My own attempts at replacing Brakes/bearings ect

[Karimura]

Hey guys,

so I brought some bits n bobs such as calipers and brake lines, rear mudguard, wheel bearings to just make my bike a bit more fresh and better.

First thing I wanted to do is strip it down a bit and clean everything, i've got to the fuel tank (1st problem) and the two alan keys near my front forky bit refuse to come out, they are like made of clay. you turn the key a couple of times and just seems to make a nice little circle. My storage isn't hot room so nothing melting. I've put ac spray on it, and tried "light" hammering with a screwdriver to loosen it up. No luck! so running out of ideas how to get that bugger off.

Next one is bleeding the calipers, replacing them and putting new hoses on, so I brought a new single person bleeding kit and was about to do it today. Got to the resivour to take top off (watching how to vids), and same problem, it's a phillips screwdriver, 2 screws, both refuse to turn, turn it a bit and metal shards just come out. I feel the guy before me refused to do anything to my bike I guess.

So i'd thought i would ask you guys, please bear in mind i'm newbie at doing proper bike stuff like this. (use to spark plugs or changing oil)

Thanks :3

Grant!

[cockercas]

Tap a torx bit slightly bigger then the allen key into the bolt head and turn it out using that.

[Karimura]

Ah ok cheers, I'll see who has one and borrow, keep you updated ^^

[eastanglianbiker]

might need to use a fine chisel to give them a tap to loosen them off and replace them afterwards

[Mr Fro]

Don't want to state the obvious dude but are you using the correct drivers?

Using a pozi instead of a Phillips head (or vice-versa) will shag the screw head.

[dispersion]

I had the same problem on a reservoir lid and we ended up using a dremil to make a dent for a screwdriver to go in to take it out, I like you had no idea either and a complete novice to it!

Good luck!

[Rik398]

I think stuck bolts are all part of motorbikes unfortunately, no doubt some suffer more than others.

Tried to top my brake fluid up. Bolt was literally like soft cheese. Ended up knocking the top off it.

Went to do cam clearances today, saw that one was starting to round and just decided not to bother until I get new bolts. Guaranteed it would just round, and if I get it out, will be off the road until new bolts come.

Think its an alloy / steel combination. They kind of fuse up over time.

Luckily most bolts on my bike (and many others) are standard m size allan bolts. But yeah it can be a pain.

[goodo111]

Are the hex head cap heads metric or imperial? If you feel them starting to round then STOP. Also don't use cheap nasty Allen keys, these are likely to be filed to a random size by a troll under a bridge and made of cheese. If the cap head is stuck fast you can drill the head off/use easy outs etc. I wouldn't attack with a hammer and chisel as it's too easy to slip and scratch or bend something. Try spraying penetrating spray on what you wana remove and leave it 15 mins. Be careful with it around plastic and rubber and paint as it may damage/discolore these.

[mattycoops43]

Good quality tools all the way.

They cost more for a reason, a caphead bolt that will round with a cheap hex bit, will come straight out with a good quality one.

Unfortunately once you have rounded it off with a cheap bit, a good bit won't then get it out and you are in 'recovery mode'

[Karimura]

Thanks for reply guys,

I got them all off with a help from my uncle (again), what we done was get the screwdriver end parts on my socket with a long bar and worked fine, just hard to turn as it was quite locked.

NOW my question is, can I (temp) use my old brake fluid (and the rest left over in the bottle) for the time being? it's still not road worthy, so it will just be going down my road theoretically to make sure the callipers are working fine and then replace the fluid on a later stage for budget reasons.

[Mr Fro]

For the sake of a fiver just go and buy some new stuff.

The old fluid will have absorbed some water and will not perform well.

[Rik398]

Get fresh stuff.

I know what you mean, but you may as well test them with new stuff. You will probably have enough left over to top up if there is a leak or something. If you use the old stuff then you will just have to drain it all out and put new in anyway, then how are you going to test it again?

Just get new. Not too pricey and will give the new calipers the best chance.

[Karimura]

ok cheers guys, yeah last time I brought it from a shop and with oil filter and that came to 100 quid aha, so I think I'll go on line and try find one under a tenner..

Keep you all updated!

[Rik398]

Halfrauds have dot4 for like a fiver. I recently bled my system through and had left over.

[Mr Fro]

You mean like this?

If you buy on line you'll just have to let it stand for a few days to get the air out.

[Karimura]

Yeah I got some from halfrauds. Let it rest for 24 hours and cracked on yesterday.

Took the first nipple off having no idea how much you turn it. Turns out if you take the whole thing out it just pours everywhere!. So after cleaning that up I bled both callipers, which was to the next stage. Taking callipers and old brake lines off, which was the easiest part.

Next was putting new callipers on, my first problem was "what way do these go?" I just guessed till the bolts lined up and they seem okay aha. I then put new brake lines in, which I had to take out several times from putting the shorter one on the longer one ect. And also trying to get the banjo bolt at the end perfect and not bent.

NOW I tried putting fluid in resivior with one calliper nipple off a bit with the kit on it to drain it through, nothing happens.... the fluid doesn't want to come though the calliper or reservoir.

I'm thinking do you need to have the tightness on nipple just a bit or all loose for the fluid to go through? can air be stuck to make the fluid not go through either? It's a 1 way bleeding kit so I don't think i need a jar of fluid at end for reducing bubbles

[Mr Fro]

Not a big fan of those eezibleed kits myself - I don't think it's really needed seeing as you can reach the lever and the nipple at the same time.

So, the procedure should be:

Fill reservoir with fluid and make sure bleed nipples are nipped up with tube attached.

Press lever back to bar.

Starting from the caliper nearest the lever, slacken nipple a bit (no more than 1 turn) and leave for a second or two.

Nip nipple back up again and slowly release lever.

Repeat steps 2 - 4 until fluid comes through nipple without air bubbles then move on to the other caliper.

If your not getting fluid through after a few attempts, check to see if you've got a bleed nipple on the master cylinder and bleed this in the same way to prime it.

If you're still not getting fluid through, give the reservoir, tubing and master cylinder a few taps with a spanner to free up any air bubbles.

[acting_strange]

If you connect the bleed pipe to the nipple and put the other end in a jar with some fluid already in it (enough to cover the end), undo the nipple, then you can just pump the brake (whilst keeping the reservoir topped up) until no air is seen in the bleed pipe (if its clear) or until no air can bee seen coming out of the end of the pipe. Then re-tighten the nipple....job done....

[Karimura]

Cheers guys for how to do it, I tried the front ones and I was getting tension if I pulled back the brake lever slowly, but I done both sides 3 times and nothing was happening if I pressed it quickly or getting any tension for the brakes

I decided to do the brake lines, removed the fluid, changed hoses and put the new fluid in, some weird gunk came out. When I pressed the lever it had pressure till I turn t the nipple then the fluid went through. Worked fine and was done, tested it too.

But yeah the fluid wasn't going anywhere on the front, sure I'd get some trickling off the nipple but nothing seemed to suck though :/