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easy caliper maintanence?

  • Thread starter Thread starter snowbeard
  • Start date Start date
S

snowbeard

Guest
Hey all,
so I know I should likely rebuild my front calipers at some point, but in the meantime (while the pads are still good) is there any lubrication or maintanence that I can do without pulling the wheel? or at least without draining and rebuilding the whole caliper? I was thinking grease the slider of the calipers, but is that behind a rubber boot?

in lieu of all that, is there a good modern set that anyone has found bolts right on a GS650G? ;)

any ideas appreciated!!
thanks
 
There is no maintenance required except keeping the brake fluid fresh and clean. Flush the old fluid and refill with new DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid from a sealed, unopened can.

If by sliders you mean the caliper pistons, don't even think about greasing them or anything in the internal brake system. Grease or anything else other than brake fluid is a contaminant, and will gum up the hydraulic system and cause it to fail. Greasing caliper pistons is not maintenance, but a recipe for brake failure. :-s
 
snowbeard said:
in lieu of all that, is there a good modern set that anyone has found bolts right on a GS650G? ;)
Click to expand...

I'm working on that this month...Stay tuned, I'll be posting pictures soon. :-D
 
Yes, the slider pins need greased, assuming you have floating calipers. As Boondocks mentioned, you DO NOT want to grease any internal part of the caliper though.

If your calipers still stick quite a bit after you grease those slider pins, I would seriously urge you to just grin and bear it and rebuild those suckers. Corrosion and gunk has settled in the lowest part of the system (your calipers), and worked its way behind the seals, causing the seals to exert pressure on the piston and eventually the pistons will get seized completely. Rebuilding calipers is a sinch, it really is, and you can probably get new seals and new pistons even for 20-30 bucks per caliper. I always tell people if they have enough skill to change their oil filter they have enough skill to rebuild their calipers and to replace their clutch plates.

If you insist on riding until your calipers freeze up completely, be sure to carry a rubber mallet every where you ride. Whack em and the piston will back up just enough to free up the wheel. Take back roads all the way home, use engine braking and the rear brake to get you there.

Save yourself the hassle though and just rebuild them if they need rebuilt. It can be done in one sitting and the peace of mind is well worth it.
 
ok, I won't grease my pistons...:oops:

so what is the fix for them not fully returning after letting off the brake? maybe just lubricating the slides on the actual brake pads would help... may as well just replace them at that since I've got new ones in the shop already...

edit; oh, just what I was thinking as you typed it! thanks, I'll start with the sliders.

when I get to replacing the brake fluid I plan to replace the master cylinder, and the brake lines are going stainless... that's why I didn't want to do much in the meantime...

thanks!!
 
Last edited:
snowbeard said:
ok, I won't grease my pistons...:oops:

so what is the fix for them not fully returning after letting off the brake?
Click to expand...

Rebuilding and/or cleaning the gunk out of the caliper and/or master cylinder.

snowbeard said:
maybe just lubricating the slides on the actual brake pads would help... may as well just replace them at that since I've got new ones in the shop already...
Click to expand...

Don't even think about putting lubricant on the sides of the brake pads. Suzuki recommends that pad grease not be used (on the back of the pads). Grease on the sides is asking for brake failure when some finds its way to the disc.:-s

snowbeard said:
edit; oh, just what I was thinking as you typed it! thanks, I'll start with the sliders.
Click to expand...

There are no caliper parts identified by Suzuki as sliders. The only external parts to be lubricated on caliper reassembly are the caliper axles on the caliper axle nuts.
 
right, I won't actually "grease" anything, I have some brake pad lube from a couple different car applications left over.

there's gotta be something that moves against another part that is old, dusty and sticking. I will go ahead and rebuild at some point...

now on to that description of Philip... do ya got any pics?? that sounds sweet!!!\\:D/
 
Not to throw a wrench in the works here but I do have a tube of stuff called "Caliper Grease" :shock:. I believe is used as a preventative measure around the end of the piston inside the boot to prevent rust ridge from forming.

I do agree with above on the fluid. Fresh fluid is key. Definitely extends the life of the caliper.
 
ScottMc1100L said:
Not to throw a wrench in the works here but I do have a tube of stuff called "Caliper Grease" :shock:. I believe is used as a preventative measure around the end of the piston inside the boot to prevent rust ridge from forming.

I do agree with above on the fluid. Fresh fluid is key. Definitely extends the life of the caliper.
Click to expand...

All the caliper grease I've ever used goes on the pins and slides, never on the pistons or anywhere under the piston boots or seals. I'm a professional wrench, but that's on the four wheeled version of transportation. I'm still pretty new to this two wheel stuff :)
 
There is a product sold as brake pad grease which is lightly smeared on the back of the pad. This grease is used only to reduce brake pad squeal caused by vibration (if present) and has no effect on brake operation or sticking pads. Suzuki recommends that it not be used.
 
you will want to remove the two bolts the hold the caliper to the caliper mounting bracket (not to be mistaken by the two bolts that bolt the calipr to the forks) take these bolts out clean them very well with brake cleaner, also make sure there is no dried grease dirt impacted in the grooves, after the are clean you can take some of that brake grease and lightly cover the bolts with that and put them back, this may help the calipers float a little easier on the disk.

for squeaking, take the pads off, rub the braking surface on some sand paper that is place a flat surface, this gets rid of any glazing, next go get some stop squeek brake silicone stuff crc makes some it's red and i ahve see blue stuff to. smear this on the back side of the pads let it dry then remount.

other then that just keeping your calipers clean, they should be ok, while you have the pads off and the caliper free spray them good with brake cleaner.

-ryan
 
I don't think that trusting a non-mechanic who can just barely change an oil filter with working on brakes is a good idea. After all, if your oil filter fails, you can still stop.

The only easy fix for sticking caliper pistons is to buy a new caliper. Rebuilding them is cheaper, but more work, and you should have a good grasp of the system and what to/not to do, or your situation could get even 'stickier'.

Brakes are very important, and are not to be messed with lightly.
 
West said:
I don't think that trusting a non-mechanic who can just barely change an oil filter with working on brakes is a good idea. After all, if your oil filter fails, you can still stop.

The only easy fix for sticking caliper pistons is to buy a new caliper. Rebuilding them is cheaper, but more work, and you should have a good grasp of the system and what to/not to do, or your situation could get even 'stickier'.

Brakes are very important, and are not to be messed with lightly.
Click to expand...

Agreed. But it can be equally risky to trust a "mechanic" (as sometimes employed by motorcycle dealers) who can just barely change an oil filter to work on brakes. :? There are many horror stories about repairs done by "mechanics". In other words, make sure that anyone that works on your bike knows what he is doing. I've had my bike for 26 years and nobody has ridden it or worked on it but me.

If they have a shop manual(s), proper tools, patience and aptitude, simple repairs like a brake caliper rebuild can be done successfully by most people. Some unmechanical types have a tendency to misunderstand and screw up everything they touch, and for them it is best to have someone else work on their bike. :)
 
Boondocks said:
Agreed. But it can be equally risky to trust a "mechanic" (as sometimes employed by motorcycle dealers) who can just barely change an oil filter to work on brakes. :? There are many horror stories about repairs done by "mechanics". In other words, make sure that anyone that works on your bike knows what he is doing. I've had my bike for 26 years and nobody has ridden it or worked on it but me.

If they have a shop manual(s), proper tools, patience and aptitude, simple repairs like a brake caliper rebuild can be done successfully by most people. Some unmechanical types have a tendency to misunderstand and screw up everything they touch, and for them it is best to have someone else work on their bike. :)
Click to expand...

We are in agreement.

Every time, without exception, that I have taken one of my machines in to be worked on by someone else, they have screwed it up worse that when I took it in. Bad karma, I guess. I live across the street from one of the most reputable repair shops in the state, and I took my auto in to do the exhaust (mentioned earlier, i hate exhaust work). They said I needed new struts, and since they had done some good work for my cash strapped sister on the cheap, I gave 'em carte blanche. $1500 later, I had a new exhaust and one screwed up suspension that has never been the same since. That tought me, once again, to never break my rule of never, ever, ever letting any one else touch one of my vehicles. Of course, there's always the next time.:-D
 
I Was One

I Was One

I was a "Professional Wrench" from about '88 to about '94 in an independent shop working on imports. Now, I'm in Parts, in a GM dealership, from '94 to present. I can tell you, using one hand, how many times my vehicle has been to anyone but me. A guy I used to work with used to have a classified ad from the paper (Help Wanted), looking for a Brake Tech, "No Experience Necessary". He sold more brake work by just showing that ad! "Do you want this guy putting brakes on your Mercedes, or me, who's been doing it for 20 years?" I guess it works that way on bikes, too.
Boondocks said it best: You have to have the APTITUDE! There are people who can rebuild 5 engines in a day, and people who I wouldn't let change my oil. It depends on where in that range you fit. Brakes, on any vehicle, aren't hard. The biggest part is remembering how it came off, and/or being able to figure out how it *SHOULD* work, and then making it happen that way.
As for the whole *lube* debate, since day 1 I've put a product called Syl-Glide (available from NAPA) anywhere there's metal-to-metal contact. Slider pins, caliper piston-to-pad, pad-to-caliper. Use it sparingly (very very light film), and nowhere near the pad material. Never had a complaint yet. Hope I've helped someone.

Scott (about 3 days away from riding almost about 10 years at idle)
 
I would have to say I feel competent to do it, I just have to get the time free... I do well at putting back together what I have disassembled, and discerning the nature of things when they aren't quite as they're supposed to be.

thanks for all the tips, I will clean them up first and rebuild them later, barring finding a better caliper set that works well for our bikes...?? :wink:

'beard
 
On the topic of taking your vehicles to a mechanic, I wholeheartedly agree with the 'just the DIY' attitude. I learned how to wrench because I grew up poor & couldn't afford to bring my cars to mechanics. When I got my first big salaried job my first thoughts were that I wouldn't have to work on my vehicles anymore & started taking them to shops. After several bad experiences with a handful of shops (and much lost $$$) later, I decided it was better that I do it all myself.

Anyway, I rebuilt all of the calipers on my 850GL (2 were frozen) and it wasn't too bad of a job - hardest part is getting the pistons out & my suggestion is a good blast of compressed air.
 
DIY is how I got my bike in the first place, I was whining to my boss that I wanted an old beater bike, something to learn the ride and wrench on. he suggested a coworker that he sold it to previously and that guy was so happy to get rid of it, he didn't even charge me!!!

that, and I have very little budget to throw the bike's way...:-s
 
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