Caliper Issue

[eddyble]

Hi guys ,

I recently noticed that my front brake was performing really poorly and upon closer inspection found that my brake pads were worn out unevenly and one of the pistons advanced faster than the other. After popping out the troubling piston i saw a little black protrusion sticking out from the Inside of the caliper. I managed to scratch a bit of it off but it still interferes with the performance of the piston.

The solutions i've come up with so far;

Get a new caliper (least favourite)
Try to poke that thing off... (not sure how, all suggestions are welcome)
Swap front/back brake calipers (iirc they are the same thing). Only issue with this method is that i have aftermarket brake lines and they may not line up exactly.
Or simply do nothing and just wear out brake pads unevenly

Not entirely sure what to do and any suggestions would be welcome. Also, if you've done a front/back caliper swap i'd love to hear from you too

Thanks

Ed

[felo]

Care for a pic of that thing you seeing?

[eddyble]

ugh.. It's a tad difficult. Just spent the better half of the afternoon cleaning out the caliper and draining the brake fluid. Don't want to do that again haha.

I'll wait for someone to chime in, if not i'll pull it apart and take a pic

[Motofool]

Ed,

That thing popping out may be the neoprene seal.
If that is the case, it is out of position and jamming the piston.
Scratching it is a no-no.

This applies to pre-gens, but some info is still good for new-gens:

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Brakes

[tooblekain]

What ^^ said...you have to confirm if it's a seal or if it's a ring of dirt.

If you race, Dave Moss suggest taking the pads out and cleaning the inside of the caliper and pistons with a toothbrush and dish soap and water. Let it dry naturally because the soap will actually lubricate the seals.

I have been doing this with my bikes and like you I had problems with uneven wear on my brake pads. Since doing this my pads wear nice and evenly.

If you race, this is something you should do after every race weekend. If you do this frequently, it's quick. My first time doing this on all the bikes it took a while because I had so much dirt and dust buildup. Plus I had to manipulate the pistons to get a deeper clean before actually popping them out. Once they were clean, piston movement evened out.

Plus, since you are removing the pads, it lets you easily inspect them to see if they are wearing evenly or need to be replaced.

A word of advice. I suggest putting anti-seize on the threads on the pin that holds the pads into the calipers. All bikes when doing this the first time I actually had to use an extractor to get them out.

If you commute, you should be doing this about once a month. If you commute a lot...like daily driver riding, once every 2 weeks. The more you do this, the easier it becomes.

[alex.s]

get a rebuild kit and redo the caliper. a small piston hone is only a dollar or two. the seals should be around $10. simple green is your friend.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by alex.s

get a rebuild kit and redo the caliper. a small piston hone is only a dollar or two. the seals should be around $10. simple green is your friend.

You are being very frugal lately, Alex, and depriving us of your previous magnificent descriptions.

Would you mind elaborating this one a little more?

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by tooblekain

.........If you commute, you should be doing this about once a month. If you commute a lot...like daily driver riding, once every 2 weeks. The more you do this, the easier it becomes.

Wow !!!................ I owe my bike a lot of work

Do you bleed the fluid and everything each time you perform that cleaning?

[tooblekain]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Wow !!!................ I owe my bike a lot of work

Do you bleed the fluid and everything each time you perform that cleaning?

No, only if I feel the brakes feel a little spongey. HOwever it doesn't hurt to do it if you want to.

[alex.s]

rebuild kit, small cylinder hone, simple green

take apart the caliper, remove all the old seals, soak it in simple green, scrub it with a tooth brush, use the cylinder hone, sand the pistons smooth or replace them if they are too far gone, rinse in clean water and dry completely. put on the new seals, reassemble.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by alex.s

...........take apart the caliper, remove all the old seals, soak it in simple green, scrub it with a tooth brush, use the cylinder hone, sand the pistons smooth or replace them if they are too far gone, rinse in clean water and dry completely. put on the new seals, reassemble.

[eddyble]

I can confirm that it has Nothing to do with the seals and they work properly. The little protrusion is slightly further than the seals and sticks out oddly within the caliper. It's as if a small rock decided to weld itself to the inside.

I've managed to misplace my bike key so i 'may' not have to work today

If i can't find my key within two hours i won't have work and will get some pics of the little bugger

Ed

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by eddyble

I can confirm that it has Nothing to do with the seals and they work properly. The little protrusion is slightly further than the seals and sticks out oddly within the caliper. It's as if a small rock decided to weld itself to the inside.

I've managed to misplace my bike key so i 'may' not have to work today

If i can't find my key within two hours i won't have work and will get some pics of the little bugger

Ed

so do everything i said, minus buying new seals.