Brake band relining - a question for the adventurous

[Stretch]

G'day All,

I'm in the middle of rebuilding my 722.118 transmission and I'm trying to find a way of making the cost of doing this a bit lower.

The majority of the rebuild cost comes from the brake bands. I've got a very reasonable quote for just over 150 euros a piece.

I'm now asking a company in the UK (close to me you see) if they can reline them for me - perhaps they can do it more cheaply...

But I was thinking how about relining yourself?

The gurus on tractor forums seem to do it all the time (well in between a lot of beer drinking) on their brakes.

Has anyone got any experience of this?

(Hilarious cautionary tales are also welcome!)

[Stretch]

I thought I'd better add my own cautionary note:-

I guess it is quite likely that the brake bands of this vintage contain asbestos - so you would need to have a nice safe clean environment to remove the old lining.

[layback40]

There is a significant chance if you use the old backing you could end up with cracks. Many bands fail by cracking instead of friction material ware. Any place you have a component that is thin & flexes is likely to fatigue. Best replace. Did the clutch packs come out easy?

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by layback40

There is a significant chance if you use the old backing you could end up with cracks. Many bands fail by cracking instead of friction material ware. Any place you have a component that is thin & flexes is likely to fatigue. Best replace. Did the clutch packs come out easy?

I haven't done the clutch packs yet.

I've got side tracked looking for parts and painting the car whilst the weather is good. When I'm done with the rebuild I'll post a report (part of a deal I have with a very helpful chap).

[rs899]

Army -

When you do the clutch packs , are you going to dig all the way to the bottom of the can and replace the o-ring?

Rick

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by rs899

Army -

When you do the clutch packs , are you going to dig all the way to the bottom of the can and replace the o-ring?

Rick

In a perfect world I'd like to account for every seal I've got in my rebuild kit and make sure that each bit is changed. I tried that for my engine rebuild but quickly found I had bits for an OM617a as well... so I'll have to see how it goes. At least I've got a copy of the manual now so I know how I'm meant to put it all back together.

Er sorry - I'm waffling - ideally yes is my answer.

[rs899]

Army-

I didn't rebuild a 722.1x completely (just the front pump), but on the 722.3xx I did, those seals were not included in the kit. You may want to check and see that you have them... if you are going to all that trouble may as well do it all to be safe. And I don't think that's covered in that manual....

Rick

[leathermang]

[QUOTE=Army;2704386]...Er sorry - I'm waffling - ideally yes is my answer./QUOTE]
LOL....
If I were facing tearing into one of these transmissions... my knees would be weak....
Well, tearing into it I would not be afraid of ... I love to take stuff apart to see how it was made..
PUTTING IT BACK TOGETHER and expecting it to work correctly... that would make my knees weak...

[rs899]

I'm in the middle of rebuilding my 722.118 transmission

....you only THINK you are in the middle of it.....actually you only just started to screw it up....

[leathermang]

' Gurus on Tractor Forums ' ... you need to get yourself a tractor..
or stop visiting those forums..
LOL

[Doktor Bert]

Army,

The bands in the 722.120 are bonded, not riveted, so I assumed the 722.118 would be similar????

The bands are quite pricey, at around $300.00 USD from some suppliers. Here is what I did to cut the costs a bit.

I went to my local salvage yard and pulled the pans from several 722.120's until I found one with a nice looking surface on the drums and bands. Then, I bought the entire 722.120 for $50.00 USD and used the bands out of it. They had been replaced at one time. In fact, you can find many old MBZ's in the wreckers with rebuilt transmissions.

Hope this helps...Robert

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by leathermang

' Gurus on Tractor Forums ' ... you need to get yourself a tractor..
or stop visiting those forums..
LOL

Funny you should say that - I wanted to get one because at least if I was driving a tractor I wouldn't feel so frustrated when stuck behind some idiot pootling along at 15 km/h...

...we settled on a 300D because there's a bit more room for the wife and the children too.

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by rs899

....you only THINK you are in the middle of it.....actually you only just started to screw it up....

Well I hope that's not the case - time will tell.

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by Doktor Bert

Army,

The bands in the 722.120 are bonded, not riveted, so I assumed the 722.118 would be similar????

The bands are quite pricey, at around $300.00 USD from some suppliers. Here is what I did to cut the costs a bit.

I went to my local salvage yard and pulled the pans from several 722.120's until I found one with a nice looking surface on the drums and bands. Then, I bought the entire 722.120 for $50.00 USD and used the bands out of it. They had been replaced at one time. In fact, you can find many old MBZ's in the wreckers with rebuilt transmissions.

Hope this helps...Robert

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the tip - the bands are indeed bonded.

I posted the damage shots in a different thread (722.118 brake band advice req'd)

But here are the pictures







Unfortunately the way in which things are over here the whole buying up transmissions method would prove to be more expensive than just buying the parts - a used autobox goes for about 300 euros a piece (often more).

In short you need to be filling up containers of old gearboxes and differentials and sending them to me to sell - and I need to send back the containers full of Euro head lamps, bumpers and big thick heavy manual OM617 flywheels for you to sell!

[Doktor Bert]

Hmmm...

Maybe a forum member has a good used set of bands to sell????