Brakes

[Dragon]

Good Morning

I think i have collected more than electrical demons, went for ride about 30 miles in i had to stop for red light, just casual stop. I pushed on the brake pedal and it went to the floor and stayed there. i could not move period brakes were locked solid. crawled out of beast in traffic, people honking and giving one finger salute for stopping traffic. I pulled the brake pedal back up by hand and the brakes released, drove home after that with no problem, long winded question but has anybody come across before. how long do spirit bells last

Dragon

[trikeman]

No clue Did brake warning light come on?

[Gorilla]

i think i wound look at the master cylinder might need a rebuild. or when was the system flushed last? might be old fluid.

[Dragon]

Finally got the beast up on blocks checked no leaks, reservoir was full. been pushing on brakes in garage can't duplicate problem, with the vehicle running and stopped. I don't want to condem master cylinder yet at 150 dollars a pop any other suggestions

Dragon

[Gorilla]

Finally got the beast up on blocks checked no leaks, reservoir was full. been pushing on brakes in garage can't duplicate problem, with the vehicle running and stopped. I don't want to condem master cylinder yet at 150 dollars a pop any other suggestions

Dragon

Sorry but the only idea I have would be the master cylinder. If you have no leaks and the fluid is full, then when the pedal went to the bottom the fluid had to go around the master cylinder plunger internally to get to the bottom. They seemed to lock there because there probably was a particle engagement. You had to pull the pedal out because there was not enough back pressure by the fluid to push it back because most of the fluid went around the plunger. It then seemed to work okay because the seals on the plunger are probably not completely shot. I would not trust them to hold at all. I do not see any other possibility. Maybe someone else can come up with a suggestion. If you do change out the Master Cylinder I would do a complete flush at the same time. If you were really wanting to do the job correctly I would also suggest rebuilding the calipers also. If the seals are weak on the master cylinder plunger then they are probably weak on the calipers also.

[Jack Klarich]

Your master cylinder cups have bypassed fluid ahead of the piston causing the pedal to lock down.

This condition will surely happen again as the piston seal is now compromised

If this were mine I would replace the master cylinder with a NEW unit, I have zero faith in re manufactured ones

Best of luck to you

[Dragon]

Thank you for reply. I went and ordered a master cylinder for 2007 ranger, got part wait this does not look like my part, go back look up number yep this is right, it also fits 08-12. I don't know if all stallions have same brake configuration, mine has cruise control sensor on back of master cylinder. off to ford dealer for education on brakes, come to find out it depends on what accessories you have (configuration) you get one master cylinder without cruise and one with cruise sensori ended up getting new master and cruise switch. have bench bleed master but have not installed it yet.

Dragon

[Dragon]

Hello

well the beast did it again only about 3 blocks from last place. the dam brake pedal stuck down and stayed down, brakes all locked up. was able to pull over and pull the pedal back up and get home. master cylinder is 3 months old, all new pads, all brake parts cleaned and lubed

Dragon

[Jack Klarich]

Hello

well the beast did it again only about 3 blocks from last place. the dam brake pedal stuck down and stayed down, brakes all locked up. was able to pull over and pull the pedal back up and get home. master cylinder is 3 months old, all new pads, all brake parts cleaned and lubed

Dragon

Does the stallion have vacuum assist power brakes? If it does, with the engine off press the pedal til it gets hard, keep your foot on the pedal and start the engine. The pedal should slightly drift a bit down. This will show you your vacuum booster is working properly. It is possible even tho you now have a NEW master cylinder, it could be bad out of the box. Another thing to try is get it to lock up again, then try to crack the bleeder screws on the calipers loose. Does that unlock the brakes and return the pedal up?

[Jack Klarich]

Chuck, there is 1 more area that needs to be checked. Does the Stallion have rubber flex brake hoses on the front and rear brakes? It is a possibility the hoses are internally collapsing and holding brake fluid and pressure on the brakes. This is 1 of the reasons many motorcycle manufacturers fare following the major Auto makers in switching to hard ( plastic) brake lines.

[trikervet]

Delete post.

[trikervet]

The Stallion does have a standard Ford Ranger brake booster. On the rear, the hoses are standard automotive flex rubber hoses. On the front, the lines are flex steel on the forks, then steel tubing to the master cylinder.

[ST1300]

I had the same problem with my 2008. I changed out the master cylinder and it didn't help. After a whole lot of searching and testing I found that a bolt in the floor boards had been placed in the wrong whole and that it was binding the rod from the brake pedal. After removing it and swapping it out for a shorter one the problem is gone!! What a whole lot of time and expense !! The bolt is one of the ones that is under your left foot when its resting on the floor just back from the pedal.