Okay, the brakes are apart, now what?

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the help with my brake issues. I pulled the calipers off today (that's the lower assembly on the wheel right?) They came off real easy, and the old pads just fell right out, as far as I can tell they are the original pads, don't people know brake pads are consumables? This is the first time I've ever had a disk brake apart so my terminology may be a little off, just let me know what I'm saying incorrectly. I'm assuming that the wide hollow cylinder I'm seeing on the outter face of the inside of the caliper is the piston, there is a rubber boot around it's outer edge. Well, it's got some pretty heavy surface rust on its inside. I couldn't get them to move up or down at all, but I didn't try real hard, I'm not sure how they are supposed to move. What do I do now to recondition these brake calipers?
Next question, I pulled the master cylinder off (the assembly on the right handlebar with the lever and little fluid tank right?) One of the screws holding on the top is rusted out and stripped bad enough I couldn't get it off, I probably could by drilling it out, but then I noticed that the little level window was crazed and looking pretty bad, pushing on it with my finger made it give way and the fluid poured out. This looks to me like it's shot. Can I get new parts, or would just finding a new master cylinder make more sense. If so are there affordable aftermarket master cylinders, or should I be looking for one off another bike. I read a thread in the archive in which some people had good luck with the master cylinder from Honda CBR900s, but they also seemed to mention that anything would work.
The plan is to use paint stripped to get the old black paint off the calipers, then polish the ally until it glows, or paint them red like the race cars, something like that anyways. I've got a can of brake cleaner, and will have to order new pads as well. The old hoses I'll replace with stainless steel braid lines, the only brand I've found is Russel at about $45 for the front and another $45 for the rear. Any comments there? I have a digital camera and can take any pictures of the above parts if that would help anyone visiualize what I'm asking here. Any help would be appreciated, this is just an early step in the process of learning this bike inside and out in the course of a full tear down and rebuild, so you'll probably be seeing a lot of me in this forum :lol:

Thanks,
David

 

[Anonymous]

Well you dont have to rebuild it now.

Well you dont have to rebuild it now.

Im not sure but I think once the glass is broken you'll need a new one. I would just go to a bone yard and find one that has the same type as yours. Make sure the hinge pin is not worn or you'll have problems. My clutch lever was worn and the bike wouldn't start. A switch in the clutch lever wasn't beeing pressed becouse of the worn hinge.

 

[Anonymous]

First you need to get the pistons out. The best way to do this is by using an air compressor and forcing air through the caliper where the brake line attaches. Once they're out you'll need to inspect the piston sealing surface and caliper bore for corrosion. If it's not too bad you can use about a #600 grit sand paper or a scotchbrite pad to smooth it out. The finished surface must be pretty smooth or the seals will leak. Replace all the rubber seals with new. Sounds like your master cylinder is shot. I think most any master cylinder from a dual disc brake set up will work. You should be able to find one from a newer GSXR or Katana cheap on e-bay and it will give you a better, stronger feeling front brake.
Good luck,
Axel
P.S. Did you get my message about the factory shop manual on e-bay?

 

[Anonymous]

Yep I got your post and really appreciate it as now it seems I'll get that facotry manual after all (and still have some money this month to put into the bike!) I don't have an air compressor, but I'm sure I'll find a way to get them out. I'll start searching for a newer master cylinder, that is kinda what I expected to be the case. Where can I get the rebuild kits for the calipers? Am I just going to have to go down to my local Suzuki shop and stare at some microfiche for a while, or do any online vendors make kits?

Thanks for all the help.

David

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, buy the original parts from the dealer. Another thing you might want to do is buy the fiche card and have an enlarged copy made of it at the library. Last time I bought one (from the dealer) it only cost about $6.00 and making the copies about $10. They're a great help when working on your bike because of all the exploded views and of course it's nice to know the part number when comparing prices.
Axel