D. Ford 4000 Brake Pedals and Shaft Repair

Both step plates were removed for access to the brake shaft.

I took the right brake pedal and parking brake cam off on the right side of the tractor.

Then I moved to the left side and removed the right brake cam and clutch pedal. The right brake cam was bolted to the brake shaft. The clutch pedal has bushings that allow it to ride on the brake shaft and work independently.

The shaft had to be smoothed with a file on the end to let it slide through the case bushings. Now the right brake pedal can be removed.

Walt had sent me a used brake shaft. The used brake shaft was not the same as the one on the tractor. Walt called today to confirm that he did not have a brake shaft to match. This tractor was built in England. Some of the parts do not match tractors built in the USA. This must be one of them.

There was severe wear on the shaft where the clutch rides.

Also heavy wear under both brake pedals and the parking brake cam.

The bushings in all the pedals had the brass worn down to the steel sleeve.

The clutch pedal had also worn out the hole in its arm that pushes the clutch rod. The arm was almost completely worn through.

I filled the hole with weld.

I ground both sides of the weld flat.

Then a 3/8" diameter hole was drilled into the weld.

The old bushings were driven out with a large screwdriver.

New bushings were pressed in.

The bushings went in easy, but they are now just under size. They fit good before installation, so there was some distortion due to the pressure needed to press them in. So, I used a small cylinder hone to open them up. They will go onto the shaft now, but they are not in perfect alignment. I will try to find a reamer to clean them up.

The clutch arm pin was also worn very badly. So I made a new one from a 3/8" bolt. I will use the new pin in the parking brake cam since it is soft steel. Then I can use the OEM pin in the clutch pedal.

The old brake shaft seals were removed.

I used my Harbor Freight Seal Driver to install the new brake shaft seals.

There are thrust washers that keep the pedals in place and protect the seals on the brake shaft. One was missing so I made one on the my mini-lathe.

Tomorrow I plan to replace the metal worn away on the brake shaft with weld. Then I will turn the weld down to size on my South Bend lathe. I sure hope that works! I probably will not be able to find a good used brake shaft.

I started the day with some welding. The first area I welded was the clutch pedal section of the brake shaft. I used the old bushings and a hose clamp to cover the areas that ride in the housing bushing and seal. I did not want to get welding splatter on those areas.

It took a while to fill the sections with new metal. I welded the entire circumference hoping it will be enough.

The old lathe is mostly worn out. It is hard to get something centered properly since I have only an old three jaw chuck that I mounted to a face plate. I did use a live center on the end of the shaft to help keep it in place. The shaft is bent a little also compounding the problem. I got it as close as I could and started turning.

It came out alright. I sanded and polished it as smooth as I could. I think it will work. It does fit the new clutch pedal bushings since I honed the bushings.

Then I welded the left brake pedal spot.

Then I turned it down and sanded it smooth.

It came out a little better than the clutch pedal repar.

Next is the right brake pedal and parking brake cam section. I put the hose clamp over the 'C' clip groove to protect it while welding.

Then I turned it down.

It is obvious that I am not a machinist. But, I think the shaft will work.

I will know it will be better than it was, at least for a while. We will see when the brake pedal bushings arrive and I get them installed.

The new brake pedal bushings arrived on 09/28/2016. I had waited until they arrived to remove the old bushings so I could be sure the new ones would fit. They did.

I made a tool to push out the old bushings out of a large brass flare nut. I made it fit the snugly in the brake pedal bore so it would, hopefully, get the thin, worn out bushings out with the press.

The end of the flare nut fit perfectly on this old broken reaming tool. I used the reamer as an arbor to press against the flare nut.

It worked! Since the tool was brass, it did not get stuck in the bore and did not damage the bore or the old bushings. They came out just fine.

I used the end of the press ram to install the new bushings flush with the side of the pedal bores. I was careful that the grease fitting cutout was positioned to allow grease into the bushing once it was in place.

Instead of trying to hone the bushings, I needed to ream them. The hone did not keep the two bushings in the clutch pedal in correct alignment. So, I visited a good friend of mine who has most every tool ever made.

I used to live near John Scudder and he taught me that anything is possible, especially if you have the right tool. Well, he had the right reamer and agreed to assist me in reaming the bushings.

It did not take him long to ream them and they fit great.

Thanks, John!

I installed the shaft and pedals that evening. It turned out that I had to remove it to get the parking brake forks adjusting bolts loose and the clutch rod adjustment had to be freed also.

Once all the adjusting parts were fixed, I installed the shaft and pedals again.

It took a while to make the adjustments for the clutch, parking brake and brake pedals. They feel like new!

I bought new brake pedal return springs, but they were too short. So I added a piece of swing chain to extend them.

I later heated the hooks on the springs and tightened them up so they may stay on the chain links and pedal pegs. We will see.

BRAKES!