Rear brake stiff but does nothing

**Rodney007** · 12th December 2009, 22:03

My rear brake I have bleed and is hard to press.
yet it does almost nothing as to stoping the wheel unless I was to put all my weight on it..

any ideas? thanks

**CookMySock** · 13th December 2009, 06:09

Pull the whole rear brake system off and disassemble it. Something will be jammed up, and once you have it apart it will be pretty clear what needs fixing.

If you are a spanner person, just go for it.. Brakes aren't rocket science. Remove the master cylinder, hose, and caliper as a complete unit and put it on the workbench and get started.

If you are not a spanner person, take it and a box of piss to someone who is, and ask them to teach you.

Steve

**marty** · 13th December 2009, 06:14

i chased a problem like this in a car once - couldn't figure it out for ages.

eventually found that the owner before me had done the brake master cylinder and put the cup seals in the *easy* way around - no matter how hard i pushed, no pressure was going to the brakes. the pedal though didn't come back up, not sure if that's your problem but...

**gwigs** · 13th December 2009, 06:47

Originally Posted by DangerousBastard

Pull the whole rear brake system off and disassemble it. Something will be jammed up, and once you have it apart it will be pretty clear what needs fixing.

If you are a spanner person, just go for it.. Brakes aren't rocket science. Remove the master cylinder, hose, and caliper as a complete unit and put it on the workbench and get started.

If you are not a spanner person, take it and a box of piss to someone who is, and ask them to teach you.

Steve

Wot Steve said...

**Biggles08** · 14th December 2009, 07:56

Originally Posted by Rodney007

My rear brake I have bleed and is hard to press.
yet it does almost nothing as to stoping the wheel unless I was to put all my weight on it..

any ideas? thanks

Don't worry about it Rod....you never use it anyway

**glegge** · 14th December 2009, 10:52

time for some new seals i reckon. either that or the rear caliper has frozen - or well on it's way too it.

If the seals are worn in the master cylinder, they will bleed, but in use, the brake fluid will push right past the seal(s).
if the caliper is rusted or clogged with muck, then it may not move, yet the peddle will be hard.

so yeah, possibly take the caliper off first and lift the dust seal, maybe pop the piston out and take a look.
failing that, time to look at the master cylinder.

best of luck, if i was in Auckland i'd be happy to take a look, but alas, I'm in a real city.

**motorbyclist** · 14th December 2009, 10:59

maybe some numpty got chain lube/crc/silicone spray on the brake disc, which then soaked into the pads?

either way, pull it all off and see if it's even working as it should.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...99#post1880399