benhamf15 Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 While going over my bike after returning from my deployment I found a leaking fork seal which has allowed fork oil to leak on to my brake caliper, pads & rotor. After cleaning it all up with brake cleaner to include dis-assembling the calipers, I've noticed the brakes are still minimally effective. My understanding now is that if you ever get hydraulic fluid on a brake pad, it's done. Time to replace it. Is that, in fact, the case or is there a way to clean them to make them effective again? What about the effect on the rotors or calipers? Benny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmckeen Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 By disassembling the caliper do you mean removed the pistons ? Its possible there is still some air trapped in the system somewhere, after completely rebuilding my calipers It took a lot to get all the air out of the system, something Eirik had mentioned about pulling the lever in and zip tying it overnight really seemed to help. Not sure about cleaning the brake pads themselves, but after considerable research when rebuilding my brake system it seems resurfacing the rotors when changing pads especially when changing to a different pad compound is recommended, some people recommended bead blasting, some just sandpaper or scotchbrite, some suggest using a special hone. I went the hone route and the results were quite favorable. I do have some before and after pics, but the difference is less noticeable in the photos than it was in person Tyler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroker Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 You are correct, the pads have to be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhamf15 Posted July 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 I did not remove the pistons, just the pads and gave everything a good scrub with brake cleaner, including the pads. I also flushed the brake lines (to include pushing the pistons back), put in fresh fluid and used the zip tie technique after bleeding the lines initially. I'm not getting any air out of the lines now & I have a very firm feel at the brake lever but still very minimal braking. Good info on the rotors if I go the new pad route. Any other informed opinions on that subject? Benny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktk_ace Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 As Stroker said, replace the pads. The pad material is porous material so the oil has already seeped deep inside. Safety isnt worth saving 25-50 a set of pad material imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faffi Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Depending on how much oil there was on the pads, I've had contaminated pads come back to full effect by riding with the brakes on at speed until they smoke and repeating a couple of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroker Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Continuing what Ace said, the oil will rise to the surface every time the pads get hot.Why compromise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faffi Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Again, in my experience, there was no oil residue left, no visible contamination nor any reduced effect after the pads had been "cooked". However, it will likely depend upon how long the oil has sat there and how much oil there was. For race track use, I'd probably just buy new ones to be 100% certain nothing would interfere as brakes do get very hot for long periods of time, but for street use I have not been able to detect anything to suggest the pads had been compromised permanently after the oil residue had been burned off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 I'd also say replace them. Not that it couldn't work, but it's cheap insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchase Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 I work on a principle of "If in doubt toss it out". It's expensive sometimes but when I'm having a glorious day riding at the track it's one less thing on my mind. That alone is worth it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balistic Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Lots of good advise here, in my experience you can never get 100% back no matter how you clean the pads. I might use then on the street? Cleaning the what is called the deposition layer off the rotors is recommended and then bedding the new pads by dragging the brakes and getting the pads hot enough to melt some material onto the surface of the rotor. This is like a drag car lining up in its burn out, the most grip is when the same material is on both sides. Once you feel the brakes start grab you know you are there and it's time to let it all cool off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhamf15 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 Thanks for all the great info everyone. I'm defintiely going with the replacement option. Will, what do you recommend for cleaning the deposition layer off the rotors? Is that something I can do on my own or does that require special equipment/training? Also, which brake pads are on the coach bikes? Are they stock? I like the initial bite and the fact they don't need to warm up. If they're stock, what Galfer pads would you recommend for a track only bike. I'd prefer not to have to warm them up but am willing to if they're that much better. I also don't want to go through rotors every season... tight budget. Benny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroker Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 You have cleaning solutions to get debris off the rotors.You can do that yourself. All brakes need some heat in them to function well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.