Brake help

[DwightAustin]

I was replacing the front brake pads.  The old ones were worn down to the metal by the previous owner.  Apparently in my attempt to get the pistons pushed back enough for the new pads to fit over the rotor, I pushed the pistons back a bit too far into the caliper.

When I reassembled, the brake lever exerts no pressure on the pistons...I think I squeezed all the fluid out from behind the pistons and can't seem to pull the pistons out by hand either.

Does anyone have any ideas?  Am I stuck taking it into the shop to have them blow out the pistons with air pressure?  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dwight

[starwalt]

Sounds like you have air in the system OR you are way low on brake fluid. You should be able to pump the brake pistons closed IF you have sufficient fluid AND no air. If the pistons won't move with hydraulic pressure they certainly won't move with air pressure.

The pedal or lever piston pushes the fluid down the hose to the caliper housing. When released, more fluid should fall in behind the moved piston. If you have air in the lines, you will only compress the air with the brake fluid and not move the pistons.

Do you have a service manual of any kind?

You should have seen the mess of the rear brakes on my donor bike. One side had no pad at all, the other about 1/3 of a sliver. I think the rotor is too far gone.  No wonder he wrecked the bike.

[Roadstergal]

Ja, open the reservoir and make sure you have fluid.  It's not a bad idea to bleed after replacing pads, anyway.

[DwightAustin]

The manual  I have doesn't say anything about when things go wrong.  

Is proper bleeding proceedure just to fill fluid, loosen relief valve on the caliper, pump brakes until only fluid comes out, tighten value, and refill fluid?

Maybe I've got air somewhere in the line that I'm missing.

[Roadstergal]

No, you need to either get a speed bleeder (one-way valve) or close the valve as soon as you have the brake all of the way down, and keep it closed as you let it back up (it'll pull fluid from the reservoir), then open it while you pull on the brake again.  If there is not constant positive pressure with the valve open, air will back up into the lines.

Do that until you only see clean fluid and no air.  A friend makes it a little less annoying.  Keep an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir; you'll need to add the same amount as you bleed out.

[starwalt]

You will have to read over Kerry's link here, but it will take you through the process. If you don't know how old the fluid is, replace it also. The crap on my project bike looked like cola.

[DwightAustin]

Thanks for the advice...I'll try it out and let y'all know how it goes.  

I hope this works because I want to be on the road tomorrow.

[Slavik]

does any one knows what size of speed blleder works on 500E?  is it the same for both rear and front?

[Whatever6060]

I have a similiar question, not to barge in on someone elses thread, just didn't want to start a whole new thread about breaks.  

I took my caliper off to pull the forks to chaange the fork oil.  I just got it back together last night and the brake feels soft to me.  I looked around for any leaks I might have made in the brake line and checked the brake fluid level through the eyepiece in the resevoir.  Is there something I'm missing or could it just be my imagination?

[scratch]

Keep pumping the lever and pressure will return, provided you didn't get any air in the system, and the resivior is full, or nearly full.

What color is the fluid? It should be a very clear yellow. Needs to be changed every 2 years.

[Whatever6060]

I tried pumping the brakes, but still seemed soft.  I took it for a ride and the brakes worked though.  I think I'm more worried that I put a needle size whole in the brake line somewhere.