Front caliper servicing

I recently had the front calipers serviced but there seems to be a small leak from the pistons on one side. Have decided to have a go at sorting this myself, and have read a few of the threads on here about caliper servicing, but have a couple of questions:

1) Once you get the pistons out of one side, how can you close the system so you can get the pistons out from the other side?
2) Once both sets of pistons are out, what's the best way to stop the brake fluid escaping the system?
3) What, if anything, can I clean the seals with (they were all replaced a month ago and bike hasn't been used since)
4) Can I really clean the calipers in the dish washer? (and the pistons?)

May I refer you to http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.p...hlight=caliper

Oops. I had searched but missed managed to miss that. Much obliged!

No probs. That was my first time, and the whole thread pretty much documents every step.

Let us know how it goes!

OK, thanks to your other thread I've managed to get the brake apart, cleaned, RRG'd, copper slipped and all back together again. I had one tricky moment when I tried to follow the Haynes instruction of 'Separate the caliper from the bracket by sliding them apart', but if you swap sliding for hit with rubber hammer it comes apart fine.

Am just bleeding it now but seems to be taking a while, I've re-filled the MC 4 times now and still getting a fair few small bubbles. Just wondering if that's normal and how much it usually takes?

[mikerj]

Perfectly normal, if you've stripped the calipers then it will require a fair bit of bleeding to get all the air out.

Cool. Didn't want to just carry on regardless. Left it overnight (with lever cable tied to bar) and picked up again today, all looking good now. Thanks!

[yorkie_chris]

I've never known cleaning them to fix a leak.

I'm not 100% sure there was an actual leak. The day after the brakes were done I noticed a small bead of fluid sitting on the slightly pointy bit of the brake pad holder, directly below the piston. I cleaned it off but it had reformed the next day. The lever felt OK (though I've only ridden two other bikes so not the best judge), and there was no creep.

When I pulled them apart again I noticed a small amount of fluid around the edges of the pistons, where they connect with the pad. I'm wondering if when the bleeding tube was removed some fluid was spilt down onto the back of the pad, trickled past the pistons and down the the bottom - is this possible/likely?

To make it worse, I just checked the other side and there's a definite leak there which is new - looks like it's coming from the banjo bolt. Checked the torque setting and it seemed fine. Could this have shown up because the lever was tied? And is it just a case of changing the copper washers?

[yorkie_chris]

Just spin the washers around a bit and retorque them, that normally sorts it. If not then replace.

The leak can be transient, just a little bit escapes as you pull the lever.