Brake pad replacement

I am trying to get everything buttoned up from my fork rebuild. I want to pull the brakes apart and clean the pads to get all the accumulated junk and fork oil out. I was looking at the caliper last night and I tried to pull the pads but they did not come out. Is something holding them in or do they come straight out? Is there any danger in spraying the whole mess with brakekleen (the new enviromentaly friendly green one)?

Just to confirm, is this the oem brake system on the 1982 GPZ750 shown in your signature line?

Yep

Here's the parts diagram for reference.

Hope someone more familiar with this particular caliper will offer better specific advice.

On the Z1 and KZ900 front caliper, one pad is held by a screw and the other pad is pushed by the piston. Often, the pads are installed with some high-temp anti-squeal silicone on the non-rotor side.

Thanks for the diagram.
They are not held on by anything. They just fell out a minute ago when I was working on it. The caliper separated into the two pieces you see the pads came out. Not sure how it all goes back together just yet. Still working on it. They were pretty grungy though... full of dirt and oil.

Update:
Got the forks fixed and some electrical issues figurd out. Thanks everyone. I cleaned the heck out of the brake pads and put them back in but now my brakes are spongy and one of the pads leaves black grease-like marks on the rotor. I am thinking there are pads and maybe a caliper rebuild in my future? I am missing the spring pad for the caliper (#92081) as well. Also, the front brake lever does not retract all the way. So, when you brake the lever does not go back and shut off the brake light. It's like the MC is a little stuck or? Looks like I might be rebuilding the master cylinder too. I guess I should plan on doing them all at once, yeah? Is there anything I need to know about rebuilding these two?

Other than being loud and having lousy brakes it runs like a champ! All my cold-starting issues appear to be resolved and the forks no longer leak. I took it out yesterday for my first long ride and except for the cold and some rookie nervousness (missed shifts, blinkers staying on, starting out in 3rd gear, etc) it went well.

ThatGPzGuy wrote:

Update:
Got the forks fixed and some electrical issues figurd out. Thanks everyone. I cleaned the heck out of the brake pads and put them back in but now my brakes are spongy and one of the pads leaves black grease-like marks on the rotor. I am thinking there are pads and maybe a caliper rebuild in my future? I am missing the spring pad for the caliper (#92081) as well. Also, the front brake lever does not retract all the way. So, when you brake the lever does not go back and shut off the brake light. It's like the MC is a little stuck or? Looks like I might be rebuilding the master cylinder too. I guess I should plan on doing them all at once, yeah? Is there anything I need to know about rebuilding these two?

Master rebuilds can be a pain! Be sure to check the bore inside the master for rust/pitting. Not much you can do if it is except try to find a better one on fleabay.

Get a set of pads from Jeff at Z1, it just isn't worth the effort to reuse old pads. If it feels spongy now and didn't before you might have a leak at the piston or you kinked the old hose and it is now exhibiting an aneurysm do to age and breakdown at the kink. Try bleeding the system completely. A complete change out of the brake fluid is a good idea every year or two anyway.

I'd recommend getting some speedbleeders too. They make bleeding brakes a whole lot easier!

Yeah, I was going to give Z1 a call.
As for the MC rebuild it is probably due after 27 yrs. I have seen the MC rebuild kit on Z1 but not the caliper kit? I guess I can source the individual parts from the stealer dealer.
Link 14, love the speedbleaders. I have them in all my cars. For the bike I figured I would use the vacuum pump. That is the only thing that has ever worked on my dirtbikes.