The Kart brakes are a bit annoying. The installation in the mono is on an
angle so a constant bubble is in the master unless you unscrew the forward
piston holder screw, loosen the aft one, tilt the brake master to level wit
h the earth and fill the piston area.
In my articles on line I have discussed the KartKraft brake masters and won
=92t bore you. It is true, that if you fill the master perfectly and there
are no slave cylinder (AKA caliper) problems or trapped air, if the brakes
get hot, the pads and then the piston can get hot enough to pressurize a D
OT 3 or 4 brake fluid and can cause the brake to drag building more heat.
This happens in go kart racing all the time after the winter lull. That is
why there are racing brake fluids. Since DOT 3 and 4 are hydroscopic to t
he extreme, being ethylene glycol based, internal corrosion and boiling can
be a problem. Maintenance of any brake system should involve disassembly
and inspection of the calipers, but let=92s face it, that is a pain in the
butt, knees and back, and causes more leaks and headaches than we operator
s are willing to do. On an annual, one should pull the pads and inspect, t
hen remove the brake caliper, lube the slides, clean the exterior and the a
rea between the piston and bore, change any Dot 3 or 4 fluid, and assure th
e master is replenished at a minimum. Popping the puck out of the caliper
and cleaning the bore is not on my to do list. Just clean it and when the
caliper gets pitted and fails to move, then change it. You better check th
at Europa has caliper stock on hand.
Note: I prefer to use silicone fluid as it doesn=92t stain or absorb water
, and handles heat better.
Overheating of the brakes in a trigear is more of a problem than many reali
ze.
A long taxi in a stiff crosswind will generate enough disk heat that the pl
astic lines near the disk will actually soften and swell. If it doesn=92t
fail, the plastic line swells up like an aneurism. Even with the pants off
, these lines can be overheated by excessive disk heat. I have since insta
lled a brake heat shield to protect those plastic line sections near the wh
eel disk. The wheel pants can restrict cooling air and cause temperatures
inside the wheel pant to hit alarmingly high values. If you have long taxi
times one should ensure a small NACA duct is built into the pant to allow
cooling air flow and or add some similar heat shielding device to protect y
our plastic brake lines. On one aircraft we installed approved automotive
lines from a prominent racing supplier of braded high temperature hoses to
also help, and on others installed heat sleeve (that silver sleeve by Therm
oTec) to reflect the heat from the lines.
The Matco parking brake valve is another issue. It can fail. After all, i
t is just a plunger and spring affair with a cam. If the spring fails or p
lunger jams because of using improper fluids, the park brake will not relea
se or may drag. Matco park brake valves cannot be used with DOT 3 or 4. O
nly Mil 5606 and DOT 5 silicone fluids can be used unless you do a seal cha
nge. Of course, as stated, the orientation of the handle on the valve is c
ritical. Failure to install the handle mechanism properly can lead to a pa
rk brake that will not release. Another failure is in Matco=92s new design
where the left and right chambers are completely separate, as the valve bo
dies can be installed non parallel. The new valve is called the PVPV-D. I
n this design, it is easier to install the fittings, but will cause problem
s if both cylinders are not installed absolutely even, obviously.
Finally, in high corrosion environments, (salt air environment, grass and s
andy fields or from lack of use) the Matco slave or caliper piston may jam
. This is highly unlikely, but if the piston, bore, or seal is worn, or if
the pads are horribly worn, or the caliper slides well worn, one can exper
ience a puck or piston that may get cocked in the bore. This is best fixed
by getting a new brake caliper but if you have hours of time and patience,
the caliper can be removed, buffed and polished out and with new seals ins
talled it should work well. If you re-bore your caliper, keep in mind the c
hance of jamming goes up as there is more clearance. If the caliper slide
s are damaged, well, that is a call to Europa as the factory never used the
nice replaceable brake plate assembly Matco supplies with the calipers. T
he caliper plate assembly is built into the MG02 (Trigear) or LG21 (in the
mono). If the caliper slide holes get worn, the brakes rattle terribly and
can actually jam. They can be sleeved, but I=92m just getting a new MG02/
LG21.
Best Regards,
Bud Yerly
Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Window
s 10
________________________________
From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com <owner-europa-list-server@matr
onics.com> on behalf of david park <dpark748@me.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2018 1:43:45 PM
Subject: Re: Europa-List: Re: Mono brake binding
I had a problem with my Matco handbrake valve in Burgos 2 years ago and ha
d to stop while taxiing for fuel and release pressure on the bleed valves.
Put it down to overheating?
Dave Park G-LDVO
> On 29 Apr 2018, at 11:39, Ivor <g-iver@live.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> Martin
> have you got a matco hand brake valve in the circuit? if so they can cau
se exactly that problem,
> they need to be adjusted so the arm is exactly 90 degrees to the body to
> be fully off,
>
>
> Read this topic online here:
>
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