Hey everyone, great site. I never knew that such a great resource was out there till today when I needed it.

I have a brake crisis on one of 2 AC 400 Auto 4X4 we bought last March.

Here's what happened. My buddy punctured the left rear tire so we bought some green goop to repair it. We live in suburban Atlanta and I wanted it fixed before we got on a trail some where. So I told him to put it on blocks, pour in the goop and put some miles on it to coat the entire inside of the the tire really well. He calls me and says its holding air, but the brakes started smoking and leaking and now there is no brake pressure.

I think what happened is that he left the parking break on and ran the machine 3 miles. I can understand why the pads are shot, but cannot figure out where or why the fluid is leaking out? Did it get so hot that the seal between the two halves of the caliper burnt up? Or what? I have located new pads that I'll put on today and bleed the brake system, but I expect the leak to continue. Anyone run into this before?

Thanks for the help and I think I'm gonna be addicted to this site.

- KcK

 

i cant verify this for sure but your theory sounds about right, my friend had a brake seize up an his car and it heating up and starting leaking like that

 

Yep, that turned out to be the case. I have to replace the caliper ($115) cuz the seals burnt up. But luckily the rotor ($45) seems to be okay, I feared the heat would warp it.

Anyone know where to get cheaper brake parts?

 

twincats,

You can buy the seals seperate from the whole caliper (Cat Part #0402-980) at a cost of $.40 a piece. Just about everything is available seperately for your brakes through the dealer. As for aftermarket stuff, I work at a dealership and we have tried different pads and no ones seem to hold up as well as cats. The older pads (from 2001 and earlyer machines) seem to hold up the best and yes, they will interchange between all the models except for the 90 and the 650. I have seen pads wear out as quickly as 500 miles on the machines that just go in the mud and pads that last as long as 3000 miles. Its all dependent on what kind of riding you do with your machine.....


Matt

 

Matt,

Excellent Sir, thank you for your help. That saved me roughly $99.60. The dealer I purchased the unit from is out of business now so I tried contacting a specialist with AC, but they won't talk to a consumer.

What zip code is your shop in Matt?

Thank you - Kevin

 

We are in 54531- hazelhurst, wi. If you have already purchased the calipers your pretty much out of luck if your dealer has gone out of business. When calling cat you have to call their main desk or their customer service line- not the dealer line. They are really busy right now with the snowmobiles so you might not get a response right away from them. When the pads wear down into the backers I have seen the seals leak past the pistons because they just pop out too far and the seal can't seal around the edge. Your pistons should be fine since they are so new but its good to check for scratches and scoreing from normal wear- at that point the piston and seal should be replaced.

Matt

 

alpha-sports.com would have them otherwise