Cat Lift Trucks (& Caterpillar) C4000:
Brake Pressure

ok i have recently put a new master cyl. on my forklift because one day the pedal went to the floor and didnt have any brakes what so ever. replaced the master cyl because i could not find any leaks anywere on the brake system. it has one master cyl without a booster and the inch pedal is a mechanical lever drivin by a cable. now i have spent hours trying to bleed these **** things and i can get pressure until i drive it around n such but it never have full pedal like it should. i think i have gone through a pint of fluid tryin to bleed these things. ive never had this problem before and any help would be appriciated.
  • Posted 23 Feb 2013 08:01
  • Discussion started by Pritch
  • Florida, United States
Showing items 1 - 5 of 5 results.
pressure bleed the system

if thats not possible then you'll have to bench bleed the master cylinder first (if you didnt do it the first time)
the angle these mastercylinders are mounted at makes it extremely hard to bleed them as they tend to form a bubble of air in the high side and it is hard to get that air out. Even after bench bleeding they still tend to get that air pocket in there and you wind up having to bleed it on the truck through the lines and it takes several times and alot of fluid.

as for the wheel cylinders, check the wheels at the backingplates underneath the truck, if you have fluid present on the wheels then the wheel cylinders are leaking, if no fluid present then they are probably ok. You can pull the wheels just to be sure but if no fluid on the shoes then they are ok.
while u have the wheel off you can rough up the shoes and even drums to help shoe gripping ability, glazed over shoes or drums that are not properly seated can cause poor brake performance.

make sure the wheel adjusters are in good order and adjusted up as far as you can get them without causing too much drag on the shoes. You may have to adjust them, operate the brakes in fwd and rev some and then go back and readjust after the shoes settle in place.

Ultimately if the only problem was a leaking mastercylinder and you just had to replace it, or excessive pedal travel then i would say its just getting the air out of the system and proper wheel and pedal adjustment.

The pedal adjustment is usually a simple process of adjusting the rod between the plunger in the mastercylinder and the pedal yokelink. It should be no more than a 1/2in movement in the pedal before it contacts the plunger and starts to push on the plunger in the mastercylinder.

Also if you happened to have adjusted on the course adjustment bolts for the pedal height, go back and put it back where it was, pedal measurement from the floorplate to the pedal height should be no more than 8in from floor to top of pedal pad. (note: the inching pedal should be even with the brake pedal but donot try to adjust this till after you get the brake pedal adjusted, and once you get the inching pedal set recheck the inching linkage and make sure the cable is set so the linkage is not pulling the cable and pushing the spool, also you can use the brake mounting bracket as a base point for measuring since the floor plate is supported by this bracket.)

Brake fluid for these trucks is the standard DOT3 brakefluid in case there is any question on what fluid to use.
  • Posted 24 Feb 2013 02:47
  • Modified 24 Feb 2013 02:49 by poster
  • Reply by swoop223
  • North Carolina, United States
You've been swooped!
swoop223@gmail.com
ya im leaning twards wheel cyl now but no the fluid didnt go down any both might have went bad. im thinking about doing a full work over i dont think anything has been replaced on this truck. had to replace all the components on another truck already master cyl went bad and when i put the new one on it blew the wheel cyl. and the shoes were pretty much toast too. i do have the right brake fluid. thanks for all the input.
  • Posted 23 Feb 2013 22:16
  • Reply by Pritch
  • Florida, United States
Is the correct fluid being used.
  • Posted 23 Feb 2013 18:22
  • Reply by grubbymits
  • scotland, United Kingdom
I agree with kevin. Your initial problem was most likely a failed wheel cylinder. Now it may be harder to identify which one is leaking due to the runoff from the bleeding operations (unless you caught it all in a container).
The key would have been whether your brake master cylinder reservoir was emptying itself (fluid level low) or not when the brakes suddenly went south.
If you lost brakes and the fluid level in reservoir was not dropping, then yes.......could be a defective master cylinder.
If you lost brakes accompanied by a loss of fluid from the reservoir without an obvious leak, then I would have to say look for a leaking wheel cylinder.
Typically if the reservoir loses fluid from the brake master cylinder it will show up as a leak where the brake pushrod enters the master cylinder, or you will see where the brake pushrod has grown a "beard" from collecting dust and lint trapped in the leaking fluid.
  • Posted 23 Feb 2013 15:33
  • Reply by L1ftmech
  • Tennessee, United States
Did you adjust the brakes any, if the shoes are not adjusted up from wear then you might not get a good tight pedal,also it might be a wheel cylinder leaking, this may of been your initial problem and not the master cylinder,have you pulled the axles and drums and checked the brakes,are they worn and need replaced???
  • Posted 23 Feb 2013 13:45
  • Reply by kevin_t
  • Pennsylvania, United States

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