Any Brake Experts?

[Large]

I put new pads in my Kat brakes (4 pot Nissin) and topped up the brake fluid in the resevior to about 5mm from the top.

The brakes have gone from really spongy to really bitey (is that the correct word?) and they feel heaps better.....

...But you only need to move the lever about a quarter of the way to have them just about lock up...and they feel like they're dragging all the time. When I pull up to the lights it feels like they're dragging and when I pushed it into the garage I could feel it not want to roll easily.

Any ideas?

Apart from that the Kat goes pretty good. I just need to stiffen up the rear and replace the square rear tyre and it should be a great toy.

[03gixxerpilot]

HAVE you checked to see if the pistons in the calipers are sicky. this often happens when you put in new pads and the seals are running on a diffrent spot on the piston and it could have dirt built up on it.

[EXBEN]

Large, Push the pistons all the way back into the calipers then pump them back up again, this should clean the sticky section of the piston & hopefully fix the problem.

[Large]

quote:Originally posted by EXBEN

Large, Push the pistons all the way back into the calipers then pump them back up again, this should clean the sticky section of the piston & hopefully fix the problem.


Before I pulled the old pads out I stuck a screwdriver between them to force the pistons back so the new thicker pads would fit easily.

Is there a tool to do this to the new pads? I don't want to gouge them like the old ones.

[03gixxerpilot]

actually i'd recomend pushing the pistones all the way out clean them and then put them back to gether that way you dont push any dirt back into the seals

[EXBEN]

Large, It really depends what condition your calipers are in ,if the pistons are clean with only some slight discolouring then theres probably no point in stripping the whole caliper, I would only do this if there is any sign of rust,corosion or excessive dirt or brake dust build up on the pistons. Remember every time you take the pistons out the whole caliper MUST be cleaned thoroughly, & you run the risk of damaging a seal if your not carefull. To push the pistons back take the caliper off & use something wide & flat to lever each pad back evenly then you can usually squeeze them in the last bit by hand ( obviously using old pads is ideal), oh & make sure you don't overflow the resivior when doing this.
Cheers

[03gixxerpilot]

thats a good point EXBEN !
I sometimes forget that i have a full workshop to do my work in and it only take me a few more minutes to do a full caliper overhual, what you have said is very sound advice followed by most workshops.

[Large]

quote:Originally posted by EXBEN

Large, It really depends what condition your calipers are in ,if the pistons are clean with only some slight discolouring then theres probably no point in stripping the whole caliper, I would only do this if there is any sign of rust,corosion or excessive dirt or brake dust build up on the pistons. Remember every time you take the pistons out the whole caliper MUST be cleaned thoroughly, & you run the risk of damaging a seal if your not carefull. To push the pistons back take the caliper off & use something wide & flat to lever each pad back evenly then you can usually squeeze them in the last bit by hand ( obviously using old pads is ideal), oh & make sure you don't overflow the resivior when doing this.
Cheers


Thanks EXBEN,

I drained a few mm of the fluid from the resevoir and went for a run, but it's still dragging so I'll try what you suggested. The pistons and inside of the calipers looked pretty clean when I had them off.

I need to visit a V8 Supercar workshop and get a pair of those giant inside out pliers they use while doing pad swaps.:)