MF202 brake problem

[Caryc]

Having a big problem with my MF202 brakes, as in, they don't work. I just put in new brake shoes and new drums and they still don't work for crap. When I step on the pedals, the actual brake shaft only moves like about 5 degrees. The pedal feels like it is engaging the brake but they won't hold it on a slight hill. I took pictures of the left and right springs as you can see. What exactly do those springs do? To me they just look like they are worn from age and use. There is not much to compress. On the left brake I took a picture of the spring with my nephew holding down the pedal and you see the spring compressed. Right one is the same way. If I stand up and put all my weight on the pedals I can get the pedal all the way to the floor. It's just like they are not turning that brake shaft enough for the brakes to work.

I need help, I'm getting scared to drive this thing. I almost ran over my nephews dog today. He just laid in front of my tractor and wouldn't move. I couldn't slam down the FEL because it would have hit the dog anyway.

 

[Dieseltech]

How TIGHT did you set the internal adjustment? Dealer I used to work for taught me to set them to almost drag, then ride the brakes to help burn them in, then tighten them again if needed. If set too loose those brakes never work well. Another trick is to swap the brake shafts side to side while the brakes are apart, this puts the unworn end area into contact with the brake shoe ends. There must be NO oil or grease on shoes and drums too.

 

[Caryc]

How TIGHT did you set the internal adjustment? Dealer I used to work for taught me to set them to almost drag, then ride the brakes to help burn them in, then tighten them again if needed. If set too loose those brakes never work well. Another trick is to swap the brake shafts side to side while the brakes are apart, this puts the unworn end area into contact with the brake shoe ends. There must be NO oil or grease on shoes and drums too.

I did the break in thing. I set them tight then backed off a couple turn so the wheels would turn. I had the rear end up on blocks so I had it about half throttle and rode the pedal with my foot until the hubs got too hot to touch. That's what the owners manual says to do. I did each wheel that way.

I'm trying to figure out the function of those springs in the pictures. What exactly do they do? Are the coils supposed to be so tight to each other? Looks like it doesn't give the springs any kind of play. They are almost compressed now. Of course there are no springs in the brake linkage on my 8N. So, what do they do?

 

[Dieseltech]

I did the break in thing. I set them tight then backed off a couple turn so the wheels would turn. I had the rear end up on blocks so I had it about half throttle and rode the pedal with my foot until the hubs got too hot to touch. That's what the owners manual says to do. I did each wheel that way.

I'm trying to figure out the function of those springs in the pictures. What exactly do they do? Are the coils supposed to be so tight to each other? Looks like it doesn't give the springs any kind of play. They are almost compressed now. Of course there are no springs in the brake linkage on my 8N. So, what do they do?

You could replace those spring/rods assembly, or disable those springs. Later tractors did NOT use those anyway. Try bottoming out those rod springs, then make a spacer to keep the springs compressed at all times and see if that helps the brakes work better.

 

[brooktre]

The service manual mentions to verify that there is no grease or oil inside the brake drum when reassembling. I would readjust the brakes per the service and owners manuals. If you still have weak brakes, you may want to pull the drums to verify that there is no grease or oil contamination.

FYI, my service manual says to refer to the specific tractor for adjustment procedure. It also includes a general an “Adjustment Outline” which says “In most instances the linkage rods must be adjusted to bring the pedals up against their stops. Then turn the brake adjustment screw to provide 1 inch of brake pedal travel”. That instruction is not in my owners manual.

For the springs, the owners manual calls those “equalizing springs”. If the brakes are adjusted properly, I would think that the springs should work as designed.

 

[Dieseltech]

The service manual mentions to verify that there is no grease or oil inside the brake drum when reassembling. I would readjust the brakes per the service and owners manuals. If you still have weak brakes, you may want to pull the drums to verify that there is no grease or oil contamination.

FYI, my service manual says to refer to the specific tractor for adjustment procedure. It also includes a general an “Adjustment Outline” which says “In most instances the linkage rods must be adjusted to bring the pedals up against their stops. Then turn the brake adjustment screw to provide 1 inch of brake pedal travel”. That instruction is not in my owners manual.

For the springs, the owners manual calls those “equalizing springs”. If the brakes are adjusted properly, I would think that the springs should work as designed.

My TO-35 and later MF35 do not have those rod/spring assemblies. As an OLD MF mechanic I've seen tractors with them, and SOMETIMES dealer I worked for would have owner brake complaints on tractors that had the rod/springs, as they limit how much actual tension is applied to the brake when pedal is pressed down hard to the floor. My tractors will both slide the rear wheels if I want too.

 

[Caryc]

My TO-35 and later MF35 do not have those rod/spring assemblies. As an OLD MF mechanic I've seen tractors with them, and SOMETIMES dealer I worked for would have owner brake complaints on tractors that had the rod/springs, as they limit how much actual tension is applied to the brake when pedal is pressed down hard to the floor. My tractors will both slide the rear wheels if I want too.

Trouble is that i can only actually press those pedals to the floor if I stand up and use all my weight to do it. I can't very well do that while holding the clutch down and trying to stand up. It's not like in a car where you can apply all the pressure you want by using the seat back for leverage and pushing the pedal in a forward motion.

Someone suggested to stick something in the space as you see in one of my pictures to keep the springs compressed. I haven't tried that yet, to cold outside. Think that might help.

 

[Caryc]

Solution----

I used dieseltechs suggestion and I now have brakes that work well enough that I'm not scared to drive this thing now. I had my nephew get up and push those pedals all the way down. This compressed the springs as you see in my third picture down. I stuck a bolt in the space as you see in that picture on each side. This keepd the springs compressed. I guess those springs have just lost their tension factor or springyness as one might think over time and were just not doing what they were intended to do. As you can see in the pictures, there is not a whole lot of difference between the space between the coils in one picture and the space between them in the "spring compressed" picture. When I put those spacers in there, I had to readjust the shoes on both sides. I had to tighten them up quite a bit. But I guess it wasn't really that much since one can only move that star wheel like an eighth of a turn at each crank. All I know is that they now work. Thank you Dieseltech.

 

[brooktre]

Thanks for the update. Adjusting the brakes is on my list of things to do. I have a MF 202 with a loader and a backhoe. With just the loader on, the brakes are OK, but seem like they could be better. When both the loader and backhoe are on my 202 I really have to stand on them to stop with the extra weight. So I'm sure that I'd benefit if I could improve the braking.

 

[Dieseltech]

Glad the brakes are better now, the Flintstone brakes are not my favorite!

 

[Caryc]

Glad the brakes are better now, the Flintstone brakes are not my favorite!

Yeah, I know what you mean. Especially when you have to push the pedals straight down. Hard to get good leverage on them unless you stand up. That was a case of very bad engineering.

 

[Caryc]

Just thought I'd show a picture of the finished thing. If I remember right, that's a 5/8" bolt. The one on the other side is like one size smaller. Just use the biggest bolt that will fit in each one.