Front wheel locked up -- Brakes?

[GooberPea]

My front wheel won't turn. It seems the brakes are holding it back. I can pump the lever just fine. It doesn't get all hard so that you can't pump it anymore. I think that means the little return hole in the MC must be clear, correct? If I open either bleeder a smidge and pump the lever fluid squirts out. Wheel still won't turn though. I went ahead and bled everything anyway with my little pump. That went fine.

Here's the history.... last year I totally rebuilt the front Master Cylinder and replaced the lines with Stainless Steel. I rode around a lot and everything was cool. I parked it in the shed for the winter.

I go to take it out of the shed a couple weeks ago and the front wheel won't turn. I didn't have the heart to deal with that right away so I let the thing sit for a week and ordered new Progressive springs and everything I needed to rebuild the forks. I figured I'd tackle it all at once. So I go to get the bike out of the shed fully suspecting the wheel wouldn't turn, but it did. So I (very optimistically) figured it must be a fluke.

So in the meantime I rebuilt the forks with the new springs, seals,and other tidbits. I got new wheel bearings. I did everything. I go to put it all back together today. I button everything up and the front wheel doesn't move again. AT ALL. I inspected the pads for wear when I took the forks off. The PO must've just replaced them because they are still quite thick. They did not appear to be wearing unevenly.

My assumption is that it's the brakes, but I'm not sure how to troubleshoot from here. Any suggestions? Thanks,

[GooberPea]

OK. It's definitely the brakes. I removed the bolts that attach the calipers to the forks. Both calipers are gripping the disks pretty hard, though the left one is way worse. I'm afraid if I manage to slide them off the disk that they'll squeeze shut and I won't be able to open them.

[lucabond]

Open the bleeder and slip a putty knife between the pad and rotor and pry a little. It should open enough to get them off. Good luck.

[twiggy2cents]

with the fact that its not holding pressure(doesnt get easier when you open the bleeder) it sounds like the calipers need rebuilt

[Nessism]

You NEED to remove the calipers and tear them down; remove the pistons using compressed air and clean all the grunge out. Inspect the pistons carefully and replace them if there is pitting. Replace the brake lines while you are there since they are SURE to be full of scale. If you need parts get OE brake parts, they are far superior to aftermarket brake system parts and in many cases, cheaper as well.

Good luck.

[rphillips]

Why not pull the pins the calipers slide on first, to see if they have rusted & are binding? They should be the 2 bolts, on the calipers, that have a rubber gromet on them. Pull them out, one at a time, if they are rusted, clean off all the rust, & grease them good with synthetic grease. Just my opinion.

[exdirtbiker]

you did say you're changing the lines, yes?
rebuild the calipers, and don't be afraid to throw stuff away.

I had a 73 Corvette that had both front lines go bad on the same "hot lap" around the neighborhood... with no body on the car. "Very interesting story, Officer..."

The lines collapsed inside, and turned into 1-way check valves. Had to bleed off both calipers to tow it home. I think you might wake up in a hospital if that happens on a bike.

EDIT: wow, sounds like I'm in a bad mood.

NAP TIME !!!!

[progas]

brakes

There is a very small hole in the bottom of the master cylinder, if thats blocked, it will lock the front brakes on when it gets hot out, or when it's in the direct sun. Make sure you check that as well.

[GooberPea]

I lied. It's not the brakes. At least I don't think so any longer. I took the calipers off and they seemed to work fine. I squeezed the lever a little (I put a thin piece of material in between the pads so they wouldn't shut all the way) and the brakes squeeze shut. I pushed the pistons back and they go no problem. I squeeze the lever, they shut. Seems to work. Works on both.

As I tore into things more, I discovered that as soon as I loosened the axle bolt, everything works as it should. I can spin the wheel. I can apply the brakes and the wheel stops. I can spin the wheel again.

Even though I am applying the correct amount of torque to the axle nut (brand new torque wrench) I think the forks are squeezing together and tweaking the calipers against the rotors. Tighten the axle nut, wheel quits spinning. Loosen the axle nut, wheel spins. Possibly I assembled the axles incorrectly after replacing the tire and bearings. I guess I have to take that all apart now to doublecheck everything. I know I didn't have any parts left over. Is there something I could've put in backwards?

HOWEVER, that still doesn't explain why the wheel wouldn't spin BEFORE I started any of this. I will order the stuff to rebuild the calipers in case I actually have two separate problems. I'm sure it needs to be done anyway.

[SqDancerLynn1]

The fact that both calapers are draging I would check the master. If you disconnect the line from the master will the wheel turn ?? . No ? Get a spray can of brake clean, spray the calapers down good. Pry them apart, big screwdriver works great. pump the master, spray cleaner, pry apart. Do it several times should get rid of whatever gunk is binding the calapers.
Any thing else, time for calaper rebuild

[GooberPea]

you did say you're changing the lines, yes?
rebuild the calipers

Moved to stainless and rebuilt the MC last year. Worked great and no problems when I put it away for the winter.

[Billy Ricks]

You said you replaced the wheel bearings. Was there a bearing support between the two bearings? It's there to keep the bearings centered within themselves. If it's missing the bearings are binding.

[zathros]

Do your brakes float?. I just dragged my bike out from the shed into the barn with a frozen front wheel. I removed the calipers and pushed the pucks back in with a c-clamp. I put a little lube behind the dust seals and had put lithium grease 18 years ago into the floating sliders (which was still good) and the brakes worked great. The pads had absorbed a lot of moisture and were causing the front and rear wheel to drag. The fronts pads delaminated when I took them apart.

[GooberPea]

Foolish me. I found the issue

I had put the axle spacers on backwards. The diagram I have seems ambiguous to me. Turns out I picked the wrong way. Anyway, now that they are on correctly, I can tighten the axle nut without squeezing the forks. Hope I didn't screw anything up permanently

[Steve]

If the wheel moves as it should, now, you will probably be OK.

Thanks for posting the solution to the problem, no matter how embarassing it might be.
There is always the chance that your mistake will help someone else from doing the same thing.

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