Front Brake Lever Problem Fixed - Brake pads touching !!!

[GZ250]

so last saturday i started with the master cylinder. took it apart. tried to push the piston (picture attached) inside with my finger but it was stuck. would not come out either, had to pull it out. the master cylinder from inside is ok, no scratch or rust. the piston itself looks good and nothing wrong but the guy on the shop might be correct that the rubber in the piston gets worn out. luckily suzuki makes the repair kit (just the piston and cup (the rubber part that you see where the brake lever pushes the piston - this is called dust cover). the cylinder itself is expensive ($100 online) but the repair kit (mainly the piston) is just $20 from Suzuki. so they ordered and it arrived on wednesday. what arrived was similar but shorter in size and i was not able to put snap ring back. so went back today (thursday) to return, they searched their stuff and found something similar to what i needed sitting there for quite sometime as the box looked old but the piston was better (slightly heavier and not plastic) and new. it was $36 but they gave me as replacement for same price $20 (benefit of working with your local shop).

Now lever is working fine, i did bleed the brake fluid for air in the hose. But now I feel and hear that the brake shoes are touching the brake rim as when i try to rotate the wheel it does not move freely and i can hear the brakes pads hisss. What is the problem now? Should I try to remove and put the pads again. the pads are perfectly ok. i checked last saturday.

[Moedad]

*Edit: I see you've done this before so maybe it's not what I'm thinking you're saying.

[GZ250]

Initially the lever was stuck. It was suggested to change brake fluid taht required bleeding. The bleeding did not work because the lever won't pump or build pressure. Some suggested to check the pads and assembly. I did recheck the pads and caliper assembly but was all ok. Last saturday I took apart the master cylinder and replaced the piston so the lever was stuck because of piston not working properly. The brake fluid was also old and bad (orangish color).

So the lever is ok, brake fluid changed but the front brake pads are touching. The story got repeated in two threads earlier. first i asked about the problem and in the second after i tried of bleed brake fluid i screwed up. Now its the third post in that connection.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by GZ250

The story got repeated in two threads earlier. first i asked about the problem and in the second after i tried of bleed brake fluid i screwed up. Now its the third post in that connection.

FIRST we need to talk about creating multiple threads covering the SAME problem........NOT a nice thing to do. It confuses the crap out of people.

There is NO good reason to string it out over multiple threads and a LOT of reasons not to. In the future, please keep it all together.

Second: Disk brake pads DO rub and that's normal. That should put only a tiny little drag on the wheel. Since "we" can't see if what you have is normal or not, maybe you should visit your friendly dealer once again.

[Water Warrior 2]

Good idea from Easy. Also if you are confident that the brakes are working correctly(aside from hissing) go for a ride for a few miles. Stop somewhere and cautiously touch the front brake disc and feel for heat. If the disc is just slightly warm you are probably okay. All 3 discs on my Vstrom will some times get warmish but never enough to burn skin. Actually after a long highway ride the tires are warmer than the brake discs.

[GZ250]

SORRY for multiple posts but I just wanted those who really have answers to read.

Now as I said the brake pads are rubbing and I did feel the disk for temperature. It was really hot. So what should I do now. The brake lever is functioning ok and brake is also ok, good stopping and firm.

How to fix the pads against rubbing?

Thanks

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by GZ250

How to fix the pads against rubbing?

Time for a caliper/piston cleaning and/or rebuild.

The mechanics of the caliper is not that much different than the piston in the master cylinder that you already fixed. It LOOKS a lot different but the functioning is similar.

Do you have a shop manual? There is one here you can download, I think.
Disk brakes are fairly simple but can be intimidating the first time you tackle them.
My guess is that having a shop fix it would be fairly inexpensive.

[Sarris]

Your front disc pads always rub. There is no return mechanism. Unless there is an obvious braking action, all should be ok. New pads seem to have more "friction" than old pads. As the pad surface collects brake dust they "wear in" and become a little quieter. But again, they'll always touch (rub) the rotor. And the rotor will always feel hot. As long as there is no obvous smell or smoke coming from the front caliper or pads, they are probably not overheating.

If they seem to be working well and not overheating, I'd consider it mission accomplished.

[Water Warrior 2]

Just thought of this. Purely an opinion but still might apply. New pads will have to "bed" in before they are really smooth and don't create excessive drag induced heat. If you are happy with brake performance then just ride it and enjoy the road.

[GZ250]

Thank you all. You saved my weekend and time. I will go to the dealership and show them the brakes and ask them to feel the temp.

I dont see any smoke or smell, so I am on the road..........