TOPIC:

Hi guys, I'm a bit confused and nervous about going forward without being sure. I want to remove my caliper because it's slightly sticking. I hope to check out the piston and clean things up.

I see that it's mounted onto the fork by 2 14mm bolts. Then there's the bridge line that connects to the top of the caliper. How do I go about removing this line to I can get the caliper on it's own ?

My manual doesn't have steps for this for some reason and I tried looking it up and I can't find this part of the removal process.

Best tool for that are “ line wrenches” some old school guys call them “crows foot”

All different brands just showing you the wrench design

When looking for a replacement caliper, you need to check piston bore diameter, the way the hose/line attaches, and the orientation of the bleeder screws.

Thank you! So I don't have to worry about removing the oil in the brake line before doing this? I can just remove the nut from the caliper side and that is good enough?

Chances are good the brake fluid will drain out of the front master cylinder because of gravity. After you disconnect the brake line from the caliper, rest the line in a jar or oil pan to catch the brake fluid. At that point you could also remove the master cylinder cap and pour fresh fluid in and allow gravity to draw it out, somewhat flushing the system of old fluid. Suggest doing that several times...slowly fill the master cylinder reservoir and allowing it to drain empty... After you service the caliper and mount everything to the bike a brake bleed will need to be performed... are you familiar with that process?

Thank you. Yes I'm preparing to do a brake fluid bleed after this process for sure.

Thank you for your tips, I hope to try it in a couple days!

What is you intent with the caliper. Before pulling the brake line or the piston make sure the caliper will slide freely on the two slider bolts. Your problem my just be a sticky slider. If that’s free then I’d suggest a complete clean and new piston seal. Inspect the piston dust boot, the two slider bolt dust caps and inside the caliper mounting bracket are O-Rings. 90% of the time the dust seals and o rings are Reusable as long as they are intact... I always replace the piston to caliper seal... make sure you inspect the grove where the piston seal lives and remove any and all traces of corrosion. Inspect the piston for rust and pits, your luck if you open a caliper and find a reusable piston, most time in my experience they will be bad. If your caliper is hanging up and it’s not the sliders bolts then it’s a good chance it’s from corrosion in that grove...

Just take your time and inspect the function of the caliper and how it slides before taking the brake line off. You can remove the caliper from the bike and visually inspect and reinstall, even grease the slide bolts, without the need to bleed the system... caution you don’t grab the brake lever with the caliper off the bike...

Not sure if you have a manual.

My intention is to clean up the slide pins, replace the boots, clean the piston if it's not too bad that it needs replacing.

The pins were very hard to slide on. I am ordering a rebuild kit tomorrow so I can replace all the rubber boots. My piston looks pretty good so I'll be reusing it. And I'll be lubricating the pins.

Is it tough to put the dust boot back on the piston? I see there's a gold clip around the piston that seems to hold down the boot. I can simply slide in the boot under this? Or does it require me to get the piston out to properly seat the dust boot?

The caliper holder shaft, aka slider bolts will slide easily through the dust boots and O-Rings. They need some grease... everyone has the preference but I use RedRubber grease, I already have it out to assembly the piston so I use it... no problems so far...

The piston dust seal does sit in and under the thin goldish colored retainer... don’t take it out... not necessary to,to remove piston. If it comes out don’t sweat, just be very careful and use gentle even pressure to get it back into the caliper. Put a very thin smeer of RedRubber grease on the piston seal and fit it into the groove in the piston bore. Put a small amount of the grease around the bottom of the piston, you will see a chamfered edge. That chamfer help you slide the piston into the bore without dislodging the seal... a slight twist and pressure and the piston will slide right in... push it in till is bottoms. Then dry, because there is still grease on the piston, slip the dust boot around the piston... here’s the tricky part. Not hard but you need to finesse the dust boot under that goldish retainer ring... you can pinch it between your fingers and pull slightly out to get the bottom lip of the seal under the retainer ring... make sure it’s smooth and circular around the piston. If it’s not you will see a bump... just work it till it smoothly round

Thanks guys. I got a brake rebuild kit to replace the dust boots and piston boot, and I didn't take out the piston. I cleaned things up, used silicone to lubricate the slide pins, bled the brakes through with new fluid. Things are good again