STICKING POLARIS RANGER BRAKES

STICKING POLARIS RANGER BRAKES

Dear Sarge,

I have a 2018 Polaris XP-900 Ranger and lately I have been experiencing sticking brakes on 3 wheels where the calipers are not retracting as they should. I looked at the master cylinder and the brake fluid looks like bad coffee at the dealership! The Dealer wants to replace all 4 calipers and do a complete brake flush! But I just can’t afford that kind of coin right now. Do you have a cheaper (better) solution to sticking Polaris Ranger brakes than replacing everything?

Conrad Atkinson

Taylorsville, North Carolina

Private Attention,

I can commiserate about the poor java at some Motor Pools! Anything after noon and that stuff turns to tar! What your Motor Pool is suggesting is one of the approved procedures to repair your sticking caliper problem. However, Sarge, as usual, has a quicker fix. You need to requisition a quart of DOT 5 silicone brake fluid. Que the haters here that DOT 5 can not mix with DOT 3 or 4. Not mixing it Boots! Just replacing it! Drain and clean out the “bad coffee” from the master cylinder and pour in the DOT 5. Blead each wheel caliper until a clear stream of DOT 5 comes out. (See I didn’t intermix the two!) Make sure you have adequate pedal pressure. Now comes the part where we fix the sticking calipers. Operate your Zooter for ¼ mile with the brakes on. This will really heat up the calipers and this will get the silicone-based DOT 5 brake fluid around the caliper piston seals. With the caliper pistons lubricated, they should now retract correctly, releasing your brakes. Let the brakes cool and you can return to normal operation for the cost of a quart of DOT 5! And double points if you double timed it to the Motor Pool and back for the DOT 5! Otherwise, 25 pushups for each caliper! You do the math on that Boot! Dismissed!