Catastrophic brake failure cause/cure.

    I'm interested in the helicopter being like a Sling Shot. In the Army I was a Huey crew chief and yes it did have a hydraulic system. I did not know that the Sling used the same mil spec oil as the hydraulic system on a chopper. If I remember correctly we used Mil-H-5606 oil. I think we use brake fluid on the Sling. I don't know what the mil spec is.
    But I learn something new every day in this forum. Love this place.

    :BLUESS:
    Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
    ~Mark Twain~

    Quote from rnj12

    Not under warranty at 12,000? What is regular warranty on a Slingshot? Mine is 5 year unlimited miles.



    RNJ12

    Unless the warranty has changed, you must have gotten the extended warranty. Mine has 2 years, unlimited miles. I was going to purchase the extended warranty before mine ran out, but I've decided against it. I haven't been able to find a dealer within an hour and a half drive from me that has a decent (let alone excellent) service dept. I can wrench better than the hacks at the places I've been so far. If I can't figure it out, I have a great mechanic that is only a block from me that loves to work on things "out of the box". I'm sure he would work on it, and it won't cost $99 an hour either. Not to mention, it would be done with care, and correctly.... unlike the dealerships I've been to.


    Yeah, a little service dept bashing. Last time I got my SS back was in early March and I just plugged in the battery tender and covered it for the next month. When I got it out, my modded lugs on the rear wheel had been taken off with an impact, and trashed them. My screws in the rear panel above the rear wheel were cross threaded and stripped. My drivers panel that had been replaced under warranty wasn't completed correctly. They replaced the panel, but didn't do the fix that keeps the star cracking from coming back. Also when they took the panel off, they chipped the paint on the corner of the deck lid. They touched it up with paint that isn't a match. All of these things, not one was told to me when I got it back. Perhaps the worst was that I requested a laser alignment. The invoice just says "alignment"... and they charged me $170 for it. I found out later that they don't have laser alignment there. Either they farmed it out, or just aligned it there the old way. Did I mention the $170 charge? LOL! I'm over it now.... but they will never see my SS there again.

    Quote from Shatneyman

    Yes, I'm a troll I might not have a "slingshot" anymore, .... it's now a custom 3 wheeler, it did start out as a slingshot.

    AMEN Brother!! It's definitely not a Slingshot anymore! :thumbup:
    I am as well, a former Slingshot owner myself. I was enjoying it wicked good, then, you guessed it..............
    CATASTROPHIC BRAKE FAILURE!
    :00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356::00008356:

    Never trust a ConnMan!!
    (Man I love that line!)
    :00007555:

    i will answer your questions

    1 - copper

    2 - have reused copper washers successfully

    3 - no

    4 - rubber

    5 - yes

    .................................... tom n carol


    Thank you tom and Carol.... I'm wondering why someone just told me they were rubber hmmmmm


    Helicopter mechanic I'm pretty sure the grade of the oil isn't the issue.... The tail rotor uses hydraulics for some reason that really wasn't necessary to get into suffice to say that somewhere in the system supply line is a magnetic probe...its job is to collect metal particles ...if and when enough particles stick to the magnetic tip they extend out across the tube to the other side... This causes the probe to send an electronic signal indicating the oil is contaminated with enough metal particles to be a problem for the tail rotor which could cause a catastrophic failure causing a helicopter to drop out of the sky...but he indicated that many times they would get a false warning light and they found the problem to be some mysterious black stuff and NOT metal particles... Does the mysterious black stuff and warning lights sound familiar to anyone that has wrenched on these things for OVER 2 years?


    That said the title of the first catastrophic brake failure was a joke...which nobody here seems to have a sense of humor...only when they want to be funny...but it still was a seriously written topic to start a discussion....wait start a discussion on a forum site. Who am I kidding...


    Orangeman is that an actual picture of the banjo gaskets? And if so is that black stuff rubber? And are they used on any other brake line connections?

    i stand corrected - i thought Polaris used copper washers/seals, which i have reused in the past in other applications





    i did not realize that they are using a aluminum/rubber seal


    i think that a copper washer/seal would work and there would be no issue with brake fluid effecting the rubber



    i am familiar with a Can-Am Spyder issue in the hydraulic clutch system with uses brake fluid, and the fluid becomes black from contact with black rubber seals



    .......................................... tom n carol




    oil & brake fluid seal kit



    .............. tom carol

    Wow @Bigdog your reasoning amazes me. When you compare a brake system pressure switch to a helicopter positive displacement hydraulic pump system with magnetic chip plugs and think they are the same......... really?

    :BLUESS:
    Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
    ~Mark Twain~

    Quote from Rob the Slob

    Wow @Bigdog your reasoning amazes me. When you compare a brake system pressure switch to a helicopter positive displacement hydraulic pump system with magnetic chip plugs and think they are the same......... really?

    :00008359: let it go bud,...just let it go. It will drive you nuts. I'm already half way to the nut house, :S OK, OK 3/4's the way. but that's a different story :thumbup:

    Hydraulic systems all operate the same way...closed system that puts fluid under pressure to activate push rods...doesn't matter if it's on the space shuttle or a moped.


    The point everyone is missing is....the sensors are getting fouled by tiny rubber bits...the brake fluid is dissolving the cheap rubber and causing it to float through the system. There has to be better (rubber) gaskets we can use to prevent this.


    The helicopter mechanic told me that their sensors plugged up with such frequency that as a matter of routine on the preflight inspections they would just pull the sensors and clean them off and put them back...


    I still think it's a combination of the type of lines used and cheap rubber that is affected by the brake fluid...


    My thoughts are if you don't have to bleed the system when you remove the sensors...which nobody had answered yet ...then as a matter of routine we could have a spare set of sensors (or just take the time to clean the old ones) ready to go with or without new gaskets if we can find better ones... And just swap them every oil change or at some other interval ..


    Also I'm sure our brake lines are probably steel, without looking at them....and replacing them with better copper alloy lines to eliminate any internal rusting issues..


    In case you don't know brake fluid when it heats up creates condensation in the lines...causing rust which can vibrate loose and clog our sensors along with the rubber and any metallic particles..


    And for everyone that still thinks our SS and helicopters aren't similar.....hydraulics is hydraulics...doesn't matter on what the principle and the problems and the cure make them related.