Needing to vent about my brake issues

[Guest]

I bled my brakes last night and everything seemed fine. Until I realized the rear caliper pistons were froze

So... I proceed to remove the rear calipers, no big deal. I broke the bleeder caliper bolt So no big deal ... I go to advance hardware and buy two replacement bleeder bolts in case it happens a second time. Then I proceed to drill a hole and use a screw extractor. I broke the screw extractor in the broken bleeder caliper bolt (my swear jar is full).

Well I have titanium bits and a larger screw extractor so I waited to do this later and just focus on getting the pistons out. I got them out without much difficulty to find they were rusted and the reason they were froze was because of the rust. No big deal .... I lightly sand them down after carefully removing the rubber piston seal and boot. I apply a light coat of grease to slide them back into place. I MISTAKENLY thought PB blaster would revitalize the rubber parts. Well - they have expanded and dont fit back in

When will it ever end?

Will order the rubber parts oem from Suzuki tmw.

[Nessism]

Never use anthing other than brake fluid on brake system rubber parts. Grease is a no-no. And look closely at the piston, if there are pits in the metal you must replace it. Sanding scratches are bad also so don't bare down when polishing off corrosion.

[longgreensilverado]

when ever you run into rust in your brake pistons it's time to rebuild the system to be sure all the gunk is out. replace both pistons and all seals.
flush out your master cylinder also and maybe replace the hose with staniless steel type

[nabrams]

I guess I'm just a pragmatist. When I was in your situation I simply got a complete working caliper, brake line and resevoir (all assembled) from eBay for $10 plus shipping. It just doesn't pay to invest all the time and effort in some cases.

[Nessism]

I guess I'm just a pragmatist. When I was in your situation I simply got a complete working caliper, brake line and resevoir (all assembled) from eBay for $10 plus shipping. It just doesn't pay to invest all the time and effort in some cases.

No disrespect intended but used brake parts off ebay should be taken apart to verify they look good on the inside. In many cases there is corrosion inside that needs to be cleaned out. The parts may work in the present but the only way you are assured they will keep working is to make sure everything is clean and the seals are in good shape.

[nabrams]

No disrespect intended but used brake parts off ebay should be taken apart to verify they look good on the inside. In many cases there is corrosion inside that needs to be cleaned out. The parts may work in the present but the only way you are assured they will keep working is to make sure everything is clean and the seals are in good shape.

Yeah, I guess to be super-sure I should have gone through that whole process. But the stuff looked nearly brand new and came off a bike from a dry state (Arizona, or somewhere like that), and the bike had very low mileage. It's less likely that caliper would fail than something that's been on your own bike and hasn't been checked in 20K miles. Now, if he can find something like that on eBay he will be tearing a lot less of his hair out.

[bradleymaynar]

Never use anthing other than brake fluid on brake system rubber parts. Grease is a no-no. And look closely at the piston, if there are pits in the metal you must replace it. Sanding scratches are bad also so don't bare down when polishing off corrosion.

Brake parts cleaner? Just curious since the stuff I have is automotive based. I've never actually used it on the bike.

Brad bt

[gremlin]

for under 5 bucks a year you can have a freash change of brake fluid.

[Schweisshund]

Yeah, I guess to be super-sure I should have gone through that whole process. But the stuff looked nearly brand new and came off a bike from a dry state (Arizona, or somewhere like that), and the bike had very low mileage. It's less likely that caliper would fail than something that's been on your own bike and hasn't been checked in 20K miles. Now, if he can find something like that on eBay he will be tearing a lot less of his hair out.

:-D Yeah - been tearing my hair out. I went the e-bay route and found a newbie bike parts seller. The title read "rear brake caliper assembly for GS 550 e" its a total of $37.00 with shipping. However, not only does it come with the calipers, it comes with hoses, a foot peg, master cylinder and reservoir and part of the frame \\/

[Schweisshund]

I am also having fuel petcock issues and got a dent free gas tank including petcock, float assembly for $27.00 (my tank has a ding)

[twistedwankel]

[quote=Schweisshund;676199]I bled my brakes last night and everything seemed fine. Until I realized the rear caliper pistons were froze

So... I proceed to remove the rear calipers, no big deal. I broke the bleeder caliper bolt So no big deal ... I go to advance hardware and buy two replacement bleeder bolts in case it happens a second time. Then I proceed to drill a hole and use a screw extractor. I broke the screw extractor in the broken bleeder caliper bolt (my swear jar is full).

You have two lovely children. You should retire from biking until they are grown. Then ride to the ends of the earth. Or just fix bikes for profit until you are rich. Then ride to the ends of the earth.

[Schweisshund]

:-D:-D:-D The picture is of me and my twin sister when we were babies

[TooManyToys]

There's just so much wrong here .....

If the stories you just told of this adventure are true, I would really suggest you have a shop repair your brakes.

If your just screwing with those of us that don't know you, OK......

[Schweisshund]

If the stories you just told of this adventure are true, I would really suggest you have a shop repair your brakes.

If your just screwing with those of us that don't know you, OK......

I know the head mechanic at the local Suzuki Dealership. The bike I am working on is OLD. I not only ordered a rear brake caliper assembly, I bought new piston seals, piston boots and pistons from the suzuki dealership to make sure I have two sets of rear calipers and everything I need to reassemble it and that it is safe. I also ordered the correct bleeder for this rear caliper set too. Reason for the two sets of everything is that it is OLD and things break when your swear jar is full and your having a bad day. :-D

Why do you think I am screwing with you guys?

[TooManyToys]

Because your making me nervous about the the safe operation of the bike. You are doing things here that are just the wrong moves, and you don't seem to be trying to learn what to do before you do it.

- Bleed the brakes then find caliper frozen. Normally I'd let that slide, but I'd be checking movement before I went through the trouble of bleeding.

- Broke the bleeder. You've already had it opened and closed for the bleeding, so it was either over-tightened when closed or turned in the wrong direction when you went to remove it.

- Sanded pistons to remove rust. That would just promote rusting quicker. I don't know any mechanic experienced with brakes that would do that.

- Greased the pistons / used PB Blaster on the rubber parts. The rubber used with brake components is compatible with glycol based fluids, but not petroleum. Any petroleum product will just destroy them. This is rather common knowledge if you do maintenance on vehicles, or read the owners / service manuals.

Again, I'm not trying to bash you, but these things are telling me you shouldn't necessarily be working on your brakes, the single most important safety item on any vehicle. Your not being pro-active in self-training, but reacting to problems your creating in your post. And I'm worried that you going to do something, take a ride to check it out, and then have a problem without a cage around you.

"Reason for the two sets of everything is that it is OLD and things break ...." Mmmmmmmmmm, no.

Offer your buddy a case of beer if he will come over and help you put the brakes back together.