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Thread: grove brake binding

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Nov 2014
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    Sebastian, FL
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    Default grove brake binding

    Hi guys,
    just started Phase 1 today - dragged it to the airport about a mile away with the tail wheel in my pickup truck bed. Got there and set up, taxied and tested for an hour. I noticed that some times it took extra power to get moving. Anyway I was towing it back home and noticed smoke coming out of my brake pads on the right wheel, so I stopped and let it cool down.
    Upon examination I found that the shoes fit somewhat tight on the rotors (both wheels) although not causing undue binding.
    However when the brake pedal is cocked at all into the braking position they bind firmly even with no other pressure applied to the pedal, but if you rotate the pedal away from compression the brakes seem ok.

    So my question is has anyone else seen this problem and what did you do to resolve it?
    Thanks in advance --- Karl Schuch

  2. #2
    Senior Member efwd's Avatar
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    Jun 2015
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    Yorba Linda, CA
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    Default Re: grove brake binding

    Have you got a Grove parking brake valve? I would make certain your valve is all the way open. If it is like mine, it only opens in the last 1/8 of its travel.
    Last edited by efwd; 03-23-2021 at 06:34 PM.
    Eddie Forward
    Flying
    SS7, 912iS, Garmin G3X

  3. #3
    Senior Member Delta Whisky's Avatar
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    Dec 2017
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    Amissville, VA
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    Default Re: grove brake binding

    Karl - I had a similar problem. I talked to Grove and they had me disassemble the brake calipers, clean everything and look for any burrs in the torque pin guides. Although they looked good, I also polished the pins a bit. He (Grove) also had me
    reassemble with lubricate or propeller grease on the torque pins. (Additionally, I used clamps to push the pads as far as I could into their cylinders. A veteran mechanic told me the theory is that the hysteresis of the o-rings helps to release the pads a bit.) Don't know which of the above actions was the one that solved the problem but at least one did.

    One additional comment: with the smoke you saw comes the possibility that new fluid and o-rings are in order. Good luck.

  4. #4
    Senior Member jrevens's Avatar
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    Default Re: grove brake binding

    Hi Karl,

    Is there possibly excessive friction in your pedal that the spring in the master cylinder can’t overcome? In other words, is the brake master cylinder not returning to full extension after the brake is applied and then released? It sounds like that’s what you’re describing.
    John Evens
    Arvada, CO
    Kitfox SS7 N27JE
    EAA Lifetime
    Chap. 43 honorary Lifetime

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Nov 2014
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    Sebastian, FL
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    38

    Default Re: grove brake binding

    Quote Originally Posted by jrevens View Post
    Hi Karl,

    Is there possibly excessive friction in your pedal that the spring in the master cylinder can’t overcome? In other words, is the brake master cylinder not returning to full extension after the brake is applied and then released? It sounds like that’s what you’re describing.

    Hi Jim ... bingo!
    It seems so easy once its pointed out to me...Yeah, I disconnected the brake cyl from the pedal and noted the stiffness was excessive. I returned to the assembly manual and it called for the pedal pivot bolt to be torqued to 20 - 25 in lbs - it seems that torque forced the pedal against the pedal tube rather than against the bearing --- so I filed a few thousandths off the pedal tube to make it shorter than the bearing. Now the pedal is pushing on the pedal bearing allowing it to rotate inside the tube... Problem solved!

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