brake pad change - need some guidance.

M

monkeywork

New member
Bike: honda shadow vlx 600
Year: 1997


Trying to change the front brake pads (single disk). I've purhcased new pads and they match the old ones however I'm having problems installing them. I can take the old pads on and off no problem so i'm reasonably sure I have the process down correctly however my problem is that the new pads don't fit... the meat makes them too thick.


I can get one pad posistioned correctly however there is then no room for the second pad now matter how much i push in the caliper.




This is how i'm changing them (manual is really really brief on this).




1. Use a flat head screw driver and losen and remove the pad pin plug
2. Use an allen key and remove the pad pin
3. old pads fall out easy enough
4. Insert new pads




Now like i said i can get the old pads back in but new pads not a chance, when the pads are out I can still see the pistons - if they were pushed in i could likely make these fit but i'm not sure how to push them in with damaging them.




Suggestions? First time doing this so bear with me.
 
i haven't taken the caliper itself off i'd need to do that likely to get a c-clamp to fit wouldn't i?
the manual doesn't mention taking the caliper off - however as I read online it does look like most do. just nervous to do so as first time.
 
monkeywork said:
i haven't taken the caliper itself off i'd need to do that likely to get a c-clamp to fit wouldn't i?
the manual doesn't mention taking the caliper off - however as I read online it does look like most do. just nervous to do so as first time.
Click to expand...

You'll have to take the caliper off to fit the c-clamp in there. It's no big deal but be sure to torque it properly and Loctite (blue) is your friend.
 
Put the old pads back on and pry them apart putting the caliper pistons back to their lowest position.

This should make enough room to install new pads.
 
Before you listen to anyone about pushing the pistons in, make sure you remove the brake master reservoir cap and diaphragm. And make sure the fluid level does not overflow, as you push the pistons back in the fluid level will rise. And if at any point someone topped up the fluid level while your pads wore down, then you will have to remove some fluid also.. Or else it will spill over....And if you dont remove the cap before pushing the pistons in, you can make the cap explode off, and if there is too much fluid your brakes will lock when they heat up the fluid and it expands...
 
JohnnyP636 said:
Before you listen to anyone about pushing the pistons in, make sure you remove the brake master reservoir cap and diaphragm. And make sure the fluid level does not overflow, as you push the pistons back in the fluid level will rise. And if at any point someone topped up the fluid level while your pads wore down, then you will have to remove some fluid also.. Or else it will spill over....And if you dont remove the cap before pushing the pistons in, you can make the cap explode off, and if there is too much fluid your brakes will lock when they heat up the fluid and it expands...
Click to expand...
100% right
Also be careful if you pry them in on the bike you could damage the rotor, also a good idea to clean the pistons before you push them in. Good time to change your brake fluid as well.
 
well now you got me all freaked out - i just got the pads installed a minute ago, i had to put the piston side new brake pad in first and basically push really hard to get the pistons to back in enough that i could get the other side on. Now I didn't do anything with the brake fluid at all, that was done by the mechanic last year and the bike barely got any km on it during that time. Its something I'd like to do this year however haven't looked into it at all yet (as you can tell by this thread I'm not the most mechanically inclined person).

Thank you all very much for you advice - if anyone is in the durham area and wants to give me a tutorial on changing out the brake fluid there will be booze in it for you :)
 
Good advice from Johnny and Steve here.If i lived in Toronto,i'd have a drinking problem for sure.Love to help folks out.;)
 
At this point, just check the sight glass on the master cylinder and make sure it isn't overfilled. If you can see an air bubble at the top of the window, it's OK.
 
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