[Curt72]

Hi All



Some time soon I will be giving my front brakes an overhaul (cylinder replacement, new res bowl, cap, O-ring, etc) this was prompted by a slight leak coming from under the brake fluid reservoir cup, which subsquently dropped onto my cylinder head and strip the silver paint off, arrgh!!! (can you use standard paint for the head or do you have to use high temp paint?).



In the interim I have been trying to fix this leak, but can someone tell me how you are supposed to get the bowl off. It will spin around and around quite happily and I can lever it up slightly but it will not leave go of the housing.



It does however (touch wood) look like I have managed to fix the leak for now, I'll find out later when I go down to the garage at work. I just cleaned everything up and put a bit of sealant on the base, then turned it back in place.



I'm guessing the reason for the leak is the O-ring beneath the bowl. If I can ever get to see it.



Cheers



Curt

 

[pmcquillen]

Hi All



Some time soon I will be giving my front brakes an overhaul (cylinder replacement, new res bowl, cap, O-ring, etc) this was prompted by a slight leak coming from under the brake fluid reservoir cup, which subsquently dropped onto my cylinder head and strip the silver paint off, arrgh!!! (can you use standard paint for the head or do you have to use high temp paint?).



In the interim I have been trying to fix this leak, but can someone tell me how you are supposed to get the bowl off. It will spin around and around quite happily and I can lever it up slightly but it will not leave go of the housing.



It does however (touch wood) look like I have managed to fix the leak for now, I'll find out later when I go down to the garage at work. I just cleaned everything up and put a bit of sealant on the base, then turned it back in place.



I'm guessing the reason for the leak is the O-ring beneath the bowl. If I can ever get to see it.



Cheers



Curt

Curt,

Keep prying the reservoir away from the MC base and it will pop off. Depending upon the condition of the O-ring, you may be able to reuse it but you must carefully inspect and clean the ports (one large and one tiny) in the bottom of the MC bowl. In most cases, the tiny fluid return vent hole will be clogged. I snipped off a steel bristle from a wire brush to open it up. Also, clean out the groove where the O-ring fits and apply a bit of silicone grease to it to ease reinsertion. This worked well for me. I had to replace the O-ring. It was available from Honda for about $5.00.

 

[Curt72]

I guessed it would come off off eventually, I just didn't want to break it as I haven't got the new one yet.



Cheers



Curt

 

[81custom]

I've tried re-using the old reservoir with a new O ring - damn thing leaked everywhere - and the M/c was spotless - if you can spin it around then I would think it is leaking a fair bit. if your temporary fix works - how did you seal it up - silicon? on the outside only around the reservoir?

 

[Curt72]

So I guess it's not meant to spin around then? It was still tight, hence not be able to get it out.



I spun it around so the metal of the housing was exposed and coated the metal and the under side of the bowl with Hylomar. Turned it back straight trying to lift it at the same time to try and avoid scraping all the sealant off again.



Putting sealant around the base, just doesn't work. The brake fluid just goes right through it.



I've just been down to garage to see the bike and it doesn't seem to be leaking at the bottom of bowl (yet) but it's weeping slightly from the cap. If it can just hold on for another couple of weeks (pay day) that will be great.



Yeah I wasn't happy, it stripped the paint of my cylinder head cover. No one answered that question, normal paint of HT required for the cover?



Cheers



Curt

 

[pmcquillen]

So I guess it's not meant to spin around then? It was still tight, hence not be able to get it out.



I spun it around so the metal of the housing was exposed and coated the metal and the under side of the bowl with Hylomar. Turned it back straight trying to lift it at the same time to try and avoid scraping all the sealant off again.



Putting sealant around the base, just doesn't work. The brake fluid just goes right through it.



I've just been down to garage to see the bike and it doesn't seem to be leaking at the bottom of bowl (yet) but it's weeping slightly from the cap. If it can just hold on for another couple of weeks (pay day) that will be great.



Yeah I wasn't happy, it stripped the paint of my cylinder head cover. No one answered that question, normal paint of HT required for the cover?



Cheers



Curt

I think it will be a little like patching a tire from the outside ... it will eventually leak.

 

[Curt72]

Yeah I know, but it's all I can do at the moment.

 

[Blue Fox]

I don't think you really need a high temperature paint for the valve covers. They shouldn't get that hot. Maybe a brake caliper paint would work, most have a reasonable temperature rating. I would doubt the covers ever get over 300 F.



I used a couple of stiff putty knives to pop my res off. Try to get one on each end and if necessary, use a thin screwdriver under the putty knife to pry more. I think partsnmore.com may have the pistons and res available.

 

[Curt72]

Yeap, now I know it's supposed to come off that way, I will have a go at it next time.



I've been getting my parts from David Silver Spares in the UK, they are pretty much everything you need.



And they provide a great service that's very fast and freindly.



Cheers



Curt

 

[Curt72]

Well as expected it leaked pretty bad on the way home. But funnily enough in a different place, the back left side.



I could tightened the screw a little more, so we'll see what happens.



And now to top it al the front brake light switch as stopped working, arrgh! What else.



How do you get the little switch out?



Cheers



Curt

 

[Curt72]

Hi All



How do you take the front brake light switch out?



Is it a push fit or is that screw under the handlebar holding it?



Thanks



Curtis

 

[greghoro]

Two screws underneath hold it in place to the lever assembly.



I recall you need a longer shafted scredriver to get to them when it is mounted.





Greg

 

[greghoro]

Regarding the continuing leak.



Did you clean the oxidation out of the grove in the master cylinder body? I'm guessing that is what is causing the leak you are still having.



I had this problem where I simply flushed and changed the fluid in the master cylinder and it started leaking, no matter how hard I tightened the reservoir cap screws. Turns out that just untightening the cap caused the reservoir to shift and break the seal it had with all of the oxidation in the grove. Once I removed the reservoir and really cleaned the grove out, the leak went away.



I used a combination of a dental probe and a Dremel tool with fine wire brush and made sure there was brake fluid in the area where the reservoir fit. I used a turkey baster to suck up the fluid and loose oxidation, added some more fluid, lightly swished with a toothbrush and vacuumed out again a few more times to make sure I got all of the loose oxidation. It may have been luck, but since I didn’t touch the lever, I didn’t introduce any air into the system, even though at times the reservoir was empty of fluid.





Greg

 

[Dash]

The plastic reservoir comes off but it takes a good amount of force. As was already mentioned, you'll need two flat putty knives and two medium size skinny screwdrivers. The putty knives protect the soft aluminum when you pry up with the two screwdrivers. It'll seem like you're going to break the plastic but I've popped several of these reservoirs off and they can take a lot of force. Once it's off, you can clean the funk and grit out of the o-ring groove and mating surfaces.



I agree that the valve covers dont get so hot that you need hi-temp paint.



And yep, the little screws hold the brake light switch in place. Don't feel bad -- these switches go bad and are way easy and cheap to replace.

 

[Curt72]

I can only see one screw underneath, but there's also a hole next to screw. I will have a look when the part comes.



In terms of the brake fluid leak, I've just order a whole set of new bits and pieces.



I couldn't even get the res bowl off to clean anything.



I might try again tonight, but I'm going on a bike this weekend and I don't want to risk breaking anything.



Cheers



Curt