2006 CC Precedent Brakes Locking/Dragging

[meimk]

Success! Congratulations on seeing it through. Glad the original problem turned out to be a simple fix.
Regarding my "side note": those are DS pedals, not Precedent. Doesn't really matter to this since the rear axle you were working with isn't original to either, but other things about the cart could be different.

[RNajarian]

. . . and my best research leads me to believe these brakes aren’t from a Club Car Precedent either.

Likely an Ez-Go with Mintex brand keyed brake drum.

The bolt that fell inside the drum wasn’t nearly as chewed up as I thought it would be. In fact the damage is so minimal I’m likely going to reuse it.

[RNajarian]

. . . Sorry Melex brakes from an Ez-Go

[RNajarian]

CORRECTION: I hate to misinform people. The likely manufacturer of the brake system is BENDIX. My research reveals the parts shown in the photo of the hardware kit below fits the following gas and electric models:

Club Car 2000.5-Up
EZGO TXT 1997-up
Yamaha G14/G16/G19/G20/G21/G22

Replaces OEM numbers:

1018163-01
27944-G1
JG5-F819G-00

I’m anxious to get on the road again. I hope my banging on the drum didn’t damage anything.

[meimk]

True the shoes & springs are common to the "big three". It's your axle shafts & drums / hubs that confused things.

[CCNorth]

^^^^ x2^^^^

Hate to say this but I'm not sure that bolt falling into the hub caused your problem. As you said, it's not damaged. I see only a couple of flattered threads and could be why the nut worked off. The shoes don't appear to be damaged nor do the springs or adjuster.
Definitely remove and check the brake adjuster. Lube per the manual.

Also, check the axle tube bolts to be sure they are secure but not over tightened.

I just hate for you to order those parts and install just to find you still have a problems with the brakes.

Nothing that I see answers the question you had in post #14 about where the metal shavings came from. Did you inspect that wheel spacer??

Did you ever find the serial number on the cart?? Look under the passenger side glove box

[RNajarian]

Sigh. . . excellent point CCNorth.

I’m not near the cart again until later this week. I’ll give the assembly a closer look then.

When the problem occurred the brakes “locked up” and the cart would no longer go forward. It wasn’t until I drove it in reverse that it then would go forward.

Here is another photo of the assembly with the drum off, I’m going to zoom in on the original photo and look for something out of place.

I’ll report back later in the week when I inspect the brakes.

The Saga continues. . .

[RNajarian]

Here are some close ups of then last photo. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary, with possibly the exception of the last photo. There appears to be some scratches on the black piece of metal in the lower right corner.

The metal shavings from post #14 don’t appear to be related to this area. . . but you never know.

Also when I recovered the bolt I did not notice a washer or remnants of a washer (not that one is supposed to be used there anyway). The recovered metal shavings from post #14 wouldn’t add up to a washer anyway.

I’m hoping nothing more nefarious is afoot. Could the shavings be from the axle?

[CCNorth]

Originally Posted by RNajarian

Here are some close ups of then last photo. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary, with possibly the exception of the last photo. There appears to be some scratches on the black piece of metal in the lower right corner.

The metal shavings from post #14 don’t appear to be related to this area. . . but you never know.

Also when I recovered the bolt I did not notice a washer or remnants of a washer (not that one is supposed to be used there anyway). The recovered metal shavings from post #14 wouldn’t add up to a washer anyway.

I’m hoping nothing more nefarious is afoot. Could the shavings be from the axle?

Long reply. Sorry!

1. I agree, no major damage is seen. I don't think the shavings are from the axle because there are no splines. It's possible they came from the bearing case or a spacer, IF there is a spacer. Won't know that unless the axle is pulled out.

I still wonder if those shaving are from the back of the wheel spacer. I know you're going to check it when you're back at that house.

I do see areas around the axle that I question. These may simply be shadows but worth checking.
The arrows are pointing to areas you need to look at closely. Is there equal distance around the edge of the brake plate and axle housing?? That plate should be flush and centered around the axle. If not, it's a problem.

Where I drew the line it looks like the edge of the bearing and looks rough. If it is, and not just the angle of the photo, it's a likely spot for the shavings.

Unless the axle is really loose from a bad bearing it's hard to check it without the tire on. But, grab the axle and see if it has any play up/down and side-to-side. Even check it in and out. It should not move.

Wheel spacers cause early wear on bearings. If that bearing was new when you bought the cart it should be okay but since we don't know the history of that axle, well……

However, even if the bearing is bad it is NOT the cause of the brakes locking up.

2. Axle shift will cause the brakes to lock up.
There is a U-bolt over the transaxle that goes through a axle mount and has 2 bolts attached. If this U-bolt is mounted correctly it keeps the axle from shifting. Shifting seems to be a fairly common problem on lifted carts.

The first thing you need to do is check the bolts and see if they are loose.

There are several threads about this. Here are two that should really help you and keep me from explaining things:
https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/showthread.php?t=37055

https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/showthread.php?t=116425


3. Problems with brake cables or other brake components can cause the brakes to lock.

Above links discuss brake cable problems, too.

May very well be your problem. You have a Bendix/EZ GO brake assembly with an unknown drum and CC DS pedal assembly. The brake cable appears to be for CC DS, not a EZ GO. Hopefully, MEIMK will chime in and tell you if there are any adjustment issues you need to know about. I don’t have a clue.

I want to be sure your brake shoes are installed properly and need an expert to help!

You'll notice that your brake plate is installed upside-down. This was done because of the lift on the cart as it allows the brake cable to reach and be up out of the way. But sometimes the cable still ends up being too tight and a longer cable needs to be installed. A too tight or binding cable will lock up the brakes.

You have to change the way the brake shoes are mounted when the plate is upside-down. They are usually flipped over, then upside-down, I think. I hope MEIMK or another expert will jump in and tell you if your shoes are installed correctly.

4. You need to replace all four bolts on the brake plate. You have standard and metric bolts. Geez. Two standards are grade 5 bolts and the two Metric, marked 4.8, I think are grade 3? I don’t know which metric bolts are correct but they should be metric.

[RNajarian]

Thanks CCNorth. A lot to look at when I get to the cart again.

I did check the U bolts on the side of the problem. They seemed tight. I will double check both sides.

The wheel is off but I do not notice any play on the axle. I’ll check the brake plate for inconsistencies. I uploaded another photo from a slightly different angle. It looks more uniform to me than the first photo.

The brake cable does not seem to be tight. There is some play.

As for the bolts, I have some grade 8 bolts I will use.

Again thanks for all of your help. I’ll report back as soon as possible.