Question for Driver RE: Workhorse & brakes

[Photog]

Mike,

Have you heard anything from Workhorse with respect to whether or not they will be repairing failed brakes between now and the implementation of the recall?

It would seem like they should.

Thanks,

Bill

[dveasey]

Bill, that's a bit reaching out there, to me. The bean counters are hard at work seeing how to cheaply implement this directive w/ minimal cost and still satisfy NTSB.

There's no telling how many months it will take to mail notification, give service techs the directive, make the parts kit available . I'm guess 6 months out to be on the leading edge; 8-10 months more likely before I see a letter arrive in the mail.

I, for one, am not going to wait for them to come to my rescue. Preemptive care on my part will give me & DW untold amount of peace-of-mind.

This weekend I'm replacing the brake fluid & greasing the pin slides myself. Very good insurance & a D-I-Y 'able job w/o having to remove the wheels. When, Navistar gets around to notification..I will dutifully bring her in for the checkup.

Meanwhile, I won't have to be preoccupied with worry. I would think any vehicle in continual use monthly would be in good steed; while a stored one of 3 months might be more prone to the seizure malady. High mileage in harsh environments might give me cause to seek immediate service. Any owners with past brake repair care to reply?

[jdsr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dveasey Bill, that's a bit reaching out there, to me. The bean counters are hard at work seeing how to cheaply implement this directive w/ minimal cost and still satisfy NTSB. There's no telling how many months it will take to mail notification, give service techs the directive, make the parts kit available . I'm guess 6 months out to be on the leading edge; 8-10 months more likely before I see a letter arrive in the mail. I, for one, am not going to wait for them to come to my rescue. Preemptive care on my part will give me & DW untold amount of peace-of-mind. This weekend I'm replacing the brake fluid & greasing the pin slides myself. Very good insurance & a D-I-Y 'able job w/o having to remove the wheels. When, Navistar gets around to notification..I will dutifully bring her in for the checkup. Meanwhile, I won't have to be preoccupied with worry. I would think any vehicle in continual use monthly would be in good steed; while a stored one of 3 months might be more prone to the seizure malady. High mileage in harsh environments might give me cause to seek immediate service. Any owners with past brake repair care to reply?

I also think it will be at least 1 year before we get this recall started but I respectfully disagree on just changing the fluid, greasing the pins and you said not using it enough or using it to much( how many miles would be just enough, sounds like the 3 bears) and it will be ok. I've had 3 failures and did all that. BTW, a mech at larry's auto in myrtle beach told me that the wheels would have to be removed to lube the pins properly. He said it can be done with them on but not the right way. Now Im not a mech so I dont know why. If we were to believe that this problem will be solved by just changing the brake fluid and greasing the pins then all workhorse will need to do to satisfy nhtsa is mail us a can of pin lube and 3 qts of brake fluid. Based on what a wh mech told me is to fix this problem we need bigger calipers like the 4 piston ones they use now. Again Im not a mech but just reporting what I was told.

[Ron & Dee]

A service tech from my workhorse service center said it might be as soon as September.

Don't take that as gospel, but you never know

Ron

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photog Have you heard anything from Workhorse with respect to whether or not they will be repairing failed brakes between now and the implementation of the recall? It would seem like they should.

Bill, I do not disagree with what you wrote and I believe that Workhorse will fix whatever is wrong with the current brake system until the new calipers (parts) become available. These parts are currently not available according to the recall document.

Although I can not commit Workhorse to spending thousands of dollars by replacing failed brake components, what an individual with a brake failure needs to do is contact an authorized service center and present the problem to them. They in turn will contact the Regional Service Manager in that area and I expect that the RSM may authorize the repair under warranty regardless of age of vehicle on the 20/22 W Series.

If an owner has a brake problem, only the effected part I believe will be replaced pretty much like you would expect from an extended service plan contract. Typically an ESP will only authorize a repair on the failed component. If you choose to replace parts not related to the failure I'm not sure how all of that will work out. I would expect that no body is going to want to go out of pocket while waiting for the campaign to launch.

Quote:

Based on what a wh mech told me is to fix this problem we need bigger calipers like the 4 piston ones they use now. Again Im not a mech but just reporting what I was told.

I would not put a lot of credence into what was said here by the mech. It is likely that an opinion rendered by an individual at a service center does not actually correspond into engineering fact. The twin piston 66mm Bosch slide caliper and Hydro-Max booster are very effective in bringing a Class 6 vehicle in our weight rating to a stop well within design specifications. I can not remember an instance where I felt that my brakes were ineffective in bringing my vehicle to a stop from any speed.

Quad piston calipers do have their place and they are used in the higher rated (more expensive) GVW chassis the W24 & UFO. These vehicles need to stop weights up to 30,000 pounds. The brakes on the UFO are superior to an equivalently weighed RDP with air brakes.

When this campaign is completed, I expect we owners will continue using 66mm pistons additionally I believe that this will be the current design caliper using a metal piston.

This is my 10,000th post! (8 campfires)

Please join us in the Workhorse Chat Room, Thursday at 9:00pm EST!

[oemtech]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriVer This is my 10,000th post! ]

Wow..... I best get busy... only have 6 campfires

Just think if we cut out the BS you would have 1 Campfire and me 0 Campfires

[Photog]

Mike,

10,000 posts. That's impressive.

Bill

[bdaball]

9,900 on brakes?

[dveasey]

jdsr,

You misread my post. Far be it for me to make engineering assumptions.Anyone knows periods of unuse will lean toward problem arising.
Agreed, A simple lube & fluid change will not likely resolve this matter. I will be doing my best effort toward upkeep by doing these two basic "preventive maintenance" items myself; assured that I minimize neglect.
Either we have a service tech inspect our brakes or we DIY; or we wait for a problem to arise. I am not doing the latter.If my pins are found not well-lubed, pitted,etc., I will do something immediately about it. Keeping the fluid system fresh is another "Duh"...item.
Driver got back on track with those experiencing immediate cost-of-repair. I was addressing the time lapse until we get a tech eyes and hands on the brakes on our vehicles.
Driver makes a good point re, only failed/damaged components will likely be replaced.We have no way of knowing at this point, if WH will have an engineered replacement component or if tech will simply remove / inspect /replace worn item(s).
Additionally, we do not know if/what environmental/wear conditions have a hand in leading up to these seizing problems. This service procedure might be an appeasement to satisfy the NTSB concerns.

My question posed toward those with this failure, was anything in common? Over-aged fluid, excessive debris build-up, pitting of the pins, etc.?
Often the shock of repair, does not allow us to be this inquisitive with questions as to what lead up to the problem in the first place.

[DonavonP]

Driver, congrats on the bleve!!

[JonBrazel]

I'm very pleased right now to be a Workhorse Service Center. Not only is this forum one of the most active on the message board, but it also has some of the nicest and best to work with customers around. This recall shows that not only is Workhorse committed to its customers, but even during these hard economic times (especially for the motorhome industry), that they are financially secure enough to be able to service their customers instead of going under like so many other manufacturers these days. I hope that everyone is grateful for this and doesn't take it for granted!

[abarkl]

Don't count their chickens before the hatch!

[bmanSC]

congrat's driver

[John-D]

In another thread it was written by someone (not me) that Workhorse expects to be sending out re-call letters long about November.

Beyond that.. There is nothing I can add