Front brake sticking.

[XJfan1]

Ok I hope to explain this so you guys can get what im saying. I have been dealing with my front brake not releasing all the way. I have cleaned the caliper and master cylinder twice and changed the fluid twice and everything seems to be working smooth. The front brake seems to drag after i use it. It's not too bad but its noticable, especially if I'm trying to back it out of the garage. I try not to use it much, I use the rear brake 98% of the time. It's still the original linked factory setup. I was waiting on a train tonight and I was sitting on a bit of a hill so I squeezed the front brake to hold me in place. As i was sitting there i let off the front brake and turned the handle bars all the way right then all the way left and the brake released. It kind of puzzled me so i squeezed the brake again it grabbed like normal, I turned the bars like before and it released again. I'm baffled what do I have going on here?

[petejw]

hey xj,
with the split system which side of the front brake is sticking? (disregard i just reread ur post, so its definately the front)

sometimes if u have the old rubber hoses, they can deteriorate from
the inside out, are u running the old hose lines?

usually a brake dragging is a blocked spooge hole, but if uve cleaned
the m/cylinders then that shouldnt be a problem,

turning the handle bars shouldnt make a difference to the
brakes, maybe a kinked brake line?

when u cleaned out the callipers did u lube the seal up
before putting the piston back in?

just a cpl of things i could think of off hand.

[XJfan1]

It's the front right side. turning the bars to free it up make no sense thats why i posted. the rubber lines are original i guess ill get some new ones and give that a try.

[WMarshy]

It's the front right side. turning the bars to free it up make no sense thats why i posted. the rubber lines are original i guess ill get some new ones and give that a try.

Theres no way turning your wheel has any thing to do with the brake releasing, it was just a fluke. Corrolation does not equal causation... Did you happen to lube the slide pin when you were in there?

[CatatonicBug]

It's one of two things:

1. The Spooge hole in the Master cylinder is clogged. When you cleaned the MC, did you make sure to ream out that hole with a small piece of wire?

2. The seal in the caliper is not sliding smoothly. When you cleaned the caliper, did you REALLY clean the groove that the seal sits in? That rubber seal actually stretches a bit and when you let off the brake lever, it springs back into place, pulling the piston with it. If it can't move freely, it won't pull the piston back away from the disc.

Now, the actual cause of these things could be that your old rubber hoses are dropping crud and mussing up the works, but you should be able to see that when you open the caliper up again, if you can see black bits floating in the brake fluid.

[skids]

You would know if the spooge hole is clogged. The brake gets locked (or almost locked). Caliper brakes do drag just a little. There is no spring to open the pads. I think that because the calipers are mounted a little higher on the forks than the axle, the small amount of differential movement is pushing the pad just enough away from the rotor for you to notice a difference and make the slight dragging stop. No big deal if that is the case.

[XJfan1]

this is not my imagination. i did it 3 more times today. backing it out of the garage if you squeeze the front brake lever and let go you can barely push the bike backwards then you turn the bars back and forth it loosens right and rolls like normal.i understand this dosent make sense but its what its doing. if it was a hung up pad or a clogged spooge hole. nore is this my first bike by far. i squeezed the brake again and rode it some and the front right rotor was hot when i checked. turn the bars lock to lock and it frees up. its really odd. i dont understand what is going on. ill for sure let you know when i fix it. i will get some video when i get home from work in the morning and put it on my youtube channel. my bike is nice and clean is not some old neglected rusty peice of crap.

[DiverRay]

You probably need to polish and lube the bolt the caliper swivels on. I would do both, just to make sure.

[DGXSER]

I would definitely pull the calipers off and clean them. Sounds to me like your piston is getting pushed out by the MC like it should, but the rubber seal that kind of rolls as the piston pushes out is not rolling back into position. Turning the wheel may be just the side to side pressure on the pad it needs to pop that seal back into place letting the caliper release. Most common cause is dirt behind the seal.

[crazy steve]

You probably need to polish and lube the bolt the caliper swivels on. I would do both, just to make sure.

He's got an XJ, no swivel. But the XJ calipers do have an extra-large (compared to the XS calipers) 'mating surface' to their mounts, so you may have some 'stuff' in there preventing free movement of the caliper on the mount. If you pull the upper pin out, the caliper will come right off giving you access for cleaning. Also make sure the pin moves freely; if that's hanging up, that could also be the problem.

[petejw]

my old sport would drag the front brakes when
i would back it out of the garage, it was the caliper
swinging up a little on the caliper bolt, the pads would sit up a little
from there normal position on the disc causing it to drag a little
but was fine when the bike went forward, i cant remember
if the calipers are the same for the xj as they are for the sport,
like ray stated give the slide a clean,
maybe jack the front wheel up and spin it in both directions
and see what the calipers are doing.

[Rasputin]

I am not an expert on this issue. Check your brake pads! I have had that exact problem with a 79SF. The brake pads had for whatever reason become unglued from the original position. The braking pad was completely broke away from the metal parts of the brake pad.
It caused exactly what you are saying. In my case every time I turned left with my bike while trying to push it, I could not push it but turn it to the right and it moved nicely. While many will think I am crazy, a quick check will not hurt.

[XS1100 Newbie]

I too have the problem with my Special. Have had for a long time, and have not figured it out. Right front drags when rolling backwards. It gets worse if i am turning at the same time. Have been into the calipers, and master probably 6 times trying to find the solution. Because it doesn't seem to affect the braking, and doesn't drag rolling forward, i just said screw it. Glad i am not alone on this.