1996 MAX II Parking Brake issue

[hipowerone]

I have a 1996 MAX II. I bought this used about 1 year ago, and I have slowly been going through it doing repairs/maintenance. The engine/clutch/T20/chains/bearings/wheels/tires are now all working well.

The parking brake functions but does not hold on the slightest grade. I have been in contact with a couple of dealers looking for more info on this but so far have come up empty.

I have heard that the "cable" should be 23.75" long when in tightest adjustment. Mine is somewhat shorter than that, I want to say about 22.5" to 22.75"...it is hard to measure, and it only adjusts out to maybe 1" longer. I will pull again and verify but want to get some input from someone in the know. The brake pads appear to have plenty of wear left. I have not measured them, but if I were to guess they are 3/16" or more thick, each. The brake cable guide appears to be okay as well, but without more input, hard to say.

I suspect a previous owner did some maintenance on it and maybe reversed something during reassembly, but without something to compare to, that is hard to determine.

Does anyone have photos of what the parking brake assembly (cable, guide, brake assembly/rotor/everything) should look like when in correct assembly/adjustment? Is there a youtube video on repair/maintenance of the parking brake?

Any and all help greatly appreciated

[Mike]

Look in the How-To section in the Max II Bearing Replacement article. There are several photos that show the parts and pieces of the parking brake assembly. There are multiple pages to the article so be sure to look through them all if you don't see what you are looking for. The video on that article may also show what you are looking for.

[hipowerone]

These photos are 5 of the photos that I took. I will add 3 more, all showing the Parking brake as it currently is. The Short brake cable in the maximum adjustment (IMG_0281a) , the "nut" is permanently attached to the left side screw, and when the hex right side is fully extended, there is only a little more than 1" of screw to work with.

Also note in IMG_0278a and IMG_0280a, the position of the "cam lever" and that the circular cut out faces to the rear.

I had measured the parking brake cable once before, and if I remember right, the best I could come up with was about 22.5" or 22.75" long.

[hipowerone]

Images IMG_0282a and IMG_0283a both show brake pad thickness, and IMG_0285a shows the CAM Lever circular cut out a bit better.

It almost seems to me, that the way the cam levers are installed, they might be backwards, as they do not seem to create much pressure on the calliper assembly.

With the cable removed, and moving the cam lever to the rear, it seems that much more pressure is exerted on the calliper assembly.

I suspect, if a longer cable were used, the callipers could be used on reverse sides of the MAX the brakes might work better.

Any thoughts?

[liflod]

This is what a brand new one looks like from the MuddOx website.

[john swenson]

hey hipower, looks like your cable is probably stretched out if you have adjusted the turnbuckle all the way. the brake pads look good from what i can tell. if you don't want to buy new cable, let the turnbuckle back out all the way. pull the cables slack out of the piece that pins to the brake lever arm and either crimp a new cable ferrel on the cables so they are shorter. or use a small cable clamp. may be easier to mark the cable first, then undo the cotter pin and pin to get that piece off the brake lever to make it easier to get a ferrel or clamp on the cable. cut off excess cable. hope this helps, johnboy va.

[john swenson]

after looking at the photo of the new max just posted, it looks like your levers are angled towards the front pretty far and taking up the cable won't work. either the end of the brake arm that pushes against the metal shoe piece is worn down, or the pads are worn , although they don't look that way. j.b.

[ARGOJIM]

Look at Lance's picture and then yours again. I'd suspect they are wore out just like mine, looking at the left side of the left side you can see the pad wore over the rotor, try removing the caliper set and then the pad set and look at them on a bench.

Oops, that would be the right side, however you can see wear in the left side aswell and may be as bad.

[hipowerone]

Hi guys,

Many thanks for all the input.

I went to the MAX ATV site (Mudd-Ox) technical page and found another photo, attached. From it I am convinced that the cam levers are installed incorrectly. To correct, I will have to remove and swap the callipers. This will put the calliper cam levers in a position to angle back to the rear of the unit. I will also have to purchase a new brake cable that is the recommended 23.75" length when fully taken up. Once that is done, with the cable let out, I believe that cable will fit and remedy my problem.

I recommend to anyone thinking of purchasing a used unit, to go through it with a fine tooth comb. I thought I had done that with this machine, but I had missed this one completely. The seller had originally advertised the unit as having been to a dealer recently and had a clean bill of health. However, when I went to look at it and did a test ride, I found several issues that needed to be dealt with to bring it up to a clean bill of health. The engine ran roughly and at times quit and would not restart with out tinkering with the carb. In the end the carb required removal and a heavy cleaning. The throttle cable was worn and near broken. The choke cable was not working. The exhaust flex pipe and muffler were rusted and falling apart, issues that would have prevented riding on any state or national forest trails. The tires were extremely weather checked and did not hold air and there were several lug nuts missing. There were other minor issues as well, including there were not drain plugs. After having done considerable research on what machines were priced at and conditions, I convinced the seller that he was asking way more for the machine than its value. He finally relented and discounted the machine. I have since spent on parts alone about $100 more than what he discounted. With a new brake cable, I will be adding a chunk more. Regardless, when I am finished, I will have a decent machine, and at a price well below a new one. The MAX II is a decent machine, and is a blast to use. I can envision only two possible long term upgrades. One is possibly adding tracks for improved use during the winter in heavy snow. The other is to upgrade from the 14HP engine currently installed.

Once again, thanks for all the input. I will advise how this all comes out.

[hipowerone]

Hi guys....
I am back in business!
As I had said earlier, I suspected the cable was too short and that the callipers had been reversed. Those were both the issue. After talking with the fine folks at MAX6x6, I ordered a replacement MAX II parking brake cable 70112 from WWW.MAX6x6.COM. That came in this afternoons mail. It was a quick job to remove the old cable, swap the callipers, and install the new cable. My parking brake now works like a charm. I will post a couple pics just as soon as I get a chance to take some and reduce the image size to make uploads faster. Thanks again for any and all help from forum members.

IMG_0285B shows the right calliper as it looked prior to changing. Notice the semicircular cut (1) and the rounded edge (2) on the calliper lever, and how the lever cants to the front of the machine. The circular cut appears to be there to allow the lever more room when pulled, and the rounded edge is there to make pulling the lever easier. When reversed and new cable installed, it looks as in IMG 289A. Notice the levers now cant to the rear of the machine. In IMG_0286a you can see what I was dealing with in the old cable next to the new cable.