W20 Brake Inspection-2005 Winnie Voyage

JC2 · 04-02-2008, 02:17 PM

After following the extensive thread on reported brake problems on some W20 & W22 WH chassis, I really leaning towards having mine checked/maintenance performed on our 05 Winnie Voyage on a 2004 chassis. It has about 16000 miles on it and so far no indication of any brakes problems.

When I get it to a SCenter, I want to be able to advise them on what type of maintence to perform. Can someone provide me with a list of what the maintenance should involve please?

JC2 · 04-02-2008, 02:17 PM

After following the extensive thread on reported brake problems on some W20 & W22 WH chassis, I really leaning towards having mine checked/maintenance performed on our 05 Winnie Voyage on a 2004 chassis. It has about 16000 miles on it and so far no indication of any brakes problems.

When I get it to a SCenter, I want to be able to advise them on what type of maintence to perform. Can someone provide me with a list of what the maintenance should involve please?

RottenRalph · 04-02-2008, 05:04 PM

I can't give too much advise on what to look for but I can tell you my latest experience.

About 4 wks ago (after not using the MoHo for 7 wks) I drove 2 hrs non stop on a freeway then exited on a 2 lane with traffic lights. At about the 3rd light (2 miles from freeway) I was told by a passing car that a wheel was smoking. I pulled into a parking lot for 1 hr to let my left rear brake cool. I then drove 8 more miles to my destination for the night. Next day drove home with no problem. 2 days later brought it to the service center for a check. They changed the left rear caliper and pads.(said the hose was okay). They greased all the pins on the other calipers and checked for signs of problems which they could not find. They put light grease on the moving parts between the brake peddle and master cylinder.

3 days later I departed for a 7 hr trip. Drove for 3 hrs without using the brakes. Had a small amount of traffic. 20 min later the right rear caliper started smoking.

Cancelled that vacation.(2nd one due to same issue) Let that caliper cool down. Went home. Change that caliper. Complained to everyone that reads sites like this and NTSHA. Purchased tools and parts needed to remove tires and change calipers on the side of the road and swore I'd never purchase a WorthlessHorse chassis again unless they do something about this same problem that MANY people have.

Thanks for letting me vent.

JC2 · 04-04-2008, 05:45 AM

Anyone??????

jdsr · 04-04-2008, 09:03 AM

scott, did you file a formal complaint with NHTSA or a verbal complaint? also did the shop or yourself find a problem with the calipers you replaced?

RottenRalph · 04-04-2008, 11:34 AM

jdsr

My complaint to NHTSA was done via an online form.

The left rear caliper was replace by a mechanic after I told him of the problem and his visual inspection showing signs of overheating.

The right rear caliper was changed by myself after it did not release and overheated.

After reading NHTSA investigations I'm not convenced that the problem is related to only the caliper. It seems pressure remains in the brake lines after brake peddle release. I keep any linkage between the peddle and master cylinder clean and greased. I have also had the ABS scanned and had strange things show. While the engine is running and the ABS light is on the scanner was reading no ABS problems but problems with the stoplight switch. The brake light are working fine. The scanner would also read that left rear wheel was traveling 66 MPH and the right rear wheel was traveling 56 MPH. This while we were stopped in a garage.

Any Ideas?

angelman · 04-04-2008, 01:22 PM

Scott, the rear ABS sensors probably overheated during your situation and now give the wrong reading(OHM's) resistance. I hope the engineers are studying the braking systems from the several different chassis that used the bosch and kelsey parts. Im leaving for florida in 2 weeks and I cant even check anything on the brakes.

Spoonman · 04-04-2008, 02:41 PM

I would assume the Workhorse Ambassadors would be able to tell you what the procedure is for maintnance. They seem to be conspicuosly absent from brake discussions lately,liability issues maybe?
Maybe a call or e-mail to workhorse would get you the info you need.

TandW · 04-04-2008, 03:56 PM

Ya know, we've never heard anyone say whether the shoes just might be too tight in the calipers. Especially the working caliper. If the puck gets hot,so does the backer or carrier plate and it expands and just might be sticking in the shoulders of the caliper. Once this happens the train runs away. That backer plate is seeing more heat expansion than the caliper. I'm wondering if a file could solve this problem!!

RottenRalph · 04-04-2008, 05:21 PM

Spoonman
I emailed WorkHorse explaining my problems with no intent on getting them to pitch in for any repairs. I just wanted suggestions on what to do or if there was anything that has been updated that I'm not aware of. Their response was that the chassis had updated calipers installed in Dec. of '05. No other suggestions were given.

TandW
I am by no means a brake mechanic but I have run across pads that needed a little shave on the ears in order to slide a little easier.(2002 E-450 rears)
In my case the pads seem to be free moving. At least while cold.

angleman Tom
I thought (and still think) your suggestion my apply here but I have been told by 2 mechanics that bad sensors would show on the scanner. I may change at least one just to see what happens. BTW The ABS light is not on now. If you are driving I-95 to FLA I'll be praying for you!

TandW · 04-05-2008, 02:35 AM

RottenRalph; Just try taking it down this road. Suppose we are talking about a run of 100,000 units. Suppose the calipers are machined with tolerances favoring undersize by company "A". Now suppose the shoes were stamped out by company "B", and they're tolerance was more toward oversize. Finally, these shoes go to company "C" to have the pucks bonded to them and for painting, during which process they grow a few more thousandths. Going back to company "A", the tooling surely wore to where the manufacturing tolerance was now at lower limit. Going back to company "B", even after the relatively short run, the punch and die used to produce the shoes were worn enough to produce additional tret aroung the edges of the shoes. This is an increase in frictional surface area at the point wear free movement within the caliper is required. I think that if I were buying a used W20 or W22, the brakes would be taken completely down and checked for absolute free travel. The paint would be filed away along with any of that rough-looking tret on the edges of the shoes. Why? Because time and again I have purchased premium brake parts from probably the largest national parts house that just don't fit until they are "cleaned up a bit" with a file. Now I've offered my full opinion.

JC2 · 04-05-2008, 10:47 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spoonman:
I would assume the Workhorse Ambassadors would be able to tell you what the procedure is for maintnance. They seem to be conspicuosly absent from brake discussions lately,liability issues maybe?
Maybe a call or e-mail to workhorse would get you the info you need. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I hear ya on that. I find it interesting that no one out of the supposedly 20000+ members on this forum has not responded with a possible list of things the SC should check for. If I knew or had an idea myself, I would not have had to ask.

dieselclacker · 04-05-2008, 01:49 PM

Just curious, why should you have to tell an authorized service center for Workhorse what needs to be done in the way of service on your motorhome. There is a maintainence schedule on the chassis, and since Workhorse wrote the schedule, who better would know what is due in the way of maintenance?

Dieselclacker

JC2 · 04-05-2008, 02:59 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dieselclacker:
Just curious, why should you have to tell an authorized service center for Workhorse what needs to be done in the way of service on your motorhome. There is a maintainence schedule on the chassis, and since Workhorse wrote the schedule, who better would know what is due in the way of maintenance?

Dieselclacker </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Because sadly there are SC's out there that don't have a clue.