Brake problems

[Laird]

05 Bigfoot. New pads. new dot 5 fluid, bled out. The left side brakes with a light touch, the right side doesn't want to brake except with brute force and an actual jerk on the handle bars to get it to lock up. Jack up the right side and the brake needs a light touch to lock up the right side. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[john swenson]

i don't know alot about argos ...my neighbor had a friend of his older argo at his house to play with and one side seemed hard to turn unless you pulled hard . after checking the brakes , found that someone had put the brake pad backwards .. the metal side was rubbing the disc . just a thought , good luck . jboy va

[Laird]

Thanks for the reply. Pads installed correctly. Happened after I pulled the tranny and installed new chains. Cleaned everything down with brake clean. I guess I will try to bleed them again if not try to rebuild the master for that side. If that doesn't work try the caliper. If not that .......(sigh).

[john swenson]

that's the ticket ..keep at it , you'll figure it out . i'm surprised knowone else has chimed in . yet there is'nt as much interest in this site as there use to be. jboy va

[msafi65]

Pop the boots off the master cylinders and make sure the pistons aren’t to deep. I adjust to just below flush. If the levers stop evenly with out a lot of movement idd bet on stuck piston in caliper. The usually drag and get real hot then. Good luck

[Laird]

Switched hoses on the calipers and came to the conclusion it was the master. Took it apart and could see where the seal was worn. Had to be some debris of some sort. The only place I could get a seal was from the Argo dealer. $46 for a cup seal , 'o' ring and a boot, which I don't need but it comes in a kit. Did some digging and found a cup seal that is the right size and compatible with the Dot 5 brake fluid for about $6. Will see how that works. Getting them thru a local place that rebuilds hydraulic cylinders. They are supplied By Hercules Seals. They only used these particular master cylinders for 2 years so the price is terrible.

[trevorakm1]

keep us posted if it works and then the parts info if it works. $40 discount, I'm sure many would be interested n that info.

[Laird]

The cup seal definatly worked fine. Hercules pt no. HRU12-0.50-12. It is a US-80NBR(80a Buna-n rubber compound)-1/2x3/4x1/8. $5 bucks for the pair-got two just in case. Because I am using dot 5 brake fluid, which is a silicon base instead of petrolium base, there is no reason for the cup material to break down. But that wasn't the problem. The brake rotor had a oily film on it along with the brake pads, which I thought I had cleaned really well. Used pretty much a can of brakeclean, steel wool. emery cloth, rags and elbow grease to clean the rotor and pads. Works good now. Side note: bought the machine with 242 hrs on it last Jan. Now has 248 hrs on it. I have probably spent 25 hrs fixing the dang thing. Haha. Good thing I like fixing it more than riding it.

[trevorakm1]

awesome and thanks for the update. this site's community gor small but still gets new members that need advice. I know I appreciated help from this site while going through my argo.

[john swenson]

good job laird ..... i don't mind working on my max 2 highboy since all the bearing , axles , chains and sprockets are not down in the tub . motor and primary chains are fairly easy to get to . glad your up and running . i do miss all the members visiting and sharing on here . just fun to learn , etc. jboy va

[Laird]

It seems that a lot of people don't know what they are getting into buying an amphibious machine. They are GENNERALY high maintenance equipment. with the price of parts and high labour costs , you have to think out of the box, search out alternative sources for parts. Most of the machines use generic size bearings and seals. Do your research and you can find cheaper but good quality parts.

[john swenson]

that's the main reason i modified my max 2 so most all of the drive system is easy to get to and the bearings and chains, axles are all off the shelf parts . jboy

[North Country Tough]

The cup seal definatly worked fine. Hercules pt no. HRU12-0.50-12. It is a US-80NBR(80a Buna-n rubber compound)-1/2x3/4x1/8. $5 bucks for the pair-got two just in case. Because I am using dot 5 brake fluid, which is a silicon base instead of petrolium base, there is no reason for the cup material to break down. But that wasn't the problem. The brake rotor had a oily film on it along with the brake pads, which I thought I had cleaned really well. Used pretty much a can of brakeclean, steel wool. emery cloth, rags and elbow grease to clean the rotor and pads. Works good now. Side note: bought the machine with 242 hrs on it last Jan. Now has 248 hrs on it. I have probably spent 25 hrs fixing the dang thing. Haha. Good thing I like fixing it more than riding it.

Good to hear u still have perseverance Laird since my last fall ish rebuild I have 350 hrs