Toro Groundsmaster 52 brake issue

[Volvoman]

Something has changed with the left brake on my Toro Groundsmaster 52. The brakes on these units is an essential component to be used when making very sharp turns, either left or right. So, I had begun to notice this issue last year, but didn’t get around to looking into it. This cutting season, I need to do something about it. The left brake now requires a LOT of pressure for the shoes to actually lock onto the brake drum when making those sharp turns. It never used to take much pressure on the brake pedal at all.

Today, I pulled the brake drum off to see if the shoes were needing adjustment due to wear. They required a small amount of adjustment, so did that expecting it would fix the problem. Gave it a test drive and found the adjustment did nothing more than raise the pedal point where the shoes began to contact the drum. The same excessive foot pressure was needed to finally get that left brake to do it’s job. As I said, it never was this way before. There isn’t much to this brake system, as it is purely mechanical.

The shoes don‘t really appear to have much wear to them, so I’m ruling that out as the cause. But, I have no past experience with brake shoes ever becoming glazed. Might this be the possible cause? Not sure what a glazed brake shoe even looks like, so I’m asking here in case anyone has had a similar brake issue, whether on a Groundsmaster or another mower/tractor with individual rear drum brakes. If glazing is the issue, is it best to simply replace the shoes, or is there a safe way to remove any glazing? When I say that I have to put a LOT of pressure on the brake pedal, I’m estimating more than a hundred pounds of foot pressure before the brakes actually lock for a pivot turn. When this brake is working as it should, the pressure required to perform a pivot turn using the brake is maybe ten pounds or less.

Any thoughts?

VVM

 

[Kmicah40]

Something has changed with the left brake on my Toro Groundsmaster 52. The brakes on these units is an essential component to be used when making very sharp turns, either left or right. So, I had begun to notice this issue last year, but didn’t get around to looking into it. This cutting season, I need to do something about it. The left brake now requires a LOT of pressure for the shoes to actually lock onto the brake drum when making those sharp turns. It never used to take much pressure on the brake pedal at all.

Today, I pulled the brake drum off to see if the shoes were needing adjustment due to wear. They required a small amount of adjustment, so did that expecting it would fix the problem. Gave it a test drive and found the adjustment did nothing more than raise the pedal point where the shoes began to contact the drum. The same excessive foot pressure was needed to finally get that left brake to do it’s job. As I said, it never was this way before. There isn’t much to this brake system, as it is purely mechanical.

The shoes don‘t really appear to have much wear to them, so I’m ruling that out as the cause. But, I have no past experience with brake shoes ever becoming glazed. Might this be the possible cause? Not sure what a glazed brake shoe even looks like, so I’m asking here in case anyone has had a similar brake issue, whether on a Groundsmaster or another mower/tractor with individual rear drum brakes. If glazing is the issue, is it best to simply replace the shoes, or is there a safe way to remove any glazing? When I say that I have to put a LOT of pressure on the brake pedal, I’m estimating more than a hundred pounds of foot pressure before the brakes actually lock for a pivot turn. When this brake is working as it should, the pressure required to perform a pivot turn using the brake is maybe ten pounds or less.

Any thoughts?

VVM

Sounds like you might be having problem with braking pedal mechanism. I’m assuming you have a rod connection between the brake pedal and the brakes. May want to check the shaft brake pedal rotates on. Mine mower has grease fittings to keep the pedal lubricated.

 

[Volvoman]

Ruled that possibility out first. The 52 uses a heavy-weight sheathed cable to connect the bottom of the brake pedal to the brake shoe lever. A spring returns the pedal to it’s normal position when not being depressed. All of this is currently working fine, with the linkage cable having been replaced about 3 years ago due to the u bracket on the pedal end breaking off. The original cable was in place for nearly 40 years, so not worried about the replacement yet. It’s always shedded when not in use, so never really seen rain in its lifetime, I having been the owner since new back in 1981.

At this point, the shoe being possibly glazed is my top suspect as to what is causing this. The shoe does contact the inside of the drum when the pedal is depressed, but it doesn’t do what is supposed to do, that being to quickly slow down/stop the rotating drum unless I jamb the pedal with LOTS of pressure.

 

[Richard001]

Did you take any photos of the brake shoes when you had the drum off ?

Some photos would go a long way in helping us determine the problem.

 

[Volvoman]

Good suggestion. No, no photos taken when I had it apart. Will take some when I pull it apart again in the next couple of days after mowing a couple of acres with the GM. My gut tells me the drum needs to be turned, then new shoes installed. Sanding the existing shoes may help some, too, and may give that a try before buying new ones. As said, the linkage is working fine. It’s the mating brake surfaces that aren’t doing much when operated normally, i.e. they aren’t braking. The left brake, the one in question here, is used far, far more often than the right brake, as it is the side that hugs trees, poles, shrubs, etc. The right brake, not used much at all due to it’s location of being on the grass ejecting side of the deck, is working perfectly.