Caliper overhaul.
 

i know i should really dig up an old threat that will probably have the answers but,on a whim today i purchased some brake fluid and copper grease thinking yeah the weather will be nice ill sort my brakes out, however the Haynes makes no mention of copper grease just silicone grease, so should i take it back or not??? also it says to replace the seals no matter what, is that necessary? and one last thing, would a spray can of air be any help drying wise and also to dis-lodge any debris???

sorry for probably repeating this for the millionth time

Thanks!!

Re: caliper overhaul.......
 

Copper grease works on the back of the pads (pretty sure Haynes mentions it in pad-replacement section), it's a generally useful thing to have around too. You could just remove the pads from the calipers, clean them, copper-grease on the backs, check the pistons are clean enough and then bleed new fluid through. Whether that's sufficient depends on how much they need sorting out.

If indeed you need to dismantle and overhaul the caliper then I think replacing the seals is generally accepted to be a good idea. I would.

Re: caliper overhaul.......
 

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Re: caliper overhaul.......
 

I've got a can of that sat next to me - can't say I ever thought of it, good idea.


As YC says get some brake cleaner or carb cleaner (it's the same solution). I use wurth brake cleaner but that's probably overkill as it's only for cleaning, get the cheapest if you see fit.

Re: caliper overhaul.......
 

hmm and some red rubber gresay stuff would be helpful too

Re: caliper overhaul.......
 

Compressed air is good for getting pistons out and drying calipers after cleaning too.

It's generally recommended to completely overhaul calipers once a year. Road salt is a complete bugger and gets into everything- even behind dust/fluid seals. If you give the pistons a good dose of red rubber grease when putting calipers back together, it should keep all the nastiness out.

Copper grease is also good for the pad retaining pins- stops them seizing in. Did my calipers last January (with still much appreciated help from DirtyDog) and the back caliper pins came out nice and easy the other week- despite all year riding and generally bad weather this year. I'm hoping the front will be the same.

I also use copper grease on the bolt threads to stop them seizing.

Re: Caliper overhaul.
 

YC: It's a dab harsh to say that Haynes talk cobblers - they can't know a reader's level of mechanical understanding and thus can only recommend the route to a certain and safe outcome for a fix, particularly considering this is a safety consideration.
I've re-used brake parts on many occasions, but then I don't need to look in a manual to be told what to do, and most importantly I know what's safely re-usable and what's not - anyone who needs a manual to know what to do probably doesn't have the necessary level of experience to make such a judgement, thus recommending new parts is the only responsible course.

Re: Caliper overhaul.
 

yeah i fully accept that i wouldnt be able to tell dodgy seals (you guys would probably get a are these seals ok thread with pictures!!) so will order some when i get the chance, so i also need soem red rubber grease and brake cleaner, sounds fair to me! be sure in the knoledge ill probably get stuck!!!

cheers

Re: Caliper overhaul.
 

Anyone know where to get Red rubber grease from?
Found it on E-bay but really just wanted to pop down to a shop to get it.

Re: Caliper overhaul.
 

What do you need it for? Does anyone know if there's owt in the service manuals about servicing the calipers or any how to's? Mine have probably never been done. I have found a useful post by viney but not much else.
cheers