should i rebuild the brake calipers?

[Yamaniac]

you may not need a rebuild kit, Mason. I had good luck with just getting them apart, cleaning all the metal parts in carb cleaner, Triple washing them (with dish soap) to make sure you get all the residue off. wash all rubber parts with dish soap and water. DOT3 used when assembling. Has worked great for me.

[mason79]

Originally posted by Yamaniac
you may not need a rebuild kit, Mason. I had good luck with just getting them apart, cleaning all the metal parts in carb cleaner, Triple washing them (with dish soap) to make sure you get all the residue off. wash all rubber parts with dish soap and water. DOT3 used when assembling. Has worked great for me.

but is it that the rubber is close to 30 years old and may desintergrate soon?

[prometheus578]

but is it that the rubber is close to 30 years old and may desintergrate soon?

I've never seen that. The only probs I've seen concern the rubber components exposed to air, such as the dust boots on the outside of the calipers and master cylinder. Gets hard and brittle, etc.

[mason79]

Originally posted by prometheus578
I've never seen that. The only probs I've seen concern the rubber components exposed to air, such as the dust boots on the outside of the calipers and master cylinder. Gets hard and brittle, etc.

thanks prom i'll be patient and split the work into 2 days, one to remove inspect and the other to replace as nessessary? or to play it safe go for the new stuff what's your opinion?

[GNEPIG]

.. i have never had to replace the oring in any of the calipers i have taken apart and if you pick your oring out of the groove nicely you wont have to either. dont clean the oring with brake cleaner or other hard chemicals, the rubber will expand then you will have to replace it, i like the soapy water idea. i have made a scraper out of a piece of coat hanger to clean the groove out with. just smash one end flat with a hammer and bend it your own special way to get it in the hole and start scraping the groove. if your brakes were hanging up/stuck/binding then you should get a lot of oxidation out from under the oring

.. hope this helps

[mason79]

Originally posted by GNEPIG
.. i have never had to replace the oring in any of the calipers i have taken apart and if you pick your oring out of the groove nicely you wont have to either. dont clean the oring with brake cleaner or other hard chemicals, the rubber will expand then you will have to replace it, i like the soapy water idea. i have made a scraper out of a piece of coat hanger to clean the groove out with. just smash one end flat with a hammer and bend it your own special way to get it in the hole and start scraping the groove. if your brakes were hanging up/stuck/binding then you should get a lot of oxidation out from under the oring

.. hope this helps

this whole place helps and i'm thankful

[prometheus578]

"with this ring... I thee bled."

(Ok... concerns bleeding the system, not rebuilding... but it's 4:00AM and I'm tired)
Clean the large O ring with brake fluid and scrape the white crap off with your thumb nail. GNEPIG's right on with the coat hanger. Use a VERY fine sandpaper to smooth the caliper bore and the sides of the piston. It's a very close fit, but should slide in and out smoothly. (If it doesn't do it now... it won't do it later, either)

[mason79]

Use a VERY fine sandpaper to smooth the caliper bore and the sides of the piston.

how fine, should i put a hone like a cylinder? what grit?

bte, where should i dump the brake fluid with my old oil?

decsions, decsions...

[Ken Talbot]

I wouldn't use a hone. Stick with 600 grit or finer sandpaper wrapped around your fingers.

[Yamaniac]

it may be too gentle, but I use 00 steel wool and wd40. Someone else on here recommended that. It will clean things up, and you'd have to use it for a long time before you went too far with the honing.

an angled pick and WD40 worked great to clean out the oring groove for me. Just be careful not to score the walls

[prometheus578]

"Honing your mechanical skills"

Ken's got it right

I wouldn't use a hone. Stick with 600 grit or finer sandpaper wrapped around your fingers

One only needs to do this if there's visible corrosion on the cylinder walls.
From what the company that picks up our used oil tells me, brake fluid can be mixed in with oil. some autoparts stores have a container for customers to dump off their used oil, or check out the recycling/hazardous waste area of the local landfill, etc.
After the caliper's clean, move the piston in and out a few times(before putting the o ring back in), to make sure it slides smoothly.

[mason79]

lemme see if i got this right

recycle dot 3 with oil

groove will be dirty, scrape with flattened hanger or pick

look for corrosion, if yes lightly sand with 600 or finer or 00steel wool and w d, ( i like w d)

no rebuild kit required

should i tear down the m c before i go out and get a kit?

[DiverRay]

Mason,
I would have a rebuild kit for the MC BEFORE I started. That way, you can remove, clean, and replace WITHOUT forgetting what part went in the hole first.

Ray

[randy]

Mason,

Ditto what Diverray said.

Oh, and I would never use steel wool on aluminum parts. Steel fibers get imbedded and then rust.

[wingnut]

Scrubbing Pad

What Randy said. Do not use steel wool on aluminum. Go into the chief cook and bottle washer’s kitchen and relocate a one of those scrubbing pads or head down to the auto parts store and ask the guy for a scotch bright pad. I think you will find them in the auto body section. That and the WD 40 and you should be able to clean it all up. You can even use the scrubbing pad in the o-ring grove to get rid of the white stuff