Brakes question; 96 TXT

[Kingpaul]

Put on new shoes, are adjusted correctly, cable tension is right, but won't stop cart quickly enough. When I put on new shoes, I cleaned the drums very well with brake cleaner, and they are slick. A cart guy told me that I will need to use heavy grit sandpaper and rough up the drums. Is this correct?

Thanks!

[scottyb]

Roughing up braking surfaces does help increase friction between the shoes and drums.

[Kingpaul]

Thanks ScottyB. How much roughing do I need to do? Light or heavy?

[scottyb]

Whatever you do will polish smooth in a short while. I would go heavy.

[Kingpaul]

Thanks!

[chloe]

The instructions for adjusting the brakes say to adjust the compensator bolt, use the vehicle and hit the brakes hard several times. Readjust the compensator nut and repeat until the brakes do an adequate job. Have you driven it then taken the slack out of the cables again?

[yurtle]

If you haven't done so, go to the stickies and download the Owner's, Service, and Parts manuals. They have a whole chapter on brake maintenance/adjustment.

Links:

Owner's, Parts, and Service Manuals:
http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/elect...g-manuals.html

[Kingpaul]

Ok, here is the latest. Cart runs like it was launched form an aircraft carrier, but can't get it to stop! I tightened the cables, took off drums, adjusted the shoes as wide as I could and still get the drum back on; sanded the inside of the drum too. Brakes barely work. I noticed when I had the drum off, when I depressed the pedal, the shoes barely moved. Are they supposed to move a lot? That's all the info I can think of. Any guidance? Thanks.

[Gonkulor]

Originally Posted by chloe

The instructions for adjusting the brakes say to adjust the compensator bolt, use the vehicle and hit the brakes hard several times. Readjust the compensator nut and repeat until the brakes do an adequate job. Have you driven it then taken the slack out of the cables again?

King, the brakes may only need the brake adjuster set. I'm talking about that star head shaped screw in the brake assemblies. Once you clean those up and mess with new pads the adjuster needs to be reset. Usually you just stomp, yes stomp on the brake pedal up to 50 to 200 times to get it set. the manual tells you to drive backwards and do it. I think that is what your problem is. Unless you missed installing a spring or something of that nature.

[Kingpaul]

Thanks Gonkulor! I will try that this afternoon. Will stomping the brake while sitting still help, or do I need to go back and forth and stomp?