1 Front brake caliper Sat Mar 30, 2024 5:52 pm
NealC
active member
Hello all!
As I said in my self intro thread, the bike I recently bought at an auction had non-working front brakes. I've had the bike since Tuesday and had another chance today to look in more detail at the front brake situation.
No parts appeared to be missing as I said before. I had cleaned out the front master cylinder the other day and wanted to remove the calipers today to start inspecting and cleaning them up.
I discovered that the ABS sensor had been interfered with at some point. The outermost hex bolt holding the sensor in place was chewed up and I managed to loosen it with some vice grips. It then sheared off and I discovered it had been partly drilled out from the underneath - a small drill hole that had obviously weakened it. I managed to remove the other hex bolt OK. The sensor itself was as if welded in place. I could not budge it. I decided I wouldn't be keeping it and eventually got it out, destroying it in the process. This was perhaps not the right thing to do but I figured the ABS wouldn't be working anyway...
So, I will replace the seals I think and go from there...
I wondered if the previous owner had tried to work on the brakes and get the sensor out and given up on the idea and as a result the bike ended up off the road - the last MOT expired in 2020. Just a theory...
Those sensors are meant to pop out when the bolts are undone, right? According to my manual it looks so easy but I guess all that grime in there over the years is a pretty strong adhesive...
Question: should I try to get a used sensor? Or used caliper with sensor? Or just remove what's left of the old one altogether and proceed without ABS?
As I said in my self intro thread, the bike I recently bought at an auction had non-working front brakes. I've had the bike since Tuesday and had another chance today to look in more detail at the front brake situation.
No parts appeared to be missing as I said before. I had cleaned out the front master cylinder the other day and wanted to remove the calipers today to start inspecting and cleaning them up.
I discovered that the ABS sensor had been interfered with at some point. The outermost hex bolt holding the sensor in place was chewed up and I managed to loosen it with some vice grips. It then sheared off and I discovered it had been partly drilled out from the underneath - a small drill hole that had obviously weakened it. I managed to remove the other hex bolt OK. The sensor itself was as if welded in place. I could not budge it. I decided I wouldn't be keeping it and eventually got it out, destroying it in the process. This was perhaps not the right thing to do but I figured the ABS wouldn't be working anyway...
So, I will replace the seals I think and go from there...
I wondered if the previous owner had tried to work on the brakes and get the sensor out and given up on the idea and as a result the bike ended up off the road - the last MOT expired in 2020. Just a theory...
Those sensors are meant to pop out when the bolts are undone, right? According to my manual it looks so easy but I guess all that grime in there over the years is a pretty strong adhesive...
Question: should I try to get a used sensor? Or used caliper with sensor? Or just remove what's left of the old one altogether and proceed without ABS?