without depressing the brakes. That is all I have to do with my P7010. It has no connection to the steering brakes. Parking brake lever is on the floor under the driver seat and just lightly pulling it up will lock the tractor down. Mine is gear model also so it may be different from your HST and your CUT may be totally different in function from my Utility size tractor.

Post edit: My Kubota B26 has a steering brake locking lever that works a pawl where you depress the brakes then push the lever down to lock the brakes in the down position. It actually only locks the left brake so the little toggle has to be moved to lock the pedals together if you want both brakes to lock. This seems to be what some of the owners are describing as their parking brake. Mine works also and will stall the tractor if you forget to release the brakes.

 

[windcatcher]

will your tractor roll if you keep your foot on the pedals? or only after you pull up the brake lever

If you're asking about having my foot on the brake pedals, I haven't tried that. Usually it will sit on level land just with the hydraulic system running. Again, most of my time working with this tractor has been stationary with the stabilizers out and I'm digging up tree stumps.

I haven't had the tractor in my possession with enough off work hours to see what else it will do. Plus, we have had extreme rainy weather or lots of snow/frozen ground. Not good situations to test a tractor out with.

 

[windcatcher]

" have you tried just pulling up on the parking brake lever without depressing the brakes."

I did that by mistake when I first received my tractor. That was before I had a chance to read the manual. Seems like back then the tractor stalled out when I accidentally hit the forward hydro pedal.

But, that's a been past my memory now. You know: CRS.

 

[whis]

if it stalled it that means the brake was working, does parking brake lock the pedals down, if it doesn't that would seem to me that parking brake is seperate of the tractor brake pedals. you said you haven't used it much you might need to read manual a little more (not trying to be smart butt)

 

[breadtrk]

will your tractor roll if you keep your foot on the pedals? or only after you pull up the brake lever

My 220 lbs won't make it hold on a grade, never has. Parking brake or not, it will roll unless I engage the bucket with the ground or plant whatever is on the 3 point. Almost a year old and 230 hrs. mine was brand new, I backed it out of the 18 wheeler the dealer got it on. I have never driven with the brake on, the Beeper would have made me insane if I had tried.

 

[whis]

My 220 lbs won't make it hold on a grade, never has. Parking brake or not, it will roll unless I engage the bucket with the ground or plant whatever is on the 3 point. Almost a year old and 230 hrs. mine was brand new, I backed it out of the 18 wheeler the dealer got it on. I have never driven with the brake on, the Beeper would have made me insane if I had tried.

I would make my dealer replace my brakes

 

[George2615]

Your tractor should hold on a grade with just the brakes alone. I just drove mine on my trailer, left it running, put the HST in neutral and pushed the brake pedals down, set the parking brake and got out and took the pics. That's at least a 10 degree angle.
It would even hold better if I did the above plus put it in 4wd, low range on HST and shut it off.
If yours won't hold on a grade like mine, your brakes need adjustment or brake discs need to be replaced. Since it's new it should all be covered under warranty.

 

[Underdog57]

Nice demonstration George....very well done......picture definitely worth a thousand words!!! :thumbsup:

 

[windcatcher]

Bit of an update: I was able to talk in person to both the new dealership owner, and his new in house tractor mechanic. They said they have adjusted the parking brake cables out to the end of the adjustment.

They tried the tractor on the slopes (if you can call them that), and it finally held on all but one that had a pretty good slope to it. This was all in reverse.

They have talked to LS and LS says that because I have the backhoe, it is putting more stress on the brakes than what it was designed for. You heard that right.

It was suggested that if I'm going to use the tractor where it needs to be parked on a greater slope than what the brakes can hold on, to put the out riggers down and set the back hoe bucket so it can't move backwards. :thumbdown:

Now, how's that for an explanation? No, there wasn't anything wrong with my operation of the tractor at all. It would still roll backwards with two different drivers when I was at work and couldn't possibly be driving.

Yeah, I'll get around to rereading the owner's manual during the Fall, but right now it's Spring and I need as much seat time I can get to get caught back up.

Question for you other tractor brand owners: Do you have a FEL & backhoe, and can you park your tractor on a slope with the backhoe facing down hill, pull up your parking brake and it hold in place?

Just wondering.

 

[s219]

Something isn't right. I can tell you that on the Kubota backhoe (which is heavier than a CUT with backhoe) I rented many years ago, the brakes held fine on a hill. But the parking brake is the same as the foot brake on Kubotas, so if the parking brake wouldn't have held then the foot brake wouldn't have held either, and that is an even bigger safety problem.

If I were you, I'd at least make sure the foot brake works on a hill. If it doesn't, you have a major safety issue.

 

[windcatcher]

My 220 lbs won't make it hold on a grade, never has. Parking brake or not, it will roll unless I engage the bucket with the ground or plant whatever is on the 3 point. Almost a year old and 230 hrs. mine was brand new, I backed it out of the 18 wheeler the dealer got it on. I have never driven with the brake on, the Beeper would have made me insane if I had tried.

Breadtrk, I see you have the backhoe too. Maybe there is something to the backhoe adding extra weight? I'm at a loss since I've never owned or worked a tractor like this before.

 

[windcatcher]

S219: I agree there appears to be a problem, but you know how smoke and mirrors can be. Unfortunately, I'm only able to mess with the tractor on the weekends. This past weekend didn't help at all due to the off and on again rains we had. We do need the rain, but I sure wish it would come during the week.

 

[jaydee325]

Have you talked to LS directly. From what has been said, I'm not real impressed by your dealer.

I find it hard to believe that LS would sell a tractor that does not have brakes enough for any configuration offered. It is a safety issue.

LS contact info is on their website.

S219: I agree there appears to be a problem, but you know how smoke and mirrors can be. Unfortunately, I'm only able to mess with the tractor on the weekends. This past weekend didn't help at all due to the off and on again rains we had. We do need the rain, but I sure wish it would come during the week.