Bleeding air out of front caliper

Energy One

No H2O

Active Member
You can do it old school by yourself, right hand pump the brake and hold, left hand loosen and tighten, done.
Among other physical limitations my reach is nowhere near long enough.

I'm going to buy the Wild Steel Works screw.
7mm and 5/16" wrenches are too big and 6mm is too small. Not sure what size the existing bolt the existing bleeder screw takes.
I asked what size the Wild Steel Works screw takes, once they respond I'll get the appropriate wrench if I don't already have it.
 

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Jersey Big Mike

100K mile club
Standard brake

Well since there's nothing on the bike that is metric I would say your right about 6 and 7 mm wrenches not working. 6mm is .236 and 7mm is .275 I wonder what standard wrench would fall in the middle of those 2?
Quarter inch (0.25") is right between 6 and 7 mm (.236 and .275" ) and is a really common wrench size.
 

Jersey Big Mike

100K mile club
Among other physical limitations my reach is nowhere near long enough.

I'm going to buy the Wild Steel Works screw.
7mm and 5/16" wrenches are too big and 6mm is too small. Not sure what size the existing bolt the existing bleeder screw takes.
I asked what size the Wild Steel Works screw takes, once they respond I'll get the appropriate wrench if I don't already have it.
When worling on the Dog put the metrics away -- get a full set of SAE wrenches and Allens.
 

Jersey Big Mike

100K mile club
I'm finding that to be the case. I've only used one metric allen so far.
If budget's a problem start with some thing like this --
https://www.harborfreight.com/9-piece-sae-highly-polished-combo-wrench-set-42304.html

I prefer craftsman and the lifetime warranty without having to pay Mac Tools prices.

Since you've got both Metric and SAE bikes, make 2 tool boxes SAE in one, Metric in the other -- makes it much easier down the road so you dont grab something that sort fits and break a tool or strip a bolt head. Go ahead -- ask me how I know!
 

No H2O

Active Member
I prefer craftsman and the lifetime warranty without having to pay Mac Tools prices.
I'll start collecting standard tools as I need them. Lifetime warranty is useless to me, I'm horrible at keeping track of where my tools are and I can never find them (I know, it's not that hard to get organized).
 

Sven

Well-Known Member
1. Usually there is an indent/cast/line inside the rez and this is used for the level.
2. The trick is to open once, close once.
3. Note, you'll be pumping that lever like pulling water out of a water well like the old days. Get it? Once the flow begins, keep filling the rez so no air enters as the oil begins to drop down in the rez.
4. This is where you change fluids every two years so you can watch the dirty oil turn clean on that pumping exercise.
5. For example, you've been filling that rez with the open nipple at the caliper all this time. You're about to take the last grab to the grip and before you hit the grip, you close the nipple.
6. You then pump the master lever up to see how hard or mushy the lever feels? If it's hard you're done. If it's mush, you break the banjo bolt at the master, pull the lever to the grip and close the banjo before hitting the grip. That should end the bubble chase.

Home he dunt need no stinkin' speed nipple or titty sucking machine, but by one open and one closed method.

Signed,
NOLTT (not one loser titty tool)
 

SEAL-rider

Active Member
Standard brake

Well since there's nothing on the bike that is metric I would say your right about 6 and 7 mm wrenches not working. 6mm is .236 and 7mm is .275 I wonder what standard wrench would fall in the middle of those 2?
The forks are Chinese and the fork oil bleed screw is metric.
 

No H2O

Active Member
So I did the job using the steps I outlined above.
Only a little bit of air came out of the caliper, then the lever got real mushy.
I kept squeezing the lever until it got firmer. Going from fully extended to about a third of the way towards the throttle was releasing air bubbles via the reservoir so I kept doing it even as i was screwing the bolts to the reservoir cap on until there were no more bubbles coming up to speak of.
Stopping power is a little better now but still have that squealching noise. I'll take a closer look to see if the pads are worn, they don't appear to be though.
I've been hearing the front brake isn't all that great, if this is as good as it gets, stopping power-wise, is there a recommended upgrade?
 

SEAL-rider

Active Member
So I did the job using the steps I outlined above.
Only a little bit of air came out of the caliper, then the lever got real mushy.
I kept squeezing the lever until it got firmer. Going from fully extended to about a third of the way towards the throttle was releasing air bubbles via the reservoir so I kept doing it even as i was screwing the bolts to the reservoir cap on until there were no more bubbles coming up to speak of.
Stopping power is a little better now but still have that squealching noise. I'll take a closer look to see if the pads are worn, they don't appear to be though.
I've been hearing the front brake isn't all that great, if this is as good as it gets, stopping power-wise, is there a recommended upgrade?
Change your front pads, condition your rotor for the new pads (link below) and then see where you are. My front brake is fine and provides all the stopping power I need. You might want to pull your calipers apart for a good cleaning. Good time to pull the front wheel to remove the rotor. Some or all the pistons could be binding from brake dust buildup. Easy job. Kit for that in second link. By the way the manual and several links on this forum have the wrong torque for the rotor bolts. It is not 50 or 60 lb ft. Use 25 lb ft and Red Loctite.

http://www.wildsteedworx.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=106_195&products_id=1521

http://www.wildsteedworx.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68_174_175_276&products_id=1180
 

SEAL-rider

Active Member
The website says it's for 05 and newer, mine's an 04 (and my bleeder screw is now stripped so I'll need something to replace it)
Read down a bit.

Fitment:04 and Up Front Calipers
  • 03 and Down Front and Rear Calipers
I used a buffer with chromium oxide past to clean and polish the piston. You can probably do it by hand.
 
So I did the job using the steps I outlined above.
Only a little bit of air came out of the caliper, then the lever got real mushy.
I kept squeezing the lever until it got firmer. Going from fully extended to about a third of the way towards the throttle was releasing air bubbles via the reservoir so I kept doing it even as i was screwing the bolts to the reservoir cap on until there were no more bubbles coming up to speak of.
Stopping power is a little better now but still have that squealching noise. I'll take a closer look to see if the pads are worn, they don't appear to be though.
I've been hearing the front brake isn't all that great, if this is as good as it gets, stopping power-wise, is there a recommended upgrade?
Check your caliper alignment and ensure it is shimmed correctly. Performance machines website has the instructions. Basically the center line should be in the middle of your rotors.
 

No H2O

Active Member
So tonight the front brake is miraculously quiet. I did nothing to it. Maybe it just needed to be ridden more.
 

Sven

Well-Known Member
Race Trick:
Zip-tie lever to grip and leave overnight, meaning, pull the mushy lever so it's taught, ie, the plunger is past the return hole.

Visual Trick:
Pop the top of your favorite brew. Leave the cover off the master so you can watch bubbles, then sip the bubbles out of the brew. Pull the lever ever so lightly, meaning, you went past the thickness of a horse hair, you pulled to far. So the routine is; pull-release-watch-sip = Repeat.
 

Sven

Well-Known Member
So tonight the front brake is miraculously quiet. I did nothing to it. Maybe it just needed to be ridden more.
1. You burned any grease off that made the squeak.
2. The pad is mixed with metal so a harmonic high-spot set-in until worn.
3. The removal of the caliper, then bolted into a new position; cut into unworn disc area.
 
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