Binding Brakes

[Tyrant]

My bike has a slight bind on the front brakes. As I'm planning on changing the pads all round this weekend I was wondering what could be causing them to bind and what parts I may need to order so I can get the brakes sorted in one sitting. Also any recomendations on pads for road use?

Thanks!

[zimm]

ebc kevlar/green pads .. HH are better but can/will wear your discs quicker.

cant really help with the binding.. ive got rebuilt calipers/new discs/new pads and mine bind a touch .. depends how bad it is though..

edit : there's only one thing causes binding really, and thats a piston not retracting fully ..

[RedexRobB]

Only change the pads if they need doing mate, new ones wont solve it. Sometimes just a clean with brake cleaner and toothbrush eases them up so give that a try and apply some rubber grease to the piston sides, that not only lubricates them it also stops them from corroding. With the calliper off just push them out by squeezing the lever, but be careful not to push them out too far, shouldnt need more than 7 or 8mm showing, you may find that only one will come out while you squeexe the lever. What i do in that case is push it back in a bit and stick a large cable tie round it, that should then allow the others to come out instead.

They could also be binding because the seals are knackered but try cleaning them first and go from there.

[Tyrant]

Are the HH pads worth the extra disc wear?

EBC Kevlar fronts and rear I can get for £50 delivered.
EBC HH sintered fronts with kevlar rear about a fiver more.

My last post has disappeared for some reason

I'll give cleaning and greasing them a go like you've suggested when I put the pads in.
Thanks!

[zimm]

depends on your discs to be honest mate ..

OE discs arent so bad with them, but i fitted some to a bike with aftermarket discs and they got eaten so quick it was unreal

HH pads do stop better, but ive done track days with kevlar pads and they were fine.

also, i'd not bother with HH pads on the back, the extra braking force is unnescesary.. and can make it a bit on/off

[Tyrant]

OK sorted then, I think my discs are OE. I'll order the HH fronts and normal rears and see how I get on with them. The pads definitely need changing so I'll use the opportunity to sort out the binding. It was an advisory on the MOT and is also noticeably loud when riding slowly.

[Jeppo]

I just sorted my binding brakes too mate. When off the ground it was actually a struggle to turn the front wheel by hand!!
Order some new dust seals, the fluid seals should be fine, and hope they are coz there a bit more expensive.
Crack the calipers in half, get the pistons out (I found this pretty tough not having a compressed air source, instead using a foot pump )

Baste caliper halves in WD40, and let the pistons soak in some white spirit before attempting to remove the crud from the edges. This crap was so thick on my pistons that the piston wouldn't fit past the dust seals, hence the binding.
Replace seals, put calipers back together with new pads and commence bleeding

[cargo]

Some good advice from Jeppo..................
What happens is that the crud and crossion builds upbehind the seals and so the pistons can't move properly the only real solution is a complete strip down and clean replacing all the seals. I found that the wire brush fitting for my Dremmel was great for cleaning the seal grooves.............rebuild with new seals and bleed.

[Jeppo]

I found that the wire brush fitting for my Dremmel was great for cleaning the seal grooves

Or if you don't have a dremmel i find a pencil is great, the right shape but not hard enough to scratch the bore...

[masterofinsanity]

I found that the wire brush fitting for my Dremmel was great for cleaning the seal grooves.

i think they were made for that specific job mate!

[cargo]

I found that the wire brush fitting for my Dremmel was great for cleaning the seal grooves

Or if you don't have a dremmel i find a pencil is great, the right shape but not hard enough to scratch the bore...

Thats a good idea and if you could get one of those flat joiners pencils so much the better.....but as I said for the grooves wher the seal fit its wire brush and dremmel every time.............not that my brakes need it just the road bikes I work on

[Tyrant]

Very useful info thanks guys.
Where can I buy the seals?

[cargo]

here for pattern ones

http://www.patternparts.net/stock_refin ... del_go.y=7


or here for genuine


http://www.cradleykawasaki.co.uk/

[Tyrant]

Cheers got hold of some cheers. All cleaned up and fitted and no more binding! Good times.
Rear Tyre has a puncture though, bad times!

[RedexRobB]

did you use any rubber grease on the pistons? Good news you got it sorted, always satisfying to sort something yourself too.