blackseabrew
New User
For owners of 445s, 4 Stars, 5 Stars and Jet Stars and probably a few others: I needed to brake springs for my three 4 Stars, Part 10A7074. Officially identified as: Spring-Dust Shield. As seen on Repair Catalog, Page 57. These springs keep tension on the double disc brake assembly and are located on the bottom of the brake drum assembly.
NOBODY offers them. So I found a very suitable replacement from W.B. Jones Spring Company, link posted below, Part #4913 is a conical spring with a large OD a bit smaller than the original MM spring but the small OD is a match. The large OD discrepancy doesn't matter as the Dust Shield washer that serves as the large OD spring seat is very wide which means lots of tolerance for springs with a slightly smaller large OD. The WB Jones spring has a wire diameter twice that of the MM spring. Meaning its very robust. I originally replaced the brake return spring as my left brake was sticking...enough to flip the tractor even at medium speed. That didn't solve the problem so I took a look at the spring in question and it was not only broken it the bottom washer, which acted at the small OD spring seat was missing. So I installed new spring and thick washer and now brakes work perfectly. The brakes actually work great now. I've tried to get them to stick but thankfully unsuccessful. Braking is very smooth the entire stroke of the brake and I haven't make any adjustments yet.
If you are an experimenter, WB Jones offers a similar spring with and even thicker wire and subsequent slightly higher spring rate. This part number is #4914. But this higher spring rate could cause additional wear to the pads. I will take that with the new spring though because the brakes work great now. No more sticking.
As of 2020 the prices are $4.83 and $5.00 respectively for each spring. No brainer. Hoping Yesterday Tractors will start stocking them. If you want I can supply but at 300% markup. But easy enough to order on your own. Easy enough to install but helps when you have some help handing you tools when you are underneath the tractor. You will most likely need to remove the break cover to hold brake linkage in alignment when installing the new spring. The new spring takes a little wrangling to hold in place and get the brake bolt started. Getting the cover install usually requires move the brake disc assembly around...or more accurately up. Install the bottom bolt first to make it easier to get those three bolts aligned.
I posted a photo of the two springs. You can see the one on the right has the thicker wire.
My email is [email protected]
Untitled URL Link
NOBODY offers them. So I found a very suitable replacement from W.B. Jones Spring Company, link posted below, Part #4913 is a conical spring with a large OD a bit smaller than the original MM spring but the small OD is a match. The large OD discrepancy doesn't matter as the Dust Shield washer that serves as the large OD spring seat is very wide which means lots of tolerance for springs with a slightly smaller large OD. The WB Jones spring has a wire diameter twice that of the MM spring. Meaning its very robust. I originally replaced the brake return spring as my left brake was sticking...enough to flip the tractor even at medium speed. That didn't solve the problem so I took a look at the spring in question and it was not only broken it the bottom washer, which acted at the small OD spring seat was missing. So I installed new spring and thick washer and now brakes work perfectly. The brakes actually work great now. I've tried to get them to stick but thankfully unsuccessful. Braking is very smooth the entire stroke of the brake and I haven't make any adjustments yet.
If you are an experimenter, WB Jones offers a similar spring with and even thicker wire and subsequent slightly higher spring rate. This part number is #4914. But this higher spring rate could cause additional wear to the pads. I will take that with the new spring though because the brakes work great now. No more sticking.
As of 2020 the prices are $4.83 and $5.00 respectively for each spring. No brainer. Hoping Yesterday Tractors will start stocking them. If you want I can supply but at 300% markup. But easy enough to order on your own. Easy enough to install but helps when you have some help handing you tools when you are underneath the tractor. You will most likely need to remove the break cover to hold brake linkage in alignment when installing the new spring. The new spring takes a little wrangling to hold in place and get the brake bolt started. Getting the cover install usually requires move the brake disc assembly around...or more accurately up. Install the bottom bolt first to make it easier to get those three bolts aligned.
I posted a photo of the two springs. You can see the one on the right has the thicker wire.
My email is [email protected]
Untitled URL Link
