stuck caliper?

[Guest]

Took my bike out this morning for its first ride of the season. Noticed one of the pads on the front caliper (right side) was stuck out. Left side was pinching the rotor and because the right side wasnt moving, it was torqueing it a little when I applied the brake. Will replace the pads as they are shot but is my caliper double action? Ie, does it close from both sides or only one?

[JTGS850GL]

Single piston with a slide. As the piston moves out and the pad comes in contact with the rotor the other side should move over and contact the rotor as well. That way both pads provide equal pressure to the rotor as brake force is increased. Sounds like your caliper is not sliding over. Probably best to disassemble and clean the caliper along with your master. Drain and refill with fresh DOT 4 or 5.1 brake fluid. Might be time to consider new brake lines as well.

[cowboyup3371]

Isn't the Dot 5.1 the one everyone says to stay away from? I thought I remembered reading about problems with it but may be mistaken.

[chuck hahn]

For sure on the disassemble both masters and all the calipers and deep clean them. The major problem with calipers lays with the groove the piston seals set in. Brake fluids draw moisture and the seals get a hard grey scale built up between them and then caliper bodies.

And as anyone knows that when something is introduced into an already occupied space something has to be displaced. What gets displaced is the weakest link ( or in this case ) the rubber seals. Scale builds and builds and pushes the seals out of the grooves..which in turn get tighter and tighter around the pistons till they stop retracting and eventually seize up all together,

[JTGS850GL]

Isn't the Dot 5.1 the one everyone says to stay away from? I thought I remembered reading about problems with it but may be mistaken.

Don't confuse DOT 5 with DOT 5.1. DOT 5 is silicone based while DOT 5.1 is polyethylene glycol (PEG) based, the same as DOT 3 and DOT 4 but with a higher boiling temp.

You can mix DOT 5.1 with other PEG based brake fluids. With DOT 5 you MUST flush the entire system of any existing PEG brake fluid.

The problem that some have had with DOT 5 is that it doesn't absorb water. On the surface you would think that this is a good thing, but in reality, any water that can and will enter the system will tend to settle and collect at the lowest part of the brake system. Silicone floats over water. This usually is the calipers and causes two things to occur. Rapid boiling and loss of brakes under hard braking due to the low boiling point of water and rust formation in the caliper over extended periods of time. DOT 5.1 does not have these issues but must be changed out regularly. The same as DOT 3 and 4.

[gspower]

Thanks for the tips. Does anyone know of a place where I can upgrade my entire caliper assembly to match OEM? Like ... new. Now that I'm disassembling it's in bad shape.

[JTGS850GL]

Clean and inspect everything. Look for any pitting on the piston. Make sure that the piston bore is not heavily pitted as well. Lubricate all sliding components with some high temp disc brake lubricant. Normally I'd recommend picking up a caliper rebuild kit and new pistons but can't seem to find an aftermarket kit for your year/model. Suzuki OEM is your best bet but I've noticed that the pistons may not be available. The seals should be not problem though.

[gspower]

Yeah, the piston might be an issue. Will report back after complete disassembly & inspection

[JTGS850GL]

Post pictures of what you have after you've performed your initial cleaning. Some pitting is allowed but it depends on where and how much.

[gspower]

Small ding on the piston: http://oi57.tinypic.com/24d10dd.jpg

Can I salvage this or do I need a new piston? Will replace all the seals and whatnot. I don't want to buy something in worse condition on ebay...

EDIT: Bore is smooth and clean. Shouldn't be an issue.

[JTGS850GL]

That should clean up real nice as long it's not very deep. Looks like you just need the soft parts.

Use some fine 600 grit sand paper and steel wool to clean it up around that one spot. Don't go crazy. Just make sure the edges aren't sharp. You only want to make sure that there's nothing in the seal slide area that can tare up the seal.

I'm betting that your problem is more with the slides then the piston. Just lube the slide pins up and make sure it moves relatively freely. Not zero resistance but not binding either.

[gspower]

Alright. On second inspection, everything looks really good. The only rubber that might need replacing is the piston boot itself.

Picture:

http://oi58.tinypic.com/c81hz.jpg

But what is this??? Looks like a race but can't find it anywhere on the parts diagram:

http://oi57.tinypic.com/f3hudk.jpg

Also, in this diagram,

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d3f00ef8700230d8b4b818/calipers

there is a metal piece wrapping around the caripers holder, directly under where there is a #4. I mangled this up on my own holder pretty bad thinking it was part of the brake pad and do not see the part listed anywhere. Thoughts?

[gspower]

Alright. On second inspection, everything looks really good. The only rubber that might need replacing is the piston boot itself.

Picture:

http://oi58.tinypic.com/c81hz.jpg

But what is this??? Looks like a race but can't find it anywhere on the parts diagram:

http://oi57.tinypic.com/f3hudk.jpg

Also, in this diagram,

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d3f00ef8700230d8b4b818/calipers

there is a metal piece wrapping around the caripers holder, directly under where there is a #4. I mangled this up on my own holder pretty bad thinking it was part of the brake pad and do not see the part listed anywhere. Thoughts?

Anyone? Thoughts / comments?

[postman_pat]

But what is this??? Looks like a race but can't find it anywhere on the parts diagram:
http://oi57.tinypic.com/f3hudk.jpg

That is the metal ring that the piston boot "hooks" over, it's not shown on the parts diagram. It's a press fit into the caliper body. Don't worry, it can be re-used. Just give it clean up to remove the rust and press it back into the caliper.

there is a metal piece wrapping around the caripers holder, directly under where there is a #4. I mangled this up on my own holder pretty bad thinking it was part of the brake pad and do not see the part listed anywhere. Thoughts?

That's kind of important, I hope you haven't mangled it too badly, because it needs to be refitted.. It's part of the caliper holder, not the brake pad. It's designed to stop the brake pad spinning in its holder.

[gspower]

That is the metal ring that the piston boot "hooks" over, it's not shown on the parts diagram. It's a press fit into the caliper body. Don't worry, it can be re-used. Just give it clean up to remove the rust and press it back into the caliper.



That's kind of important, I hope you haven't mangled it too badly, because it needs to be refitted.. It's part of the caliper holder, not the brake pad. It's designed to stop the brake pad spinning in its holder.

I definitely destroyed it. Should I buy a new caliper online?

EDIT: Found the piece ... think I can make it work. Ordering new piston boot and seal for rebuild. Sanding down the piston so that it'll slide smooth. Is there anything else I might need so that I don't get slammed on shipping?