Brake Booster blew off with bracket still attached

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by Arnellday, Sep 5, 2014.

  1. Arnellday

    Arnellday Bobtail Member

    No, I didn't hit anything. This has been an issue for four weeks now. Finally, after double nutting the booster onto the bracket 15/16 nuts, it blew clear off with the bracket still attached to it. So the pressure was strong enough to break the welds of the axel bracket. Is my stroke on the 30-30 too long? My primary and secondary gauges both read about 120psi at exhaust release. Thanks in advance for any advice.
     
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  3. jason6541

    jason6541 Road Train Member

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    Omaha, NE
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    You probably had some metal fatigue at the welds, how old is the trk/trl i would clean up the other mounting location and look for cracks around the brackets on the other brake chambers. If any are questionable grind old welds and reweld
     
  4. 1johnb

    1johnb Medium Load Member

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    New Paris Ohio
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    Sounds like fatigue more than anything to me. I have welded many it is best to remove it from the truck. If your not an accomplished welder hire it out or buy a new one. it will be an oem item all makes are made differently.
    Stroke to long or short had nothing to do with it.
    120 psi at the gauge doesn't mean 120 at the chamber. If the truck doesn't have an application gauge , you would need to plumb one up to check that. under normal braking 20 psi is a good bit, 30 on most trucks will put you in the wind shield.
     
  5. Arnellday

    Arnellday Bobtail Member

    Ok, thanks. I did notice when grinding that about half of the weld was rusty. It's back on now and I did try shortening the stroke by a 1/4 inch just to see what happens. Thanks for your reply jason6541.
     
  6. Arnellday

    Arnellday Bobtail Member

    Hey thanks 1johnb. I'll build a T fitting with a gauge so I can verify pressures. Thanks for the idea.
     
  7. Tmtbob

    Tmtbob Medium Load Member

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    Mar 3, 2014
    Oklahoma
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    Rough roads and vibration caused it to break off. Like the others said. Brace it and weld it good. Don't shorten or lengthen your stroke at all. You need a 90 degree angle with brakes released for best braking. Unless someone that didn't know what they were doing when replacing chambers got their hands on it they should all be at 90 degree angles
     
    Cetane+ Thanks this.
  8. Arnellday

    Arnellday Bobtail Member

    Ok, thanks for your reply.
     
  9. Bendix Tech Team

    Bendix Tech Team Bobtail Member

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    Jul 15, 2014
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    stroke wont casue it to break. its the force. on a standard stroke chamber the stroke has most force around 1 inch and gradually reduces as it goes down. is your truck set up for anti-compounding? if not then that could be the casue of the break or if the bracket is not gussetted. wide based tires? vibrations from the larger tires have been an issue in breaking the welds also.
     
    Cetane+ Thanks this.
  10. Arnellday

    Arnellday Bobtail Member

    So I put the bracket back on. I also put on a new Air Dryer to make sure I'm using good clean air. Drove about 50 miles and trailer wheels locked down because three of four brass fittings blew/broke off the Emergency side right at the Brake Chambers. Didn't even set the trailer brakes. I was getting off the exit ramp. Also, an S-Cam bracket blew off this time. This makes very little sense now. I see wear at the trunnion tube (NewWay Single Point Suspension). So can the axel be bouncing so much because of bushing wear that things are breaking?
     
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