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not having any luck here guys, tried compressed air, tried to tack a weld with a bolt and taking it out.Didn't try the grease gun cause I had to go to work. I'll give that a try as a last ditch effort.
Put a big c-clamp on them and tighten it down to break them free first. Then try the air again. You may have to repeat the process - blow them out as far as they'll go then squeeze them back in with the c-clamp. Working them back and forth like this will usually get them out eventually.
hey guys, so I decided to buy a new caliper. I want to ride! What I'll do is try to fix this one over the winter and keep it as a spare part. You never know when you need one or when a good friend with an xs will need one. I am thankful to have some good friends give me their parts to get my bike going. I'll definitely have to buy a grease gun as mentioned above. I'll give it a whirl soon. Yellowdog let me know how yours turns out!
Success,finally got the pistons out,I had to drill a series of holes in the pistons to make one large hole and then got a coach bolt with a thin head and managed to get the lip of that under the piston to act as a lever and managed to force them out,
This took about 2 hours per piston,surprisingly there was no rust so I suppose they were just well stuck in.
Any tips for refitting the new pistons and seals ?
Put a big c-clamp on them and tighten it down to break them free first. Then try the air again. You may have to repeat the process - blow them out as far as they'll go then squeeze them back in with the c-clamp. Working them back and forth like this will usually get them out eventually.
I just got a piston out this way. Clamped down with a C clamp to break it free and get it moving, then kept pumping on the brake lever and feeding in more fluid til it popped out. Got it done in about five minutes.
Clean your caliper very well Inspect for pitting galling or other damage. If it's in good shape the new parts should slip right in. Lube the new parts with clean brake fluid before install.
Use clean brake fluid for most of the cleaning, Tough spots use spray brake cleaner. Maybe some 4 0 steel wool.
Leo
They sell stainless replacements for the newer caliper, not sure about the older one. Surprisingly, they don't cost much more, if any, than a steel one. If I was replacing, that's what I'd go with.
Mike's has pistons for both. They don't say they are stainless but The ones I bought awhile back looked to be stainless. They are not chromed.
I don't recall if they said they were stainless when I bought them.
Mike's 72-76 #29-0518 $22 ea.
77 up #29-0516 $26.50
Leo