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Building Integrity
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Date:  4-30-2016
Number of Hours:  2.00
Manual Reference:  ch 9
Brief Description:  The source is found! and shame on Matco

So after re-installing all the brake and axle hardware, I found that the binding in the system had NOT gone away. What the heck! I spent a good hour investigating and finally found the source of my dragging brakes and it was not where I thought it would be. The Axle, purchased from Matco as a package with the brakes and wheels was poorly machined. In picture #1, you can see a small ridge at the base of the axle where a smooth radius should be. This ridge wasn't allowing the brake plate to sit flush against the axle base. Therefore, when torqueing down on the axle bolts, the brake plate would deform, changing the geometry and henceforth causing the system to bind. UGH! I don't have a lathe and didn't want to call Matco on a 3 year old product so I just took some sand paper and sanded down a larger radius on the inside of the brake plate to clear the axles' ridge. After about 20 minutes of sanding, she finally fit flush. I re-installed everything again and BINGO, a perfectly working system with no binding. In fact, it's better than the right brakes so I may even go back and do the same thing to the other one if it starts acting up.
I'm very dissapointed that Matco would ship out poorly machined, non fitting hardware, but I guess that's why they are priced so much lower than Groves. At least I don't have to worry about going easy on the brakes in fear of damaging a weak system. Tomorrow should lend itself to a good high speed taxi test to break in the new pads and prep for this weekends Fly-in at the McKinney airport about 1.5 hrs North. yes!
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Poor machining ridge

Poor machining ridge

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Radiused inside corner

Radiused inside corner

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Back and better than ever.

Back and better than ever.

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