Marathon brakes

[adam14611]

My 1994 marathon 36v has plenty of brake pedal.. but They’re not very effective..sometimes takes both feet ..I just installed new cables and cleaned the pad and wire wheeled the drums .. any ideas? Or do they just suck on the older ones? Thanks guys!


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[Newbuggyboy]

Here's a link

https://www.ezgogolfcartguide.com/re.../brake-system/

[Sir Nuke]

you only need to have them properly adjusted....if they are, you will be able lock them up at full speed.

[Cobra,1]

Agree with Sir Nuke “if” all adjustments are done in order step by step according to manual should be able to lock up wheels at speed.
Brakes are a system and all adjustments and pedal clearance , must be made in proper order to perform well.
You don’t have oversized wheels correct? If so that can effect braking.😊

[adam14611]

Doesn’t everyone have 22” tires?..lol
Ill do some reading on that link and see if that helps..thanks again


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[cgtech]

I have my own method, I learned it through the school of hard knocks. Works on new brakes, and old "still serviceable" brakes. It assumes the adjusters are clean & free, gummed up threads on the star-wheel adjuster will never work right. And if the lower portion of the brakes (where the adjustment portion lives) can't slide fore & aft easy, will never work, clean & lube more, Teflon spray is good for that, it won't drip down & pollute the pads later. Before you put the drum on is where it all starts. (After making sure above requirements were met, may require "first, disconnect brake cable" part to meet this, all steps are assuming brake pads were removed & installed as needed to meet first part, everything cleaned/lubed as needed). Next we get to the adjustment part. First, disconnect the brake cable from the back (Do Not Skip This Step), it really should have been done before you got to this point! Slide the drum on, does it just "fall into place"? If so, spin the star wheel adjuster out a little (spin it so it threads out a little) until the pads & drum are closer. That gets you "in the neighborhood" of where to start. If your drums have a hole that you can look through, even better, you can see when it's done. Then ratchet the lever on the back of the brakes again-&-again (with vice grips on the lever on the back) until they can ratchet no more easily without too much force. If your drums have hole you can look through, you can watch the lever work it's magic. Sometimes "wiggling" the vice grips will cause it to adjust several clicks more. Getting the brakes adjusted right at the wheel in the first place is the only hope you have for the "auto adjust" to work right later (just stomping the brake pedal repeatedly will never do it, I swear, it won't). Try to use even force on both sides. When you are done, you will be able to spin the drums, but with a smidge of resistance, that's fine, it'll even out within short driving (assuming your brakes are not totally trash to begin with). Next, after torquing the hub nuts if your doing ezgo brakes, is reconnecting the brake cables. You will find that the cables "aren't long enough", that's because they were out of adjustment when you started. Now you have to adjust at the brake pedal to allow you to get the cables hooked back up. Adjustment here can be considered "to taste", but do not adjust it so as too little pedal throw happens before braking begins. Pedal should move at bare minimum 1/4 of it's travel before any resistance or braking occurs (when pressing pedal by hand), or else brakes might drag once they get warm (this can possibly get tricky for the rookie, because the TXT pedal has a buffer spring that will allow you to push the pedal far beyond the initial brake application point, to allow for park brake to work). There are several possible pitfalls I can't forsee here, drums that are too worn out (can't be cut, don't ask, just get new), adjuster arm worn & can't spin star wheel, sticky brake cables, ect. Brake drums are probably only good for 2 sets of brakes, so, plan that drums might be a thing. Cheapo aftermarket drums might be good or bad, use at your own risk, I dont use them.

This is my method for all the "auto adjusting" brakes, Yamaha, ezgo, club car. They can all appreciate a good "clean & adjust". And if you wish your brakes worked better, start here.

[Newbuggyboy]

Originally Posted by cgtech

I have my own method, I learned it through the school of hard knocks. Works on new brakes, and old "still serviceable" brakes. It assumes the adjusters are clean & free, gummed up threads on the star-wheel adjuster will never work right. And if the lower portion of the brakes (where the adjustment portion lives) can't slide fore & aft easy, will never work, clean & lube more, Teflon spray is good for that, it won't drip down & pollute the pads later. Before you put the drum on is where it all starts. (After making sure above requirements were met, may require "first, disconnect brake cable" part to meet this, all steps are assuming brake pads were removed & installed as needed to meet first part, everything cleaned/lubed as needed). Next we get to the adjustment part. First, disconnect the brake cable from the back (Do Not Skip This Step), it really should have been done before you got to this point! Slide the drum on, does it just "fall into place"? If so, spin the star wheel adjuster out a little (spin it so it threads out a little) until the pads & drum are closer. That gets you "in the neighborhood" of where to start. If your drums have a hole that you can look through, even better, you can see when it's done. Then ratchet the lever on the back of the brakes again-&-again (with vice grips on the lever on the back) until they can ratchet no more easily without too much force. If your drums have hole you can look through, you can watch the lever work it's magic. Sometimes "wiggling" the vice grips will cause it to adjust several clicks more. Getting the brakes adjusted right at the wheel in the first place is the only hope you have for the "auto adjust" to work right later (just stomping the brake pedal repeatedly will never do it, I swear, it won't). Try to use even force on both sides. When you are done, you will be able to spin the drums, but with a smidge of resistance, that's fine, it'll even out within short driving (assuming your brakes are not totally trash to begin with). Next, after torquing the hub nuts if your doing ezgo brakes, is reconnecting the brake cables. You will find that the cables "aren't long enough", that's because they were out of adjustment when you started. Now you have to adjust at the brake pedal to allow you to get the cables hooked back up. Adjustment here can be considered "to taste", but do not adjust it so as too little pedal throw happens before braking begins. Pedal should move at bare minimum 1/4 of it's travel before any resistance or braking occurs (when pressing pedal by hand), or else brakes might drag once they get warm (this can possibly get tricky for the rookie, because the TXT pedal has a buffer spring that will allow you to push the pedal far beyond the initial brake application point, to allow for park brake to work). There are several possible pitfalls I can't forsee here, drums that are too worn out (can't be cut, don't ask, just get new), adjuster arm worn & can't spin star wheel, sticky brake cables, ect. Brake drums are probably only good for 2 sets of brakes, so, plan that drums might be a thing. Cheapo aftermarket drums might be good or bad, use at your own risk, I dont use them.

This is my method for all the "auto adjusting" brakes, Yamaha, ezgo, club car. They can all appreciate a good "clean & adjust". And if you wish your brakes worked better, start here.

Thanks this looks great.

As I reread that link it all looks good. But I know every time I try something off the paper it can be challenging. My shoes are just replaced and at some point I'll need to install the new cables. This will be my starting point.

[Sir Nuke]

Originally Posted by adam14611

Doesn’t everyone have 22” tires?..lol
Ill do some reading on that link and see if that helps..thanks again

Adam....even if properly adjusted, with good shoes, and everything working correctly.... I can lock mine up, and they are 23" tires....and do it at 25 mph....my brakes work GREAT! LOL

[Cobra,1]

CGTech, great write up.
Espeacially the step about removing cables and visually watching the adjuster
assemply operate 👍