Mark Rossi
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How to replace your brake pads
- Thread starter Mark Rossi
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- Aug 15, 2012
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I just fixed a broken link - to the same video that Mark originally posted.
I think its worth adding a few things to what is discussed in the video. We've taken over brake maintenance on our hire fleet, following a couple of bad experiences with some Thai mechanics. Lachie Cooper has provided advice and guidance- having owned a couple of Honda shops in NZ over twenty years or so. He's tutored Deere on the process.
First up - fluids. Change 'em every two years. Make sure the fluid going in is new... and hasn't sat around with a loose cap on it. Brake fluid absorbs moisture and that can boil, causing a loss of hydraulic pressure between the lever and pads. In an emergency, this can be overcome by pumping the lever - it might take four or five pumps to compress the boiled moisture... but, it's better than no brakes. Trouble is, you have to do that for every brake application until everything cools down. Change that fluid ASAP.
What I don't like about the video, is them showing us to force the pistons back. Those pistons are dirty - and if you do that, you're forcing that dirty piston back through your caliper seal - and that ain't good for it. It's good for spare parts sales.... but not for your wallet. What we do is remove the caliper, blow the piston out with compressed air (with a block of wood used to stop it shooting out at high speed).... and clean things up in a tub of hot water with washing powder. Clean it all off, check the seals (remove them and clean out any dirt behind them), lubricate the seals and pistons with brake fluid, grease the pins with high temp grease and put it all back together.
Bleed 'em up, check / replace fluids and away you go - remembering to do a test application before rocketing off down the road.
I think its worth adding a few things to what is discussed in the video. We've taken over brake maintenance on our hire fleet, following a couple of bad experiences with some Thai mechanics. Lachie Cooper has provided advice and guidance- having owned a couple of Honda shops in NZ over twenty years or so. He's tutored Deere on the process.
First up - fluids. Change 'em every two years. Make sure the fluid going in is new... and hasn't sat around with a loose cap on it. Brake fluid absorbs moisture and that can boil, causing a loss of hydraulic pressure between the lever and pads. In an emergency, this can be overcome by pumping the lever - it might take four or five pumps to compress the boiled moisture... but, it's better than no brakes. Trouble is, you have to do that for every brake application until everything cools down. Change that fluid ASAP.
What I don't like about the video, is them showing us to force the pistons back. Those pistons are dirty - and if you do that, you're forcing that dirty piston back through your caliper seal - and that ain't good for it. It's good for spare parts sales.... but not for your wallet. What we do is remove the caliper, blow the piston out with compressed air (with a block of wood used to stop it shooting out at high speed).... and clean things up in a tub of hot water with washing powder. Clean it all off, check the seals (remove them and clean out any dirt behind them), lubricate the seals and pistons with brake fluid, grease the pins with high temp grease and put it all back together.
Bleed 'em up, check / replace fluids and away you go - remembering to do a test application before rocketing off down the road.
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