Max II parking brake?

[Adondo]

My Max II doesn't have a parking brake. Did that come later? It's mentioned in a downloaded manual from Max's website. It seems kind of nutty to not have an alternate braking system for something that becomes an unguided missile if it ever jumps into neutral on a hill.

And, what happens if you're headed downhill, get into trouble and have to back up? Try to one-handedly grab a rock to throw under a tire while holding back both levers with the other so you can switch into reverse? Of course if you have a buddy, you just have him hopefully hold it from zooming away to your death on the rocks below.

Is there easy some way to retrofit a parking brake?

On a semi-related subject, the guy I bought it from rebuilt the T20 and decided to not reinstall the steering lever springs. He said it's a PITA to always pull against the heavy springs for turns, and I think I like it that way too. It makes "feathering" the steering easy when running fast. But, I'm wondering if...

A) Should I add springs because if I don't hold the levers forward hard enough it'll wear out the band(s)? It doesn't take much effort to hold them forward, but still...

B) I'm guessing when it's in reverse, the springs pulling the levers forward act like a parking brake of sorts? (Since they work backwards while in reverse)

[Mike]

Not having the springs is fine and it won't damage your transmission. The springs do act like a parking brake in reverse. The factory Max II parking brake is on the front axles but I'm not sure when those were first introduced. If you are going downhill and have to back up, once you get some experience shifting, you can quickly let go of the brakes and shift at the same time. The safer way though is to turn the machine sideways so it won't roll and then shift.

[ARGOJIM]

All Max2's I've seen have parking brakes, either band/ drum or disc. This depend on mfg yr. . Some on here should have used parts for you if needed, you'll need to know pinned or splined axle.
There should be a rod across the front on the older machines which would actuate the bands.

Look in the Max gallery and should find some pics of both setups.

[budzinsk]

Hi! On my max, twice I did not have the transmission fully in gear (the forward/reverse stick). I got 200 yards down the path and it popped out of gear into neutral. When that happens, you loose complete control of the max... You cannot steer or brake with the sticks. I was able to use the emergency brake to come to a stop, it was almost disastrous both times... Mine was missing some of the brake parts when I started restoring it, but I am glad I tracked the parts down and have functioning brakes...

[thebuggyman1]

If the non-synchronized gears do not mesh fully that can happen. It could be because of a sloppy or poorly adjusted shifting mechanism. Another good reason to split the shifter.
If it is split and becomes out of adjustment, it will only affect one side.

[Adondo]

The Max was in my truck while it rained, then I unloaded it and drove it into the shop. There was water in the tub, but it was late and I left it there. So... last night, I decided to just run it outside before pulling the plugs instead of finding a drain pan or whatever. She suddenly only had one side working, I couldn't go straight.

Pulled the front floorpan/seat up and saw the hairpin had popped out and one shift rod dropped from the shift linkage. (Oh, thank God!!) I'd thought, "Great, owned it for a lousy week, and already a major failure." Easy fix though, but I used a cotter pin instead, so no more popping out. I'll probably do the other rod the same way.

I gotta do some maintenance things anyway, such as clean that gummed up carb so it idles without stalling. At least the more I run it, the less it smells like bad gas. I'll pull the floor pan all the way out so I can do an "exploratory" to see just what's in there and how does it work.

Maybe there's a brake setup there I haven't seen or figured out yet. The alternative is a piece of rope and an anchor to throw out in in case of an emergency. Actually, forget the anchor, I'll just keep a set of welding leads on the cargo tray, throw them out and they're bound to get tangled up on SOMETHING! Welding leads can double as a parachute too, they'll grab something on the way down from the airplane!!