[Reese Perry]

I am New to posting on the forum. This is my first time posting. I am from Jennings, Louisiana and I have a 2016 700 Kodiak SE that I bought used. I have had the jug, piston, rings, and valve seals changed in it by Friendly Yamaha in Baton Rouge, LA. So far so good. It has been 3 months and about 6 hrs on the New head. All is fine. No smoking any longer. I will make a New thread about the engine work on another day. The problem I am having now is the rear brakes. I didn't notice that the rear brake lever was rusted in the upward position till I had got it home. I was able to break it free and take the foot lever off with a lot of resistance from the rust that formed in the tube that holds the lever in place. I took it out and sanded it with my grinder and wheel brush and added some never seize in it. I adjusted my brake cables and got them to where I think they need to be. The problem is, I can use all my 195 lbs and stand on the rear brake and the bike continues rolling l, like I had not even been on the brakes. The only one's that work like they should are the front disc. I am guessing the original owner left the brake stuck in the down position, once it had rust and the brake pads, that are sealed in the housing, are either glazed over or they are completely worn out. I looked at a on-line parts diagram and it shows small disc that are in the housing. Can anyone elaborate on this for me? How hard would this job be? Any information is appreciated.

 

[JimP]

The 2016 Kodiak uses a wet disk brake system for the rear. It is a assembly of clutches and disk that when engaged will slow down the machine.

One problem is that the previous owner used the wrong type fluid in the final drive if and when they changed it. The fluid should carry a GL4 rating which is the same type of fluid that you would put into a truck or car that has a limited slip rear end. This type of fluid contains anti slip additives that allow the clutches to grip onto the plates to stop the Kodiak.

Have you watched the levers work on the left hand side of the rear end when someone else works the brakes? And do they seam to have a full range of motion?

What I would do is to change out the final gear drive fluid with proper fluid and see what it does. Yamaha sells the correct fluid in a quart bottle or you can purchase some from a automotive parts store, just make sure that it has the GL4 rating on the bottle and the proper weight rating that you can find in the owners manual.

On the smoke and the problem that you had corrected, it is a known problem with the 2016's and even perhaps earlier machines. Yamaha corporation just came out with a fix for it a few months ago and there is a member on the site here that had that problem taken care of and all seams to be working properly now.

 

[CanadianKodiak700]

Another tip, clean that never seize off that you put on there. All is going to do is the solvents will evaporate out leaving a thick dry krud that will eventually get mixed with dust and cause sticking issues. Use a good shot of fluid film there for lubricating age protection from corrosion.

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[Reese Perry]

Thanks Jim,

I will try changing the fluids first and if that doesn't solve the problem then I will look into changing out the discs.

 

[JimP]

Just as a FYI there are 2 drain plugs on the rear housing. To drain all the fluid you need to pull the one that is towards the engine. The fill plug is on the back of the diff but there is a plug on the right side that you remove to see when it is full. It is a screwy design but it is what it is. For a full change it takes just over 1/2 a quart. The drain plugs are 6mm Allen heads if I remember correctly

If you want to get a repair manual Spark Tech has them in CD form on Ebay which doesn't cost that much. Once you have the CD you can load it onto a computer for future use without the need of the CD.

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[JimP]

I need to correct the name of the CD, it is Tech Spark. I had it close

But to get to the rear brakes it is quite a process in that it is enclosed in the case and quite a bit of dismantling needs to be done to get to it

 

[TRW]

I think you got lots of great advice here, but it is my nature to raise the wheels off the ground and be sure you have at least a tiny bit of drag when you apply the brakes to be sure your linkage is actually doing the job. It is just a bit of double checking. Good luck with that engine rebuild!

 

[Colorado Kodiak 700]

From my experience the rear brake isn't very strong anyway. It will stop you but I can't mash the brake and start a power slide. Keep that in mind when you do change out the fluids. You might think that you only got it half fixed but that might be the normal braking.

 

[KodiakAfishyo]

From my experience the rear brake isn't very strong anyway. It will stop you but I can't mash the brake and start a power slide. Keep that in mind when you do change out the fluids. You might think that you only got it half fixed but that might be the normal braking.

Interesting.... I have no problem locking up the rear wheels with just moderate pressure to either hand break or the foot break. I have always considered my Kodiak rear break to be as strong as any rear disc break system I have experienced.

 

[Reese Perry]

Guys,


I put jack stands under the rear axles, put the bike in gear and throttled it to around 25 mph and tried to make the rear brakes lock up by pressing down with all my weight on the rear brake lever and there was no braking there. Eventually the wheel stopped but it was cause I let off the throttle. I then tried it with the hand brake lever and the results were the same. That is why I think just changing the fluids is a waste of time. I think the pads are gone. I know it says they are sealed and wet but I think the original owner didn't fix the brake lever and it ate up the pads. From looking at the diagram it looks like it might be allot of pieces to take apart but they do have the parts labeled to sell individually so I think it is a doable job. I am mechanically inclined and I don't like riding it without a rear brake.

 

[JimP]

You are going to need a manual then.

It will provide torque specs and how to check the brake disk along with the assembly order.

 

[Nomad]

Guys,


I put jack stands under the rear axles, put the bike in gear and throttled it to around 25 mph and tried to make the rear brakes lock up by pressing down with all my weight on the rear brake lever and there was no braking there. Eventually the wheel stopped but it was cause I let off the throttle. I then tried it with the hand brake lever and the results were the same. That is why I think just changing the fluids is a waste of time. I think the pads are gone. I know it says they are sealed and wet but I think the original owner didn't fix the brake lever and it ate up the pads. From looking at the diagram it looks like it might be allot of pieces to take apart but they do have the parts labeled to sell individually so I think it is a doable job. I am mechanically inclined and I don't like riding it without a rear brake.

Draining the fluid should yield a lot of brake lining material if the brakes are worn out. One of those hand held bore scope cameras would probably come in handy as well. The sealed final drives were always made by a company called tuff torq. I don't know if that's still the case. These units just take tractor transmission fluid.

 

[KodiakAfishyo]

I would recommend a high quality synthetic oils in there and every where for your Kodiak. Like these...

 

[Reese Perry]

I use Lucas 20w50 full synthetic motorcycle oil in my motor. I checked the rear tranny fluids last time I was home and it was about 5 oz. low in the rear. I will buy the manual eventually and change the pads. The original owner must have rode in the mud and water allot. Everyone be sure to check your rear brake foot lever to make sure it releases properly. Is that true that these units just take tractor transmission fluid in the rear ends? If so I have buckets of the THF stuff in my barn.

 

[Nomad]

Yes it is true. Mobil 424, John Deere hygard etc. Just plain old tractor trans fluid for wet brake. I was going to go synthetic but the market is limited for synthetic tractor fluid and this fluid doesn't see a lot of mileage between change so I decided to go with conventional stuff.

 

[Reese Perry]

Well thanks allot Nomad. Didn't you have a profile on the Yamaha Viking forum also?

 

[Nomad]

Well thanks allot Nomad. Didn't you have a profile on the Yamaha Viking forum also?[/QUOTE

No sir, never owned a Viking.