caliper axle's on a 78 550

[brand new bike zealot]

I've just replaced the front pads on my 78 550, and had a tough time getting the caliper over the rotor. I pushed the piston right back, and really wrestled with it and got it on, but when I tightened the mounting bolts, the front wheel wouldn't turn.

I removed the caliper and the floating side didnn't seem to float too much so I've pulled the caliper axles out of very gummed up holes and one has 2 o-rings on it and the other has none. They both have slots machined for three. The fische only shows 2. Is this correct?

One more thing. Would general purpose grease work on the axles, or is caliper grease of some form necessary.

thanks in advance for any help

josh

[Nessism]

Not sure on the axle O-rings but I do know you should remove the pistons from the caliper and clean out the insides. And always use high temp caliper grease, the thick black stuff with moly. Napa sells it.

[almarconi]

when I tightened the mounting bolts, the front wheel wouldn't turn

Your caliper mounting bolts are too tight. Use a dab of blue locktite and snug them. The front wheel should spin freely. Your service manual should have a spec for them but they should not be overly tight.

You want to make sure the pins and the sockets in the bracket that hold the pins are free from dirt and rust. Use a high quality moly brake grease to lube the pins. Some caliper pins also have little rubber boots to help keep them clean.

[DPage]

+1 on the real caliper grease. If you use ordinary grease (which is petroleum based) it will cause rubber parts like the O-rings or boots to swell, not good. Real caliper grease is synthetic, doesn't cause swelling. CRC is the brand I use, but there are others out there.