Hydralic brake lock

Anonymous-0 · Aug 20, 2008

Have a Steiger Bearcat and the parking brake has been taken off. I am wanting to fabricate a lock on the foot hydralic brake. Will this work or will the cylinder leak. It would be used only for a short time, like when we hook up to an implement. Although we might use it to lock the tractor in place while using a 3 pt backhoe. It would work like the hydralic locks like on the grain trucks. Good, bad or ugly idea.

John T · Aug 20, 2008

Unless its a slow leaker, the wheel cylinders dont normally bleed off if you sit there with the pedal hard depressed so I dont envision them bleeding off if the pedal was locked down a short while. If I was concerned with any minor slow bleed off Id use some sort of a spring loaded hold down so if the pedal goes down a tiny bit the spring will still be applying brake pressure.

John T NOT any brake or hydraulic brake expert so take this for a lay opinion

Mathias NY · Aug 20, 2008

I guess the question to ask yourself is what happens when the lock fails? If a failure means that you have to get back on the tractor and move it an inch, you are probably fine. If the tractor rolls over someone, the lock was probably a bad idea.

Can a mechanical parking brake be fabricated as easily as the hydraulic lock? If one exisited originally, it would seem to be the better way to go.

IH2444 · Aug 20, 2008

Around 90 model subaru's had a hydraulic brake lock on them. it is a little stand alone thing called hill holder. Maybe you can get one of those from a junk yard ? They worked well, if you press the brake whhile the clutch is down it locked the brakes and raising the clutch released the hydraulic valve/lock.

this device went between the master cylinder and the wheel brakes.

the release cable for it could be connected to a lever or something for release.

Bob M · Aug 20, 2008

I agree with Mathias. If there is personal injury potential should an add-on hydraulic brake lock slip or fail I’d spend the money to get the OEM parking brake working again.

That said and if your Bearcat has hydraulically actuated brakes, a Mico brake lock (link below) should work. Good chance the brake locks you saw on the grain trucks were by Mico BTW...

I’d be hesitant to make a brake pedal hold down device for a parking brake for a couple reasons: 1 – If the brakes work like on many modern tractors (also my F250 diesel) when the engine stops it takes a LOT more pedal effort to get any braking effect at all once pressure is gone out of the brake accumulator. 2 – If the engine is shut down with the brakes applied, braking effort pretty much disappears even though the pedal is depressed.
Mico brake lock

dieselpaul · Aug 20, 2008

you need mico brake-lok. even so, the installation instructions has cautions all over it-- to be used with factory parking brake--have seen many installed on the old c/50 gm trucks-rear wheels only] where the original park brake didn't work at all.drivers would set mico, than put out wheel chocks,stay set for days if brake system was ok.(here is the big IF.}-I have had to go out & release some of these things by bleeding--usually driver pushed brake pedal too hard, or brake fluid temp came up from truck running.-paul

Mike M · Aug 20, 2008

Tow trucks use them all the time. You may be able to get one from Summit Racing . com

Anonymous-0 · Aug 21, 2008

Assuming the original parking brake was mechanical, I would seriously consider replacing it. Think of it as an EMERGENCY brake, not a a parking brake. Two of my older tractors have only a transmission park and no emergency brake (by design) and if I had a way to retrofit them with a mechanical brake, I would do it. Take it from a guy who's been rolling downhill backwards, in neutral, in a stalled tractor that is equipped with only hydraulic brakes.

Hydralic brake lock

Anonymous-0

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John T

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Mathias NY

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IH2444

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Bob M

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dieselpaul

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Mike M

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Anonymous-0

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