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Old 07-15-2011, 08:07 PM   #1
tommymac
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Default brake cleaning

Seems my front brakes are starting to stick, most likley sped up by riding on and off the jobsites, I hosed it down today and there was dirt/concrete in a lot of places. I noticed it seemed like the front wheel wasnt rolling as freeley as it should. I thought i may have messed up the wheel bearings but I removed the calipers and the wheel spun freeley.

think its something I could clean with brake cleaner or the calipers need a rebuild?
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Old 07-15-2011, 09:47 PM   #2
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How many miles on 'em, Tommy? I usually just save myself the aggravation and just rebuild so I don't have to bother going through the entire exercise twice in case a cleaning doesn't fix them.
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Old 07-15-2011, 10:40 PM   #3
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I had the same issue last year. If you spun my front wheel with everything you had, it'd rotate 1/4 - 1/2 a turn and stop.

I pulled the pistons out of my calipers this winter, cleaned them with a wire wheel, and replaced all the seals. It works great now, and I even got a comment today (after 8 track days) from the guy doing my tech inspection that my brake pistons were pristine.
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Old 07-16-2011, 12:32 AM   #4
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Brake cleaner. Brake dust turns into a sticky powder type mess. Just unbolt them and get a bucket. Slide a caliper in the bucket and go to town on it. Do your best to not hose down the brake line or the rubber boot/s too much.
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Old 07-16-2011, 07:53 AM   #5
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How many miles on 'em, Tommy? I usually just save myself the aggravation and just rebuild so I don't have to bother going through the entire exercise twice in case a cleaning doesn't fix them.
60k miles.

Next question is where to buy a kit?
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Old 07-16-2011, 08:19 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tommymac View Post
60k miles.

Next question is where to buy a kit?
that I can't help with
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Old 07-16-2011, 09:08 AM   #7
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that I can't help with
So what good are you, its not like you even have good beer in the fridge
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Old 07-16-2011, 09:11 AM   #8
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So what good are you, its not like you even have good beer in the fridge
There will be I'm gonna raid that local specialty beer place I found near my house. Lots of good stuff there
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Old 07-16-2011, 10:25 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tommymac View Post
60k miles.

Next question is where to buy a kit?
I bought seals for mine here: www.powersportspro.com

Dirt cheap "rebuild" and the brakes work as good as new.
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Old 07-16-2011, 10:28 AM   #10
marko138
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I've cleaned mine before. I use a biodegradable bike wash. Unbolted the caliper, squeeze the lever just enough to expose clean piston and scrub those babies. Worked great.
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