Yeah, half the bolt came out, LOL. It twisted itself into two and now I will either have to drill it out or something like that. Oh well, no foul no gain. I am not really meachanically inclined. But I am smart and probably with someone like you helping me, I could do it. I am going riding tomorrow though, without brakes. I will be really careful, just trails that are pretty straight. Mind if I get in touch with you when I have a little time? Maybe I will get lucky and catch you when you have a little time as well. I will also be contacting the local shop and try to determine excatly what is wrong with those front brakes, they should know the quad, it sat in thier shop for five months before the previous owner could afford to get it out. That must have sucked for him, LOL, Hard times I guess. If they are reasonable, I might just haul it in to them. Just would allow for more riding time cause as everyone (or most) else is , I am super busy. Executive Chef/New House/Newborn/High-maintanance wife (j/k). Ohhhh, man. What a life, he he. Thanks Glenlivet

 

I just bought the same quad, it's a 97. I was thinking of cleaning up my brakes, the work but not that well, the back ones actually work better than the front but only when using the foot pedal, the hand lever cable is stretched. Would it be a good idea to seal up the brakes with some rtv when I put them back together?

 

No RTV. The brakes seal with a circumfrential rubber (neoprene) seal on the outer rim. There were two different designs for the rear drum brake and I don't know what year they changed but both work with the same principle. The seal is quite large, the size of the drum, and so run at a very fast surface speed for such a device. Most such seals are on shafts of up to 2" diameter! These seals are really humming and if they go dry, won't last long at all. You might get lucky. Might be OK. But as far as RTV, there's no place for it. The brake abrasive dust from the worn shoes is trapped inside of course, and isn't good to have in there either. Blow it out and wipe the seal clean clean clean, and the part of the drum that it runs on. Nothing more abrasive on the drum seal contacting surface than a Scotch Brite pad. Then rubber grease the seal if it's still good.
You can adjust the hand lever independent of the foot brake, down on the brake actuating arm, and you should. It's the park brake after all.

You should take the front drums off and check those brake shoes and the seals. The front brakes should be able to almost put you over the handlebars.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Glenlivet

I have to differ that the old model King Quad has 'problem brakes'.

I have heard that story a few times, repeated from one person to the next like some sort of ritual chant. 'King Quads Have Bad Brakes'...

Bull hockey.

.</end quote></div>

I'm glad you've had good luck with your brakes but the KQ300 brake issues are a little too well documented to be dismissed as bull hockey.

They're not bad brakes, but they are an older design and they do have their problems. Maybe it's the different environments, but with constant running in East Tennessee mud and/or the high TN humidity, KQ brakes need constant attention. This is just based on first hand experience of several KQ's as well as the local Suzuki mechanics.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my KQ - I put thousands of miles on it. But if I rode for several hours constantly in mud the seals would leak (yes, at times even after new seals). If I didn't ride for three or four weeks the brakes (especially the fronts) would sieze to the drums, locking up a front wheel until you rolled forward enough to break it loose. All in all it's just a thing where you need to stay up on routine maintenance of the KQ brakes. I can't see any justification to remove the front brakes or that $500 estimate, but it's more than internew mumbo-jumbo that KQ300's have some brake issues.

Jaybee

 

Thanks for sharing. I can see now that riding experiences and expectations are quite different in our respective areas. I can well imagine that if one rode for hours immersed in mud, that mud would get past the seals! In fact it's hard to imagine what machine with drum brakes would tolerate such an environment, be it an ATV, a pickup truck, or anything.
My mud and water experiences were no more than crossing a creek or charging through a mudhole that was an obstacle to where I was going, no doubt the reason I had such an easier time of it brake-wise.

Unless Oldschool is looking for a machine to ride in such mud for such extended periods of time though, I think if he clears his present brake issues up that he will have a quad that will serve his needs well. (and his budget) He appears to be a more thoughtful and responsible owner than what little we know of the previous one. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

In B.C. Canada the old King Quad did me very well. It sounds like East Tennessee certainly is a place where the old KQ design was not suited.
Thanks again for the heads-up.