Replaced rear tire and now rear brake drag!

[xj11john]

Hey guys,
I replaced me rear tire and upon putting it back together I have the outside brake pad rubbing on the rotor disk. I'm not sure if all the spacers and parts are there or not, does anyone have a pic of the rear tire with a good shot of the right side, where I could see if I'm missing anything?
I looked up the Yamaha parts fische on it but it is hard to tell if all those parts are there, or if some of those parts are as one unit? confusing, just look at the break down of all the parts that are supposed to be on that side and you'll see what I mean. Thanks for reading, and any suggestions/comments/pics.

[Incubus]

The outside is the piston side of the caliper, right (I don't have an XJ. Never seen the rear brakes.)? If so, did you compress the piston all the way back into the caliper before you remounted it? If not, try that and let the brakes re-adjust.

Patrick

[SFerinTEXAS]

The rear brake on the XJ is like (or the same ) as the front right on a special.My first guess would be to ask did you over tighten the caliper thru bolt to tight. It has to have a little wiggle slack for the angled pads to align with the rotor. Also check to see if the torque bracket is positioned on the grommet midway forward inside the swingarm, if not it will cause alignment problems but that would show up when the axle shaft is put in.

can't locate my XS manual but I think it has a good pic of the rear wheel mounting parts order. Its the same as the XJ, just uses a diff caliper bracket.

[SFerinTEXAS]

No good pic in the clymers, sorry.

[Incubus]

If it is the same as the XS, this might help. This is a picture of the '79 Standard axle:



This is a '79 Standard with a '79 Special rear wheel:



Patrick

[SFerinTEXAS]

Except for what appears to be a thin washer, it would be same as the bottom pic. On these there are only 3 things, Hub spacer, cal bracket and torque plate

[crazy steve]

Your XJ caliper bracket/spacer is the same as a 'Special'; from the wheel out, you have the 'dust cover'/spacer, the caliper bracket, and the steel 'anchor plate'. That's it....

But the XJ does have that weird 'pivoting' caliper, and that's probably where the trouble is. As was said, it may help to push the piston in slightly and 'reset' the pads. Also make sure the caliper can pivot because if it's not turning on it's mount, that can cause it to drag.

But a slight amount of contact can be 'normal'; if you can't feel much or any difference in how hard it is to rotate the tire by hand with and without the caliper installed, it's probably OK.

[DGXSER]

Here is a question that has been troubling and perhaps plaguing me. When tightening the bolts on these "pivoting" calipers for the special models, the specs call for 18 ft-lbs of torque. This is plenty enough to stop that caliper from pivoting on the bolt. So, is this refering to the through bolt, or the "locking" nut on top? If not the bolt, then is that bolt just snugged up?

Also, the Clymer manual shows a rubber o-ring bwtween the large washer and the mounting surface (typically the fork). None of the other parts layouts show this o-ring. Does it belong, need to be there?

I only ask because I have ALWAYS had issues with the front brakes feeling like a warped rotor, but perhaps it is this need for the caliper to swing.

Also, as previously stated, on the Special models, the line up is the same as Patricks second pic. However, that second spacer he has between the caliper mounting bracket and the torque plate is not there. But then, the Special model has a different torque plate.

[TADracer]

Here is something else to look at.

On special front brake calipers it is not uncommon for the through fastener to bend slightly when the brakes are first applied. If it does then reinstalling it and lining everything up can be a bitch. If this trait is the same on your rear caliper then that may be your problem. Unscrew the through bolt and notice if the caliper is undulating back and forth as you unscrew the bolt. If it is, get a new bolt and that may solve your prob.

[xj11john]

Thanks All!

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the comments. What I ended up doing was going to a friends that has a shop, and an old xs (not sure of the model or year)
but I removed the rear wheel and got the bearing dust cover and a spacer from it, I ended up using the dust cover but the spacer that looks just like the pictures you guys posted, between the caliper brakets, didn't fit, so I went down and bought some washer and shimmed everything with those.
There doesnt seem to be much if any drag now.
Whats funny is I found the dust cover that came off mine, in the lawn, it had been stepped on, and looked like a regular washer sitting on the ground.

I may go back and install my original dust cover (covers the hole in the center of the wheel and keeps the bearing clean) back on my XJ, I noticed it had a built in raised area that was about 2 or 3 washers thick, so I'll be able to get rid of some of the washers I installed.
Thanks again guys!

[WMarshy]

Now that you found the correct dust cover, why would you need any washers at all unless you lost the spacer as well..?

[xj11john]

Now that you found the correct dust cover, why would you need any washers at all unless you lost the spacer as well..?

I did lose the original spacer and dust cover, the dust cover I got off the xs was thinner and the spacer was thicker than the originals.
This would'nt be a prob if the spacer would fit in between the caliper brackets, but for now everything works fine, it just doesnt look stock with those silver colored washers on there. I could paint them black, then it wouldnt be noticable, but with my saddle bags you can't see them much anyway.

[xj11john]

Your XJ caliper bracket/spacer is the same as a 'Special'; from the wheel out, you have the 'dust cover'/spacer, the caliper bracket, and the steel 'anchor plate'. That's it....

But the XJ does have that weird 'pivoting' caliper, and that's probably where the trouble is. As was said, it may help to push the piston in slightly and 'reset' the pads. Also make sure the caliper can pivot because if it's not turning on it's mount, that can cause it to drag.

But a slight amount of contact can be 'normal'; if you can't feel much or any difference in how hard it is to rotate the tire by hand with and without the caliper installed, it's probably OK.

crazy steve,
I was wondering if my xj just didnt have a spacer out there by the caliper bracket maybe there wasn't one to lose, when I get around to putting my original dust cover back on the wheel we will see if there is any room for a spacer, thanks again.

[crazy steve]

...I was wondering if my xj just didnt have a spacer out there by the caliper bracket maybe there wasn't one to lose...

Nope, you shouldn't have any spacer between the two caliper brackets. If you go back to post 5 and look at the lower picture, your inner spacer should look like the one shown, then the cast aluminum caliper mount, then the steel bracket. Incubus has a 'extra' spacer in there because he's running a special wheel with a 'standard' caliper bracket, which you're not. If after removing whatever you have in there and you end up with a misaligned caliper, you may have bent that steel bracket so a little 'bodywork' might be needed...

[xj11john]

.... If after removing whatever you have in there and you end up with a misaligned caliper, you may have bent that steel bracket so a little 'bodywork' might be needed...

I hope not! I don't think I have bent anything, that dust cover is way thicker than the one I got off the xs, as the two pics above shows, so maybe it will fill the space (fingers crossed) I'll let ya'll know, and I much appreciate the knowledge and tips!