Braking in Reverse!!!

[sqrlgtr 941]

So replaced the brake lining on my 857 today and wanted to give a review of the brake lining I got from @rmaynard. I am very pleased with outcome. This little tractor has always been a bear to stop going backwards especially with a load behind it. I'm glad to report it has brakes going backwards know .

[rmaynard 16,537]

39 minutes ago, sqrlgtr said:

So replaced the brake lining on my 857 today and wanted to give a review of the brake lining I got from @rmaynard. I am very pleased with outcome. This little tractor has always been a bear to stop going backwards especially with a load behind it. I'm glad to report it has brakes going backwards know .

Thank you for the good review. 

[ri702bill 9,941]

Nice! Some folks will rough up the surface of the drum with a belt sander to better grip the band...

Question - what is that hanging out of the lower hole of the side of the frame below the clutch shaft??

[sqrlgtr 941]

@ri702bill that's just a little chain clevis/D ring, there's one on the other side also really serve no purpose but suppose you could use them to tie down tractor on trailer. I really just stuck then in there so as not to lose them. That was probably 10 years ago....

[ebinmaine 74,343]

3 hours ago, sqrlgtr said:

So replaced the brake lining on my 857 today and wanted to give a review of the brake lining I got from @rmaynard. I am very pleased with outcome. This little tractor has always been a bear to stop going backwards especially with a load behind it. I'm glad to report it has brakes going backwards know . 

 

 

Excellent! 

[sqrlgtr 941]

Just an FYI I used JB weld Clear 2 part epoxy for an adhesive just because that's all I could get on my wife's grocery pick up. It seems to be almost like the original JB but clear. Was wanting to try Goop just because you didn't have to mix anything... Will report back if this stuff don't hold up.

[RED-Z06 2,663]

5 hours ago, ri702bill said:

Nice! Some folks will rough up the surface of the drum with a belt sander to better grip the band...

Question - what is that hanging out of the lower hole of the side of the frame below the clutch shaft??

Looks like a loop shackle

[RED-Z06 2,663]

Couple years ago i had a brake lining come loose on a C160 in high gear...i cant stress fully the amount my butt puckered before i folded the front end around the front bumper of my truck.

[wallfish 18,592]

28 minutes ago, RED-Z06 said:

Couple years ago i had a brake lining come loose on a C160 in high gear...i cant stress fully the amount my butt puckered before i folded the front end around the front bumper of my truck.

Did it bite a hole in your pants? 

[RED-Z06 2,663]

46 minutes ago, wallfish said:

Did it bite a hole in your pants? 

Ill say this, it flippin hurt every part of me. 

[Handy Don 14,536]

23 hours ago, sqrlgtr said:

a review of the brake lining I got from @rmaynard. I am very pleased with outcome.

I did mine a year or so ago and am similarly pleased. Brakes work great, but I have to pay much better attention to traction after a 20 foot slide down the steep grade dodging trees (fortunately the steering was working well!)

[953 nut 61,858]

17 hours ago, Handy Don said:

I did mine a year or so ago and am similarly pleased. Brakes work great, but I have to pay much better attention to traction after a 20 foot slide down the steep grade dodging trees (fortunately the steering was working well!)

That is the biggest shortcoming of the brakes on most garden tractors. The differential will transfer the breaking power to the tire with the least traction. I mowed my neighbor's yard for a couple of months while he recuperated from surgery. I could mow UP the steep incline without a problem but coming down was a thrill ride.     I worked out a different pattern of mowing to avoid that.

[RED-Z06 2,663]

53 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

That is the biggest shortcoming of the brakes on most garden tractors. The differential will transfer the breaking power to the tire with the least traction. I mowed my neighbor's yard for a couple of months while he recuperated from surgery. I could mow UP the steep incline without a problem but coming down was a thrill ride.     I worked out a different pattern of mowing to avoid that.

Why ive always liked GTs with brakes at the hub on each side...or internal brakes with a locker.  The Tuff Torq K91/K92 for example only has an internal wet disc brake..but when the brake is depressed it also applies the diff locker.

 

Something I wish WH had adopted is a locker.

[Handy Don 14,536]

On 10/25/2025 at 9:54 AM, RED-Z06 said:

Something I wish WH had adopted is a locker.

@Oldskool added dual disc brakes on both axles between the transaxle casing and the hub to one of his tractors. I’ve thought long about copying that! 

The split brake also helps overcome loss of traction on one wheel for “go" as well as “stop."

[ebinmaine 74,343]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

@Oldskool added dual disc brakes on both axles between the transaxle casing and the hub to one of his tractors. I’ve thought long about copying that! 

The split brake also helps overcome loss of traction on one wheel for “go" as well as “stop."

 

 

Yepp. That was the Hiram tractor. 

Excellent design.  

I've considered it too. 

 

 

[sqrlgtr 941]

7 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

 

 

Yepp. That was the Hiram tractor. 

Excellent design.  

I've considered it too. 

 

 

 I would like to see that set up. Is this something I could find on Red Square?

[Handy Don 14,536]

Sorry, brain blip. He used drums not discs. Here is a post in the thread. Post #431 has a near-finished image. Go back and forth to see more.

If I were doing it, I’d probably try to use go-cart discs (if I could get them with 1.125” bore) and calipers. 

 

Edited 11 hours ago by Handy Don