m35a3 stiff brake pedal

[Bolkbich]

the brake pedal takes alot of effort to push down . its not sticking. the brakes work as they should. its like the air assist isnt helping enough. if you push the pedal down and release it you can hear the air exhausting. all my 5 tons work smooth with little pedal pressure. is there an adjustment on the air assist ?

 

[mktopside]

Put a little bit of air tool oil in the air packs?

I've never driven a 5-ton so I have nothing to compare it to, but remember the A3 has two air packs for the dual circuit brakes so it may just be normal. Mine feels stiff too, but I have nothing to compare it to other than normal hydro brakes.

 

[R Racing]

I think the m35a3 is stiffer because your moving 2 air packs instead of 1 . Mine is also stiffer than any of my 5 tons.

 

[treessw]

 

[motomacguyver]

Don't have any experience with any thing else, but FWIW, my brakes are stiff to. I think it's just the nature of the beast.

 

[yolner]

I drove an A3 once and was surprised by how hard the pedal was on it.

 

[Floridianson]

Yea come to think of it mine does feel harder to. What kind of air pressure are u able to build. Oiling the air pack is a must and if you can oil from the incomming air line would seem to be the best way just hard to get to the line.

 

[Bolkbich]

sounds like im good ill try a little air tool oil cant hurt thanks

 

[mktopside]

Yea come to think of it mine does feel harder to. What kind of air pressure are u able to build. Oiling the air pack is a must and if you can oil from the incomming air line would seem to be the best way just hard to get to the line.

Mine builds to 120psi. You can't oil from the compressor because the trucks have a Haldex air dryer with a coalescent filter that will grab up all the oil. I need to do mine, so I might crawl under the truck and see if it can be added to the out going line of the dryer. Although I don't just want it to all end up in the tanks and stay there.

CM automotive says not to get oil in the CTIS lines because it'll screw up the wheel valves. But that is the least of my concerns as I'm one more malfunction away from ripping the system off anyways.

 

[Floridianson]

Sounds like your is working. I don't know how much 10 lb of pressure would change things but it would seem to make sence to get as much as you can. Are you at 120lb?

 

[blueeagle79]

I have a very hard brake pedal on my m35a3 also, did you add oil to the brake pacs of figure out something else? Thanks!

 

[jcappeljr]

Mine has a hard pedal also.

 

[3dAngus]

Yeah, what's the deal with this one. Mine is hard to press too. I recovered a M-185 from Robins for a fella down in Florida and his brakes were sweet and the truck would stop on a dime. I mean it. Some of the best and easiest brakes to work with I've ever seen. But my M35A3 is stiff on the pedal, and it would be hard for my wife to drive it under the circumstances, so if you find the solution, please print it here.

What makes it worse is when trailering. I about locked up my brakes on the M1061E1 trailer the first time I drove it, trying to "feel it". Felt it alright. Never happened again, and like always, you just got to get used to things, and every vehicle drives differently, so I probably wouldn't do it again unless "Emergency Stop" is needed to avoid a crash.

I love my M35A3!! Want to make it better. Please post your solution if you have one.

 

[CobraCDR]

Mine is rather stiff also, but it does feel like the other CTIS / air equipped vehicles currently in use.

 

[goodguyzy]

my non-winch truck is stiff but winch truck is easy and smooth.

 

[flyxpl]

My A3 W/W has a firm pedal also . When I drive my A2 I tend to put myself through the windshield before I even get out of the driveway .

 

[rwonsala]

All A3's are the same, I have (2) trucks and both have identical pedal pressure.;

 

[HDN]

I'll add my feedback to this ancient thread - my brake pedal is also firm. The shop I've taken it to get it inspected for the past two years has a guy there who had a bobbed A2 - he thought an air pack on the truck needed to be replaced because of the firm brake pedal. I guess he's wrong - the A3s are just that way.

Any other current A3 owners want to chime in?

 

[sue]

the brake pedal takes alot of effort to push down . its not sticking. the brakes work as they should. its like the air assist isnt helping enough. if you push the pedal down and release it you can hear the air exhausting. all my 5 tons work smooth with little pedal pressure. is there an adjustment on the air assist ?

We welded a 9”X3” peddle to our foot brake lever.
It’s nice to be at a stop light and have both feet resting on the brake instead of one foot pushing down. And letting others drive your truck it’s a little piece of mind.

 

[HDN]

We welded a 9”X3” peddle to our foot brake lever.
It’s nice to be at a stop light and have both feet resting on the brake instead of one foot pushing down. And letting others drive your truck it’s a little piece of mind.

Kinda reminds me of how Fred Flintstone stops his car - both feet to (through?) the floor!