Rear Brake maintainence, Softail standard 1999

[SE6A]

Hi all, heading into the garage this morning I noticed a few drops of fluid on the floor directly under the rear brake Master Cylinder, getting a closer look I pulled back the rubber protection boot, and found it to be wet with brake fluid, not soaking but enough to see something was not right!
Speaking to a good supplier of parts and advice, Barnaby Wilde, of Honiton, Devon, there isnt a service kit, and the 'cartridge' is a replacement unit.
before I go ahead and order one, has anyone done this and have any hints and tips?
I see basically a feed from the reservoir, on the top, the line out with banjo bolt on the end , and a locking nut at the back end to keep it in place!

 

[fin_676]

Part number fro the master cylinder rebuild kit = 42382-87C
It is almost a complete unit that fits in the plastic housing that the reservoir feed pipe fits on to
Remove the reservoir feed pipe the banjo bolt the split pin and cotter pin at the brake pedal and undo the large nut at the banjo bolt end and the master cylinder should come out
Circlip plyers are required during the strip of the other components and a friend to hold spring tension on re assembly would be helpful
once the rod spring and piston are removed it can be a pest to get the main cylinder out of the plastic housing
Spray a lot of penetrating fluid I then opened the jaws on bench vice large enough to allow the cylinder to pass through but close enough to support the plastic housing put the unit there and tapped where the big nut was fitted with a rubber mallet till the cylinder moved
Nothing in this job is particularly difficult apart from holding the spring tension whilst trying to get the last circlip in place

Brian

 

[SE6A]

Hi Brian....many thanks for your info, so i'm presuming care must be taken to remove the pipe from the fluid reservoir if its plastic?....without breaking the nipple off, is there a certain technique with the clip, does it just pull off, and is it re-usable?....did see the circlip, so I do need to dig my circlip plyers out!...

 

[SE6A]

Hi Brian....many thanks for your info, so i'm presuming care must be taken to remove the pipe from the fluid reservoir if its plastic?....without breaking the nipple off, is there a certain technique with the clip, does it just pull off, and is it re-usable?....did see the circlip, so I do need to dig my circlip plyers out!...

moving on from this, a good tip I received was to take off the banjo bolt from the reservoir and leave the one on the cartridge casing intact...so the part is ordered, and hopefully back on the road for the weekend!....now is the sun going to shine for saturday here in the south?

 

[fin_676]

My softail is a 92 and had perhaps had stuff done to it prior to me getting it however I have done bits in the past and I have a jubilee clip on the pipe from the reservoir however I may have fitted it when I moved the master cylinder forward during the install of an extended reach forward control kit but the stock clip is not reusable as it has to be destroyed off plyers and a flat blade screwdriver would be my tools of choice here
There is a second circlip holding the piston rod ball end in place I think in the kit there is a new rod but the circlip and the outer retainer are not in the kit and have to be re used it was a few years ago I did mine and forgot the camera or I would have done a wee guide as I went but it was good weather and I needed the bike to be on the road

Brian

 

[SE6A]

My softail is a 92 and had perhaps had stuff done to it prior to me getting it however I have done bits in the past and I have a jubilee clip on the pipe from the reservoir however I may have fitted it when I moved the master cylinder forward during the install of an extended reach forward control kit but the stock clip is not reusable as it has to be destroyed off plyers and a flat blade screwdriver would be my tools of choice here
There is a second circlip holding the piston rod ball end in place I think in the kit there is a new rod but the circlip and the outer retainer are not in the kit and have to be re used it was a few years ago I did mine and forgot the camera or I would have done a wee guide as I went but it was good weather and I needed the bike to be on the road

Brian

Hi Brian...all back together, no leaks.....the circlip was the hardest part, and a two man operation!....rear pads are binding a little, I dont want to strip the whole lot, so going to remove the pads and push the piston out a little ..carefully....and give it a good clean...good weather for it down south!
cheers Ian

 

[fin_676]

With the new master cylinder in place you may need to adjust slightly the pedal height by use of the adjuster on the rod from master cylinder to pedal and that may just be what is needed to prevent the binding
Here is a wee guide I did to rear brake a while back yours should be the same
Harley Davidson Forums

Brian

 

[SE6A]

With the new master cylinder in place you may need to adjust slightly the pedal height by use of the adjuster on the rod from master cylinder to pedal and that may just be what is needed to prevent the binding
Here is a wee guide I did to rear brake a while back yours should be the same
Harley Davidson Forums

Brian

Cheers, yes I will have a look at that, I did replace the pads a while ago, but I think it could do with a good clean around the piston etc.
The pedal is a little lower as before it was touching against the footrest, now there is a few mm gap...so a job for one evening this week.