frozen brakes

4x4kingx889 · December 9th, 2008, 06:44 PM

I went rideing on the brute yesterday and put my parking brake on and i went to release it and it would not release so i hade to screw around with the adjustments to get it to stop holding the brakes on and i just used foot brake rest of the day but it works again after being in the garage for 2 days but what can i do to prevent this?

NMKAWIERIDER · December 9th, 2008, 07:28 PM

Clearly there is water within the cable. Take it off, rig it so its straight up and take it loose down at the other end. Take a small funnel and place over the high end and down slightly over the cable and seal it with tape. Now, using a can of WD40, which originaly was designed to evacuate moisture, spray on the side of the funnel and let it partly fill. Now work the cable in and out working the WD through the cable. Do this until clean..or pretty clean WD finaly comes out the lower end. Water will come out first. When done use your regular cable grease and adaptor and re-grease the cable. Re-assemble.

If water is in one cable, probably in all.

Bummer, you must be in the north somewhere.

4x4kingx889 · December 9th, 2008, 09:14 PM

is there a way i can do it with out removeing the cable?

Adirondack Man · December 9th, 2008, 09:22 PM

Get a cable luber. You only have to remove the end at the brake lever and you can lube it. However, BF Freak's way will really get any moisture and dirt out of the cable housing...

NMKAWIERIDER · December 9th, 2008, 10:28 PM

The cable luber might get it though. Need to do it until it comes out the lower end...and clean though.

4x4kingx889 · December 10th, 2008, 12:29 AM

ill try it but after i do it what can i do to prevent it?

Adirondack Man · December 10th, 2008, 08:07 AM

Brake cables are like any other moving part on your machine. They require regular maintenance. You should lube them at least once a year. Best to do it in the fall to get ready for the real cold of the winter.

Thom · December 10th, 2008, 09:13 AM

OK i have a different angle on this. I live in Mass and the last couple of weeks have been cold. After the last two cleanings of the bike this has happenned to me. I found it was not the cable but the brake mechanism attached to the rear diff. I had some mud and stuff in their that froze. It caused the mechanism to bind. I ended up cleaning as much as I could with a small flat head screw driver. I then sprayed the area with WD 40 and let it soak. I played with the adjustment for the cable to loosen it up so I could manually move the mechanism to free it. it seemed to work. So far this has happenned two times. I know it was not the cable because after I loosened the adjustment nut the cable moved freely but the mechanism did not.

NMKAWIERIDER · December 10th, 2008, 10:37 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thom @ Dec 10 2008, 02:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Quote:

OK i have a different angle on this. I live in Mass and the last couple of weeks have been cold. After the last two cleanings of the bike this has happenned to me. I found it was not the cable but the brake mechanism attached to the rear diff. I had some mud and stuff in their that froze. It caused the mechanism to bind. I ended up cleaning as much as I could with a small flat head screw driver. I then sprayed the area with WD 40 and let it soak. I played with the adjustment for the cable to loosen it up so I could manually move the mechanism to free it. it seemed to work. So far this has happenned two times. I know it was not the cable because after I loosened the adjustment nut the cable moved freely but the mechanism did not.[/b]

I bought one of those cheap 1500lbs pressure washers from Lowe's and in winter, hook it to hot water, then I either leave the Brute in the shop to dry, or use my gas blower to speed-dry. So far so good. No freeze-ups.

Thom · December 10th, 2008, 11:20 AM

Good idea. I usually bring it to the local car wash and use the power washer there for a quick clean up. When ice fishing starts the bike gets a real good clean up, drop skids and all. Then the riding stops for a while as I concentrate on fishing.