brake troubles (merged)

[~Nik~]

hi every one. ive been having some break problems recently. firstly, my front beak pads wore down very quickly. when it came to taking them off, they were realy tight against the disc, which i didnt think anything of at the time. anyways, i took them out, and replaced them. when doing this i had a struggle getting them in, because the piston was sticking out a little, where the other other pads had been, but the others werent as thick because they were worn. i tried to push the piston in, but had no luck. as a last resort, i opened up the bleed screw, and tried again. after quite alot of pushing, the piston finaly went back in, however, i had lost alot of break fluid through the bleed screw. after i put the caliper back on, with the new pads in place, i came accross another problem. my break lever wasnt doing anything. i was then told i needed to bleed the system. so, off to the shop for more break fluid, and a bleeding kit. last night, i tried bleeding it. i had some 1 with me that knows how to bleed breaks so i know we were doing it right. when we put the tube on the bleed screw, and tried to pump the fluid through, (we used a one way tube from the bike shop) there wasnt enough preasure to get it all the way through. the fluid is going through the system, but for some reason not enough. when we pulled the handle in, the fluid came out, when we let the handle back out again, the fluid went back into the screw, therefor not alowing it to come all the way through. it could be a blockage, i dont know, but any ideas would be great, seeing as if not, i have to pay a load to get it picked up from my house, to the garage, and then for the fixing fee. very expensive.

[~Nik~]

hi every one. ive been having some break problems recently with my suzuki marauder. firstly, my front beak pads wore down very quickly. when it came to taking them off, they were realy tight against the disc, which i didnt think anything of at the time. anyways, i took them out, and replaced them. when doing this i had a struggle getting them in, because the piston was sticking out a little, where the other other pads had been, but the others werent as thick because they were worn. i tried to push the piston in, but had no luck. as a last resort, i opened up the bleed screw, and tried again. after quite alot of pushing, the piston finaly went back in, however, i had lost alot of break fluid through the bleed screw. after i put the caliper back on, with the new pads in place, i came accross another problem. my break lever wasnt doing anything. i was then told i needed to bleed the system. so, off to the shop for more break fluid, and a bleeding kit. last night, i tried bleeding it. i had some 1 with me that knows how to bleed breaks so i know we were doing it right. when we put the tube on the bleed screw, and tried to pump the fluid through, (we used a one way tube from the bike shop) there wasnt enough preasure to get it all the way through. the fluid is going through the system, but for some reason not enough. when we pulled the handle in, the fluid came out, when we let the handle back out again, the fluid went back into the screw, therefor not alowing it to come all the way through. it could be a blockage, i dont know, but any ideas would be great, seeing as if not, i have to pay a load to get it picked up from my house, to the garage, and then for the fixing fee. very expensive.

[Clint]

You could really stand to give us more information on your bike. What year? Mileage? General condition?

It sounds like a stuck caliper caused the first problem. I believe they can be rebuilt. For the bleeding problem, you may have gotten enough air in there that the pressure is quite low. Try bleeding them the old fashioned way (without the fancy tube). Open the screw, squeeze the lever, close the screw, release the lever. Repeat.

Good luck.

[~Nik~]

its 2003, not sure on milage, not much though, and general condition is good realy. i have alrdy tried the old fashioned way, but no luck.

[DrBob]

The one-way hose system you bought may not be working correctly. You need to try it the traditional way: crack open the bleeder screw as you pull in the lever, then shut the screw before you let the lever back out. This will push fluid and air out of the system without sucking it back in when the lever is let out.
If the system still will not bleed and give you a firm lever, then you have air trapped up by the banjo bolt, where the line goes into the master cylinder on the bars. Shut the bleeder screw, slightly crack open the banjo bolt as you pull in the lever, and the air will escape. Tighten the banjo bolt before you let the lever out. Make sure you have a rag under the area to keep brake fluid from getting on your paint.

[DrBob]

Nik- see my response to your post on the cruiser forum.