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Need to fix brakes on Clark Forklift

N

Nat Wheatley

Plastic
Joined
Feb 8, 2013
Location
United States
I recently purchased a 1975 Clark C500 Y500 Forklift. The brakes need to be fixed, there's zero resistance when the brake pedal is pushed down. Is replacing/repairing the master cylinder the first logical step in starting to fix this?

Thanks
 
I think step one is verifying brake fluid is in the system. Step two, make sure is isn't gushing onto the floor or out of a wheel cyclinder. Then I would think about the master.
 
Have you adjusted the brakes? Not sure about that year, but my 60's model has manual adjustment on the brakes. It's a hex bolt on the backing plate. Put it in neutral, jack up the wheel, turn the bolt until the wheel stops, then back it off slightly so it turns.
 
I went through this literally two weeks ago. Here's what I did-

New wheel cylinders off Ebay - ~$30ea
Master cylinder rebuild kit from Clark - ~$35

I didn't feel like screwing with the shuttlevalve and its cylinder, so I plumbed around them.

The pads had quite a bit of meat left, but were glazed over so I buffed them with a sanding disc. The drums were the same, so they went on the lathe to have the glaze broken.

About $100, couple hours of time and Clark stops again. You'll need an assortment of extensions, with at least one wobble-end. PM me if you get lost, it's easy.
 
Thanks very much for the replies, all very helpful. There is brake fluid in the machine, and it doesn't appear to be leaking anywhere. When I open the cap on the master cylinder, and depress the break pedal, there is no motion at all to be seen in the fluid. Does feel like the brake pedal isn't doing a thing.

Not surprisingly, the shuttle valve on this doesn't work either, so I would go the route of bypassing it. I have the parts list, so I think I'll order the cylinder repair kit from Clark, and take it form there. I'm not a mechanic by trade, but will see how far I can get. I'm fairly good with these things, but will no doubt be looking/begging for help once I start.

Thanks again
 
Thanks Stuart, I'll check them out. I think I had actually stumblde upon them before, though this forum, but had forgotten the name. If it was the same place, the pricing was very good.

Nat
 
Nat,

Your post said 'brake cylinder"...I thought the original suspect was your master cylinder. Did you mean to say master cylinder? Typically before a master cylinder is rebuilt it is honed with a brake cylinder hone...go figure! If you can do this hone job in situ then no need to take the master cylinder off...I suspect this isn't the case though. It really would be best, if this is the master cylinder, to remove it, hone, clean and rebuilt it on the bench. You could even bench bleed it to save yourself some time when you reinstall and bleed the entire system. The R&R holds true to the wheel cylinders too, unless they are dead easy to hone while attached to the backing plates.

Stuart
 
Stuart,

I should have said master cylinder, not brake cylinder. Keep in mind I'm a carpenter, not a mechanic, which will become painfully obvious as this unfolds.

What's involved in honing the master cylinder? I'm suspecting that I should have purchased a replacement master cylinder, instead of the repair kit. I see one listed on Ebay for $32...

Nat
 
Nat,

Sometimes it's more cost effective to do as you say and purchase the replacement instead of a kit to do it yourself. The SOP on the rebuild is to take the master cylinder off the rig, tear it down and inspect the bore. There should be no rust pockets or gouges in the bore that won't clean up with a brake cylinder hone. These hones don't take off much material but typically the bore isn't damaged too much...usually some little rust pits.

After honing it you clean up the cylinder and assemble the new components. Use a little brake fluid as your assembly lube. After assembly you can fill the reservoir and bleed the thing out on the bench. When you install it, it will be full of fluid and all the air will be purged which makes the final bleed procedure much easier.

Do a Google search...there are probably a million DIY articles on it. It's easy to do and I think you will prevail. I will say this...IMHO it usually the wheel cylinder that take a dump before the master cylinder does.

Stuart
 
Thanks Stuart.

I'm hoping to remove the master cylinder tomorrow. I'll have a look inside it to see what condition the bore is in. If it looks remotely sketchy, I'll cut my losses on the repair kit, and go with the replacement master cylinder.

Thanks again,
Nat
 
Clark lifts are very popular, so a dealer can get aftermarket parts.

I put a master cylinder, wheel cylinders, one set of pads, and inching valve rebuild for $200 on my Clark C300.
 
C500 - Clark master cylinder

Nat Wheatley said:
I recently purchased a 1975 Clark C500 Y500 Forklift. The brakes need to be fixed, there's zero resistance when the brake pedal is pushed down. Is replacing/repairing the master cylinder the first logical step in starting to fix this?

Thanks
Click to expand...


The most popular Clark master cylinder which fits most C500 is
part number 899499

I did a Google search using the part # and it looks like the cheapest one
(factoring in free shipping) is this one:

Aftermarket forklift parts MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER 899499
 
I would assume Y50 as a Y500 would have air or hydraulic brakes I would think. I just did a Y40 a few months ago. If its the kind that the drum is inboard and not under the tire its easier to pull the whole reduction and axle assembly. 5 bolts on the outside and 5 nuts on the inside of each. It will take a few extensions and a wobble to get to the inner bottom nuts that a wrench cannot get to. The small 1/8" lines going to my wheel cylinders were rounded when coming apart so I ordered the wheel cylinders, master cylinder and the small lines that go to the wheel cylinders. I also bypassed the shuttle valve cause It wasn't worth messing with. I still couldn't get enough travel for fluid flow to make it so you didn't have to pump up the brakes so I ended up putting a 3/16" shim under the bottom of the brake shoes on each side since there's no adjuster on them. Working brakes on a forklift are worth every penny, as damaged machinery costs more to fix.
 
Master cylinder is easy,fit a newie,.............wheel brakes ,not so much........... IMHO,the commonest way to fix small Clark wheel brakes involves leaving out an eggcup full of whisky,and a small cake for the elves who hopefully will come overnight and fix the brakes...........so the elves are very busy,and most small Clarks have no brakes.
 
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