Cub Cadet Brake Reline by Scott Tanner

This project outlines relining cub cadet external disc brake pads using aftermarket brake material. Replacement pads are a bit pricey, this process involves roughly $20 worth of materials, plus about 2 man-hours of time. The test subject is a 1973 149 Cub Cadet that has not had brakes in a while. The original pads were worn out not by use, but by incorrect contact with the disc due to rusted out springs design to keep the pads away from the rotor.

Here are the old pads. The bulk of the material was removed with a chisel. This was used instead of a grinder due to the concern of the original linings may contain asbestos. I scraped these down even further than the pictures show below.

The scraped pads were fastened into a vise so that the remaining material could be removed. This was done outdoors with a good quality dust mask for ventilation due to the potential asbestos concern. A 24 grit disc on a 4-1/2 angle grinder was used, primarily to rough up the metal to give it tooth for the epoxy to bond to.

Pads all ground, ready for material.

A fine-toothed band saw is set up to cut the material. This was obtained from McMaster-Carr for under $3.00/ft. The length needed was measured from the old pads. A fence was used to help keep the material all the same length.

Here are the 4 new pads, along with an old factory pad.

The freshly cut pads now need to be trimmed to match the original pad profile. The pads probably don’t need to look exactly like the old one, but what the heck… The old pad was sprayed with black spray paint, then a block of wood wad pressed onto it, to transfer the shape to the wood, which will be used for a template.

Here is the wood template all cut out, and the shape being transferred to the pad using a pencil.

The excess material was ground down to the trace lines with a belt sander with a vacuum connected to keep down the dust. A saw or knife could also be used.

Here are the freshly cut pad, along with the template and original pad.

All of the tools needed to bond the material to the old pads were laid out and adjusted prior to mixing the epoxy.

The epoxy is mixed according to the instructions, Loc-tite brand epoxy “puck” kits were used, one kit will do two pads (one side of tractor). The epoxy was spread onto each piece of pad material, and then sandwiched pad face to pad face to clamp. To not tighten the clamps too much, so that all of the epoxy gets squeezed out. These were tightened snugly.

The clamp may tend to make the pads shift sideways, so ensure that the clamping force is vertical, realign as necessary. The epoxy was left to set for over an hour.

Here are the finished pads after the epoxy has dried.

Here, the pads get milled in the drill press, because the 3/16” material is a tad too thick. This is the milling setup described by KENtuckyKEN to shave the material. It worked flawlessly. The pads were run through, then swapped end for end, and run through again, in case there was any differences in height . The table was moved up a little, and repeated.

The pads were test fitted onto the rotor, and these particular pads needed to go through again. Only one of the two per side was milled again, to get it to fit. This is a YMMV* situation, as all tractors are different. The rotors that these were going on were surfaced, and may be thinner than original

* Your Mileage May Vary

After milling, it was time to touch up the paint. The color here is rattle can TSC Cub Cadet Yellow. The pads were taped prior to painting.

Here are the finished pads installed on the 149, along with the new springs.

Finished project! Feel free to email me with any questions on this project.

Be aware that the author take no responsibility or liability for the procedure or accuracy to the content contained within. Perform at your own risk.