crossfire 150 in Schuylkill Haven, PA

[lineman364]

Greetings to all from Schuylkill county. Buggies are kind of new to me, but I've worked on bikes, and cars most of my life. Even a bulldozer at one time. I must thank all involved with forums, no matter what the topic, its a complement to all of humanity, the wealth of knowledge that is shared.

If anyone out there has a suggestion I'm all ears. The brake system on this 150 is driving me bonkers. Lost brake pedal, bought a new system. All components. Tried every kind of bleeding tool, fabricated a pressurized fluid, bleeding tool using some of the harbor freight stuff on hand and some ingenuity including my extra master cylinder cap. I've got all fluid to the caliper and still no pedal pressure. Now I'm gonna pull the new master off, take it a part to make sure all is well inside. Anything is welcome. Are there any better master cylinders available or recommended. Thanks lineman364

[x-bird]

welcome to the fun that is buggy maintenance! Reverse bleed seems to be the key with these. open the reservoir and use whatever method you can to pressure inject the fluid from the calipers to the master. Start at the furthest caliper. I use a $1.20 livestock syringe, clear hose and a nipple from my mity-vac kit. i completely remove the bleeder screw and thread the thick non tapered end of the nipple into the caliper. BTW greeting from a fellow pennsyltuckian!

[lineman364]

Thanks so much! I would never have thought to try that. I'll keep you posted.

[lineman364]

Ok, I give up. I've pressure bled this system from both ends and get the same result of no pedal. Everthing is new, I tested the master with a low pressure regulator gauge and read pressure, I've unbolted the caliper so the bleeder opening is the highest point when I reinserted the screw. I'm out of ideas , except for fabricating a system with the master at the pedal. Anybody have an idea??

[x-bird]

With my setup, which is custom-cobbled together buggy parts from a variety of sources, i initially had to use the syringe and pressure inject from the reservoir (this is the plastic cup style with a hose hanging right off the bottom going to the master--i stuck the clear hose and nipple into the bottom hole in the reservoir and forced it through the master) to get all the air out of the master before doing the rest of the system. sounds like getting the master is the problem, like any brake system, a new one should be bench-bled before putting it in.
pics would help out ...

[bear]

Brakes are always a "PITA" to work on with these little machines, you can spend all day bleeding a system to get what you're looking for, and thats with all the right tools!!!