Make sure you anti-seize the bolts that hold the caliper together so it comes apart easy next time (if there is a next time). And anti-seize the entire length of the bolt, not just the threaded end. That will protect it from corrosion.
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TeeCat
One-Mik Wonder
Yup, Gordon, that was pretty satisfying. 
twins... will do on the anti-seize... it's on the bench as I speak. You know, though, the caliper bridge bolts didn't give me any trouble, really. What gave me an absolute fit was the fitting that connects the rubber lower tube to the pipe. I'll put some anti-seize on the threads of the line fittings on assembly. I'll just go by "feel" on those, I suppose, as I'm limited to open-end wrenches, I suppose. I guess those hose-to-hose and hose-to-pipe flared/ compression fittings don't require much torque at all to be fluid/air tight.
Will keep you posted! Thanks for your patience thus far, guys.
OH! And should the lubed, clean pistons go back in with finger pressure, or will I be needing to use a clamp/vise with the bleeder open on one half and crossover open on the other half? Just making sure... I know they have to go in straight and I don't want to damage a seal or anything.
TC
twins... will do on the anti-seize... it's on the bench as I speak. You know, though, the caliper bridge bolts didn't give me any trouble, really. What gave me an absolute fit was the fitting that connects the rubber lower tube to the pipe. I'll put some anti-seize on the threads of the line fittings on assembly. I'll just go by "feel" on those, I suppose, as I'm limited to open-end wrenches, I suppose. I guess those hose-to-hose and hose-to-pipe flared/ compression fittings don't require much torque at all to be fluid/air tight.
Will keep you posted! Thanks for your patience thus far, guys.
OH! And should the lubed, clean pistons go back in with finger pressure, or will I be needing to use a clamp/vise with the bleeder open on one half and crossover open on the other half? Just making sure... I know they have to go in straight and I don't want to damage a seal or anything.
TC
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Gordon
XS650 Junkie
They should go in by hand. If not, they are not square in the bore. Also, they don't take alot of effort to push in all the way. Lube them and the seals up with clean brake fluid. I usually wear those Nitral glove's, for a couple reasons. First is to keep everything as clean as I can, and to protect my hand's. DO NOT get any brake fluid on paint, or your eye's! It will lift off regular paint, and if you get it in your eye, you will experience a whole new meaning of pain and discomfort. So, no rubbing your eye's to remove the sweat on your brow.
pregrid
XS650 Guru
Just did my brake lines and bled the system. Used a Mighty Vac, makes it much easier, although the front was still a pain. I used Castrol LMA, it's a synthetic brake fluid that doesn't attack paint anywhere near what regular brake fluid does. I highly recommend it.
TeeCat
One-Mik Wonder
Got it, Gordon. May be assembling tonight or tomorrow.
pregrid, what is the DOT rating on that stuff? I got the 3 as indicated for my M/C... not synth, though.
TC
pregrid, what is the DOT rating on that stuff? I got the 3 as indicated for my M/C... not synth, though.
TC
pregrid
XS650 Guru
It's rated for DOT3 and DOT4.
TeeCat
One-Mik Wonder
Ah, okay.
Well, I finished cleaning as much as humanly possible - I think they looked really clean - and put the seals in after lubing with clean fluid, put the pistons in with no trouble, and then reassembled the caliper. I have not put the pads in yet because I'm a little confused about how the old shims are held in there. Do they just sit between the pistons and the backs of the shoes as in the illustrations with no means of fastening? And they seem to be directional, arrow stamped in the shim toward the front, on the upper half of each pad? I have the Ts on my pads.
Also, can I put anti-seize on the threads of the hose-to-hose/hose-to-pipe fasteners, or would that be a possible contaminant?
I also ran my upper hose in a way that I'm pretty happy with. I'll likely really put things together in earnest tomorrow or so. Coming along slowly...
TC
Well, I finished cleaning as much as humanly possible - I think they looked really clean - and put the seals in after lubing with clean fluid, put the pistons in with no trouble, and then reassembled the caliper. I have not put the pads in yet because I'm a little confused about how the old shims are held in there. Do they just sit between the pistons and the backs of the shoes as in the illustrations with no means of fastening? And they seem to be directional, arrow stamped in the shim toward the front, on the upper half of each pad? I have the Ts on my pads.
Also, can I put anti-seize on the threads of the hose-to-hose/hose-to-pipe fasteners, or would that be a possible contaminant?
I also ran my upper hose in a way that I'm pretty happy with. I'll likely really put things together in earnest tomorrow or so. Coming along slowly...
TC
Gordon
XS650 Junkie
TeeCat, no anti-sieze on anything that could contact the brake fluid. It is petrolium based. You can use plumber's goop, or, better known as pipe dope. That will seal easier then the teflon tape, and will work better. I use it on all pipe thread joint's, like my air tool fitting's, brake line to wheel cylinder's, etc. Usually, if you just put a cap on the bleeder nipple, it will keep it free, not only will dirt and water not get in the nipple, it adds a nice 'touch', esp. if you find a matching set. BTW, the plumbers goop can be found at Lowe's for a dollar.
TeeCat
One-Mik Wonder
Gordon, that's what I thought, so I'm glad I asked! I did put it on the bridge bolts as they do not access the fluid reservoir. I'll grab some pipe dope before assembly. I have a cap for the nipple, and plan to put a little teflon tape on the threads (of the bleeder) as has been suggested.
Assembly tomorrow evening, I hope, and bleed to follow shortly thereafter...
TC
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TeeCat
One-Mik Wonder
Hi, dudes...
Quickie, this one... the half-moon shims that came off my old pads:
Just so I'm sure this afternoon upon re-mounting the freshened caliper...
- these go between the back of the pad and the face of the piston;
- they are directional, with the shim occupying the top half of the pad, and the arrow on the shim pointing in the direction of wheel rotation; and
- there is no adhesive or anything... they just sit between the pad and the piston with the little "tang" under the pad's T. Hard for me to see how these stay put in use.
Am I right?
Bet you guys will be glad when this refresh is over and done properly!
TC
Quickie, this one... the half-moon shims that came off my old pads:
Just so I'm sure this afternoon upon re-mounting the freshened caliper...
- these go between the back of the pad and the face of the piston;
- they are directional, with the shim occupying the top half of the pad, and the arrow on the shim pointing in the direction of wheel rotation; and
- there is no adhesive or anything... they just sit between the pad and the piston with the little "tang" under the pad's T. Hard for me to see how these stay put in use.
Am I right?
Bet you guys will be glad when this refresh is over and done properly!
TC
Gordon
XS650 Junkie
That is coorect, the tab kinda holds them until the pistons come into conact with the pads. There is a guy on another thread here that did not have them, and was asking about the noise's from the pads so,,,
TeeCat
One-Mik Wonder
Oh, yes... that was lassenc, Gordon, iirc. I read his thread while researching this. I suppose they just "float"... kind of an odd setup!
TC
TC
TeeCat
One-Mik Wonder
Okay... I have it all mocked up and dry fitted. I think I'm pretty happy with the routing of the top hose... I ended up not needing to cross the light bucket... just took a short detour behind a cable or two. It's very close to a stock fit and appearance. Tomorrow, I'll put pipe thread sealer on the fittings and anti-seize on all other bolts, etc., and prepare to fill and bleed it at my earliest.
Ten foot pounds for the one banjo, I think RG said... all other linear fittings by feel.
There was a bit of a trick to getting the caliper on the disk and mounted. The pads wanted to fall toward each other and out of the caliper when it was off the bike, so I stuffed a new, clean inch or so of fuel line between the pads to hold them in place while I got the topmost long bolt into the fork lower, and then rotated/lowered the caliper into place, pulling the fuel line out once the caliper was home with the pads and shims in place, and then inserted the lower retaining cap bolt.
Those shims are very, very strange... I hope they stay put.
Thanks to all thus far... getting closer. Sure does look good!
TC
Ten foot pounds for the one banjo, I think RG said... all other linear fittings by feel.
There was a bit of a trick to getting the caliper on the disk and mounted. The pads wanted to fall toward each other and out of the caliper when it was off the bike, so I stuffed a new, clean inch or so of fuel line between the pads to hold them in place while I got the topmost long bolt into the fork lower, and then rotated/lowered the caliper into place, pulling the fuel line out once the caliper was home with the pads and shims in place, and then inserted the lower retaining cap bolt.
Those shims are very, very strange... I hope they stay put.
Thanks to all thus far... getting closer. Sure does look good!
TC
Gordon
XS650 Junkie
Sorry 'bout that,TeeCat. Should have said somethin' 'bout that. I use a small piece of cardboard to hold the pads apart. But you figured it out. On the banjo fitting, remember that the washer's are copper, and, as the name implies, they need to 'crush' a bit, to effectively seal the fitting. You might need to tighten a bit more than 10 lb.ft. No more then 25-30 though. Banjo bolts are pretty tough, but they will break. Try the 10 first, and if they leak, just tighten a little more until it stops.
Good advice Gordon on the torquing. My braided lines only had aluminum banjo fittings, so I only used 10 ft-lbs. I watched the fittings and they did not leak, but I would have increased torque if I had any leakage.
I'm thinking TeeCat has steel banjo fittings, so 10 ft-lbs is probably on the light side. Perhaps 14 or 15 ft-lbs would be the way to go.
I'm thinking TeeCat has steel banjo fittings, so 10 ft-lbs is probably on the light side. Perhaps 14 or 15 ft-lbs would be the way to go.
TeeCat
One-Mik Wonder
Thank you for the torque input, Gordon and RG. I'm quite certain that my fittings are steel, so I'll up the torque a little bit when I button everything up.
You know, with regard to the thread sealant, I'm thinking of using it on the linear fittings, but not the banjo bolt itself. In thinking about this (when I should have been sleeping ), my concern there is that when I tighten the banjo bolt, I could unknowingly push sealant across the hole (in the bolt's shoulder) for fluid ingress. So maybe I'll rely on the crush washers for that one junction.
Even my wife thinks these new/rebuilt parts are "pretty".
TC
You know, with regard to the thread sealant, I'm thinking of using it on the linear fittings, but not the banjo bolt itself. In thinking about this (when I should have been sleeping
), my concern there is that when I tighten the banjo bolt, I could unknowingly push sealant across the hole (in the bolt's shoulder) for fluid ingress. So maybe I'll rely on the crush washers for that one junction.Even my wife thinks these new/rebuilt parts are "pretty".
TC
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Gordon
XS650 Junkie
The banjo along with the crush washer's will be all you need. The washer's will seal everything on that connection. did you use caliper paint on the caliper's? Or were they in good shape? That caliper paint is pretty good stuff, won't flake off or discolor like regular engine paint. You have got me on edge in anticipation of a job well done. BTW, if the banjo is steel, use a magnet to see.
TeeCat
One-Mik Wonder
Gordon, you know, I almost asked about paint. I didn't know there was a caliper paint, but I thought it must have some specialized coating, because even after all the handling, clamping (I used a wooden cabinetry vise, though... all I have at the mo), cranking, compressed air, cuastic fluids, pissing and moaning, the only real marks are a couple tiny scratches on the back of the caliper body near the bleed valve. But cosmetically, from the front, it's basically clean and unmolested, and I'm not sure it's worth pulling it off the bike again to paint it. If it were rusted or damaged, I suppose I might, though.
Gordon, you ever seen so much flippin' hand wringing, wailing, and gnashing of teeth over a front brake job? If this goes well, I'll have to get you some pics of it so you can put them on your mantle next to your family and stuffs...
Edit: Now you have me thinking about paint. Black? Gold? DAMN YOU, GORDON! Uh... I mean... nice Gordon... nice Gordon...
TC
Gordon, you ever seen so much flippin' hand wringing, wailing, and gnashing of teeth over a front brake job?
If this goes well, I'll have to get you some pics of it so you can put them on your mantle next to your family and stuffs... Edit: Now you have me thinking about paint. Black? Gold? DAMN YOU, GORDON!
Uh... I mean... nice Gordon... nice Gordon... TC
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Yes, caliper paint is available at most auto parts stores. It's high temp and contains ceramic. It comes in spray cans or little normal tin paint cans to apply with a brush. It comes in many different colors. I haven't used it on a bike yet but do all my cars with it.
Gordon
XS650 Junkie
Damn it Eh? I can't wait, as I love looking at your bike. It is so clean and just so damn good looking. Usually, the paint on motorcycle caliper's is pretty good. On car's, they are raw cast iron. Once you have them all bled and ready for the road, be carefull on your first trip. Chances are you won't have any problems, but on the first ride, if anything will go wrong, thats when it will happen. Just a couple hard stops before you hit a busy road, thats all, for confidence. And to 'bed' the new pads. Actually, you did really good, asked all the right and to the point question's, and if you dont ask, you won't know.
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