Surge Brake partial rebuild, brake away level doesn’t work?

[Seaswirl89]

Hello All,

it’s a long story so bear with me please…


Two weeks ago, I bought a great condition 89 Seaswirl Spyder that came with the original metal craft trailer. The trailer needed a new master cylinder (old one was dry and full of rust) so I replaced it along with the brake assemblies, bearings, new grease, and bleed the brakes.

Before I took it for a test drive yesterday, I lifted each tire of the ground and made sure they freespun with the actuator all the way out and they did. When the actuator was pushed in using the 2x4 method(a decent amount of force is required to get the actuator to push in any amount), the brakes were applied well and I was unable to turn the tires by hand. Same thing when I spun the tire in reverse, except I was able to turn the wheel backward so backing up was possible.Took it for a test drive and everything seems to work well. Checked the drums and they were warm but never got to a point where I thought they’d were too hot. I was also able to back the trailer uphill without issues.

But when I tried to reinstall the beak away system, No matter how hard I pulled the breakaway lever, I can’t get it to push the push rod in deep enough to lock the emergency lever in place. In fact the lever barely moves when I pull it hard by hand. So I tighten the bolt that compresses the spring on the push rod and the emergency lever is closer but still unable to pull it into the lockout position. As it sits the head of the actuator now has a lot of forward and back slop from tightening up that spring on the push rod assembly(the attached picture is before I tighten down the nut on the push rod)

When free spinning the wheels, you’ll get 3-4 revolutions and hit slight brake friction, I reused the drum rotor so they may not be perfectly round

The actuator is a original titan model 60. Any idea whats keeping the lever from pushing the piston rod into the master cylinder?

 

[poconojoe]

Hopefully the experts will chime in.

You already spent time and money so you're committed. I hope you get it figured out.

I ditched my surge brakes for electric. My master cylinder was also rusty, plus I couldn't stand all that banging noise every time I hit the brakes or took off from a stop.
I replaced the drums with fully assembled back plates/shoes, added the extra wiring, breakaway and never looked back.
No more brake bleeding for me.

Electric brakes are not recommended for salt water though.

 

[Seaswirl89]

After making a lot of phone calls today, I spoke with a tech at dexter axle who bought out titan (original manufacture). After speaking with him he confirmed everything was setup correctly and that the lever requires approx 1200lbs to be triggered, which makes sense why I couldn’t trigger it by pulling on it. He was extremely knowledgeable and knew everything there was to know about the titan model 60 actuator.

I’m good to go, thanks all!

 

[bruceb58]

The lever doesn't require 1200# to actuate it. I just put a pair of vise grips on the lever to give me enough leverage to operate mine. That's how I bleed the brakes.

As far as electric brakes go, I can't stand drum brakes wether they are electric or hydraulic. That's why my trailer had disc brakes with an EOH controller.

 

[Seaswirl89]

The lever doesn't require 1200# to actuate it. I just put a pair of vise grips on the lever to give me enough leverage to operate mine. That's how I bleed the brakes.

As far as electric brakes go, I can't stand drum brakes wether they are electric or hydraulic. That's why my trailer had disc brakes with an EOH controller.

What model accuator do you have? The very knowledgeable dexter axle tech I spoke with said the model 60 titan/demco takes that much to lock the brakes into place. He said if I had a different model actuator, then it would a whole different story because they don’t take much to trigger the brake lockout on other actuators. I’m assuming your accuator is not the titan/demco model 60 if you can trigger it using pliers?

 

[bruceb58]

What model accuator do you have? The very knowledgeable dexter axle tech I spoke with said the model 60 titan/demco takes that much to lock the brakes into place. He said if I had a different model actuator, then it would a whole different story because they don’t take much to trigger the brake lockout on other actuators. I’m assuming your accuator is not the titan/demco model 60 if you can trigger it using pliers

I actually had the EXACT same one that you have. I also have a few of the newer versions of the one you have. With the one that you have, I eventually locked it out when I put on an EOH system.

This is the one I put on my disc brake trailer I just sold

Amazon.com: Titan Model 60 Leverlock Actuator for Disc Brakes 7000 lb- 47154007K Zinc : Automotive

Buy Titan Model 60 Leverlock Actuator for Disc Brakes 7000 lb- 47154007K Zinc: Exterior Accessories - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

This is the one I put on my pontoon trailer:

https://www.amazon.com/TITAN-DICO-Model-Lever-Actuator/dp/B006UH646G/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=titan+surge&qid=1621791433&sr=8-6

Each were easy to bleed putting a vise grip on the lever after removing the locking clip first. The locking clip which holds the lever in the compressed position needs to be removed first.

 

[Seaswirl89]

I actually had the EXACT same one that you have. I also have a few of the newer versions of the one you have. With the one that you have, I eventually locked it out when I put on an EOH system.

This is the one I put on my disc brake trailer I just sold

Amazon.com: Titan Model 60 Leverlock Actuator for Disc Brakes 7000 lb- 47154007K Zinc : Automotive

Buy Titan Model 60 Leverlock Actuator for Disc Brakes 7000 lb- 47154007K Zinc: Exterior Accessories - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

This is the one I put on my pontoon trailer:

https://www.amazon.com/TITAN-DICO-Model-Lever-Actuator/dp/B006UH646G/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=titan+surge&qid=1621791433&sr=8-6

Each were easy to bleed putting a vise grip on the lever after removing the locking clip first. The locking clip which holds the lever in the compressed position needs to be removed first.

Dang… and I thought I was good to go after talking with that tech…. With the locking clip removed I’m still unable to pull the lever hard enough to get it close to locking in place. I’ve even wrapped a rope around me and tried to use my body weight but the lever doesn’t move much. Any idea was could be the problem? Brakes were bleed until no air and clean fluid was coming out the bleeder screw

 

[Seaswirl89]

Update….

I removed the lock clip and with a 2’ cheater metal bar slipped over the breakaway lever, I was able to get the breakaway lever to rotate enough that it would’ve engaged the locking clip had it been in place. I’m thinking it’s good, just take a good amount of leverage/weight to get the break away lever to rotate enough to engage the locking clip. What are your thoughts Bruce?

 

[bruceb58]

Sounds good. Once your brakes are bled, I can actually imagine it takes some good effort.

Think about it, that thin stainless cable needs to be strong enough to pull that lever. Not sure it could handle 1200# myself.

Take it out for a test ride and see how it works.