Brake Lever problem

[jakeolsen]

I seem to be having a problem with my rear brakes. I was driving around, and could feel that I really wasn't getting any breaking. I tried to bleed the brakes but nothing will come out. The pedal is really stiff. I loosened the bolt that is on top of the plunger that the lever presses, and fluid will come out, and the brake lever is loose. Then when I tighten that bolt, it is back to the brake pedal being tight and not letting fluid out the bleeders.

1980 Suzuki gs550e

[hampshirehog]

Sounds like you need to strip down the MC / line and caliper as there would appear to be a bit of muck in there somewhere. And if there's 1 bit of muck there could be more and when you next need to stop in a hurry....

Play safe.

[jakeolsen]

Is there a guide for this somewhere? What do I do to clean it out? Soak it, or blow air through it? The fluid is brown, so It would not be a suprise that it is gunked up.

[salty_monk]

Ideally you need to strip & clean out both the caliper & the master cylinder & install a new braided line.

Install new seals if necessary.

[tkent02]

It's caused by having water in the brake fluid for a long time, first it turns brown, and after a long time it turns to brown sugar. Brown sugar in your brakes is bad. If you think having brakes not come on is bad, how about having the brakes not release? Take the whole system apart, clean it all thoroughly, put it back together and test it out carefully.
Nessism or someone will tell you how to do it.

[jakeolsen]

The blocked part seems to be the flexible hose after the hard brake line. With this piece off I can easily pump brake fluid through.

[jakeolsen]

I cleaned it out real good and flushed out the fluid, but I think I will order new line and pads on monday.

[tkent02]

Take the whole system apart, clean it all thoroughly, put it back together and test it out carefully.
Nessism or someone will tell you how to do it.

What part did you not want to hear?
What I don't want to hear is how you fell on your head when the brakes locked up.

[jakeolsen]

I hear what you are saying. Even though every partwasn't clogged, I ran a wire through each part, and blew them out with air. I didn't mean it to sound like all I did was clean out the clogged part.

[jakeolsen]

The reason I said i will order a new break line is because the the threads are all rusty. I also am going to replace the pads because they have ridges, and only about 1/3 of the pad left.

[tkent02]

I hear what you are saying. Even though every partwasn't clogged, I ran a wire through each part, and blew them out with air. I didn't mean it to sound like all I did was clean out the clogged part.

Sure they will work, until one of the little pieces you dislodged blocks the return port.
Then the brakes will not release. It can even lock from heat expansion, without ever squeezing the lever.
It's not that hard to take it all apart, if it was bad enough that there was clogging it needs to be done.

[jakeolsen]

Ok. Well I haven't put it all back together yet, so I guess I will do a little more dismantling..

[tkent02]

Ok. Well I haven't put it all back together yet, so I guess I will do a little more dismantling..

If it turns out it was all clean as a whistle inside, I will apologize.

[jakeolsen]

If it turns out it was all clean as a whistle inside, I will apologize.

The will be no need to apologize. I am asking for help and you're giving advice that comes from experience. I appreciate that.

[Guest]

He is taking a safe bet. You need to plan on a complete system rebuild. A little bit of debris got lodged in the return port of my master cylinder, and dumped me when I went from the paved road to the gravel in my driveway. If the lever ever has hard resistance all the way out, get off the bike. Heat expansion will eventually seize the break. You should always have a little slack in the lever before it hits stiff resistance (my lesson learned the hard way). If you do a complete rebuild including lines, you can get rid of the miserable paint remover they call Dot 3, and use Dot 5, but every possible surface has to be 100% clean or new. Stainless steel lines give a great boost to breaking power. If the back break needs work, I wouldn't trust the front.