Bled the brakes.

[SirSeanSean]

Well today I was trying to turn my around (E. G. change the way I parked it.) So I start it up and pull it forward and the front end of started to dip. Hmmm. I then shift it into neutral and try to back it up. Won't budge! My front brakes locked up. So after a long time of rocking back and forth I got it back into its parking spot. Put it on its center stand and try to move the front wheel...... still wont budge. So after using the search here on the forums, I learned that a lot of other people were having this problem. Most of them said to bleed the brakes. Well I've never done that before. So I hop in youtube and after 3 videos I thought I had it down. Took a quick trip to auto zone and bought a vacuum kit, dot 3 brake fluid, and an eight Millimeter wrench. Then I got to work on the brakes. Wow the old fluid was dark as peach tea. (Turkey hill for more detail) Oh and lots of air bubbles. I kinda feel stupid for not doing this sooner.

Well after that was done I try moving the front wheel again. Still wont budge. 

So I thought I would try to remove the caliper to see if the pads were over worn. First one I attempted to check was the left side. Unscrewed the two bolts that I thought connected it to the forks. Tried to take it off. Couldn't get it to budge. So I thought I shouldn't fight it. Then I tried the same thing on the right side. Came right off with ease. I looked at the pads and they had plenty of meat on them. So I then went back to the left side, took a folded cloth and hammer and GENTLY broke it loose. They pads on that had plenty of meat on them too. 

I put it back on( with a lot more ease this time) and tried to move the front wheel. Hurray! Walked the bike some and tried to back it up. As I was backing it up I could feel it starting to lock up again. As I finally got it back to its spot it was fully locked up. So I'm guessing that it is needing to be rebuilt. My question is how hard is it to rebuild? I bought a clymer manual and it should be getting here soon, so I should be able to cross reference that.

Please point me in the right direction. 

[hppants]

I've never rebuilt a motorcycle caliper, but I've rebuilt plenty of cage floating calipers and it's not hard.  Be sure to inspect the pistons for corrosion.  Your manual will help you as well.  If you can bleed the brakes from must watching a Youtube video, you most certainly can rebuild your caliper.  You know where help is.  Good luck.

[Handyman1018]

Hi, I recently rebuilt both front calipers on my 83 NH CB650.  Easy job.  Only tricky part was getting both pistons to come out of the caliper... Being careful and using low pressure compressed air, one will typically come right out but then you will not be able to build any pressure to pop the second one.  So you have to put the first one back in just a little and work on the second one.  Its a balancing act that you will quickly master.  Use wooden blocks as holders... not your fingers or you will have trouble counting in the future!

I think I got my rebuild kit from the Old Bike Barn or ebay... forget.   They are pretty cheap.   If your fluid was that bad chances are your calipers are full of gunk (technical term for polymerized brake fluid).  You might be able to just remove the cylinders and seals, clean everything in fresh fluid and put them back in.  It's worth a try and at worst will give you some practice if you need to order a rebuild kit. 

[Laminar]

I tried using compressed air to remove my pistons, but I just ended up atomizing a bunch of residual brake fluid in my face.

I threaded the end of a grease gun in the brake line hole on the caliper and pumped the caliper full of grease. It easily pushed both pistons out. As was mentioned before, use a thin piece of wood between the first piston that pops out and the other side of the caliper so that the second piston gets pushed out as well.

When both pistons are out, clean all of the grease and other garbage out of the caliper. Each piston has two seals, replace them both. Push both pistons back all of the way in. Repeat with other side. Clean the brake pad and rotor surfaces with aerosol brake cleaner and a clean shop towel. Mount both calipers back up, connect brake lines, and bleed away.

You can find caliper rebuild kits for $25-$30 each, you'll need two. Another option is checking with your local Honda dealer. My place actually had both types of piston seals in stock (dust seal: 45109-166-006, piston seal: 45209-166-006) and I got two of each for $24 total. You have two calipers so you need four of each.

Here's an actual rebuild kit.

It comes with more than just the two seals, but I didn't need any more than that and I didn't want to wait for the mail to show up.

[Me]

I had a very similar problem not long ago.  My brake fluid was close to that color too, but what I found out was that the Master Cylinder was full of crud.  I tore it down and put it back together (twice) and now it works like a charm. When you do a tear down you need to remove the fluid cup from the bottom portion and make sure those tiny little ports are not plugged. Pretty simple procedure .... the part that was most difficult was to get the Snap ring out that holds the spring and piston in the housing, but if I had the right snap ring pliers it would have been much easier.

It may be a good thing to do anyway with as dark as that fluid was.  I assume the color of the fluid is due to contaminants or something. 

Just a thought.

[SirSeanSean]

That's for the info and links. I think I will try to go to the dealer and see if they have any seals. I too hate waiting for things in the mail as well.

Do I need to fully bleed the calipers before I detach them from the brake lines?

[Laminar]

No, just be prepared for brake fluid to come out of the brake lines - I steal cheap tupperware from the kitchen and use that as a catch can.

[Brittles]

Also need to polish and lube your pad pins with silicone grease.

Don't forget to soak your new seals in brake fluid and be careful to push the pistons into the calipers squarely.

[SirSeanSean]

Well I cleaned out the MC a little bit and bled the clutch while cleaning its MC as well. I still need to get the seals in.(Been busy with work and school) I'm having trouble visualizing the piece of wood popping out the piston. I got a hint but is there anyone who might have a picture of it?

Thanks

[Hendricks808]

Hey look! Last post was on my birthday...but anyways, I'm having a similar problem to SirSeanSean, I was taking apart my front end for some cleaning, then I guess i bend a cord wrong or shouldn't have played with the brake lever cause my pads locked, I was able to get everything apart, but I'm stuck, I only got one piston out, all the other 3 are still left, but I don't have an air compressor to get them out! 
any tips/tricks/ideas?

[Laminar]

Works for me every time.

Disclaimer: Cross threading a grease gun into an aluminum caliper with metric threads is STUPID and you shouldn't do it. But it's always worked for me.

[Bad Boy]

Another option to compressed air or grease gun is to keep the calipers connected to the hose and use brake fluid to pump the pistons out with the brake hand lever.  You will need to add fluid to the reservoir.  I used c-clamp instead of a block of wood.

Remove one caliper from the fork.  Pump until one piston is almost out and clamp it so it will not move, pump the other piston out.  I was able to pull the other piston out.

I used the c-clamps to push the pistons back in after cleaning and replacing seals.

[drdubb]

I just pumped mine out using the existing fluid. Put in a stop (wood, steel bar)  to prevent the pistons from coming out uneven. If they are stuck, compressed air might not do it.