How To Remove A Seized Brake Caliper Piston - No Special Tools Used
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- Опубліковано 11 лют 2022
- How To Remove A Seized Brake Caliper Piston - No Special Tools Used
Here you can learn how I removed a caliper piston that was seized using regular tools.
It was already off the bike, the airline wouldn't shift it and I thought there must be a way to do this with basic tools.
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You sir are a GOD SEND! Thanks so much for sharing this AND for letting us see the whole process and KNOW that it is not magical nor easy...just smart. Every time I see a documentary on the "Battle of Britain" I will be remembering you and the attitude of the Yorkshire man. :) Sincerely...a serious fan from the camp of "wooden shoes, wooden head...wooden listen".
Nice one, glad to help and thanks for subscribing.
Battle of Britain :) is that from his much I wrestled with it instead of using a longer lever?
@@BikeFromTheBrink LOL...no just the sheer inventiveness and tenacity.
Thank you very much been struggling with seized callipers for a few weeks now tried various methods no luck at all . Tried your idea all removed worked a treat your are a legend thank you
For you sport bike or dual piston folks out there...the screwdriver bits make excellent fillers around the Allen wrench...and the hexagonal shapes stop the turning inside while spreading pressure to the outside. Dual pistons are quite a bit smaller than the one demonstrated here. And once again...so very grateful for you sharing this.
Did exactly this on my dual piston and it worked perfectly!
Literally about to give this a go on fkn BOTH front calipers on my sv650 lol. Been 3 weekends of messing about with it so far 😩
Let me know if it works for you
@@BikeFromTheBrink Worked fantastically for me. The chrome polish and lithium grease both very helpful in this. And thankfully too...as finding parts is expensive or difficult for calipers.
@@ryanscott8217 Hope it goes well. Recommend the chrome polish and lithium grease when you get it apart.
So after days of trying I searched for a way and came across this video.
And it worked a treat on a pair of zx9r six pot front calipers
I had to use screw driver bits in with Allen key as the pots are much smaller but worked well.
You are a lifesaver
Nice one
As a fellow Yorkshireman I applaud your no spend approach.
Doesn't grow on trees!
After 3 days trying about everything imaginable, saw your vid and....yes it worked!! Awesome tip, thank you very much for sharing! Even the local motorcycle shop didn't know this one 😎
Glad to help, give us a subscribe for more bike and money saving tips :)
Such a great tip! I would have been stuck without this. Thank you!
Thank you so much 🙏❤ My husband and I really succeeded to remove the last bit of the brake piston which was stuck. Couldn't have done it without your genius method. Forever thankful 🙏🙏
You sir are a legend! Been at my caliper with heat, in freezer! Your tip and I was sorted in 5 minutes. Many thanks 😊
You made my day
Thanks for this tip. I found the best approach is use the largest hex wrench with the smallest sockets, as these fill the inside of the piston better. Any gaps around the hex key I filled with whatever smaller Allen keys would fit, to minimise the play around the large hex key, which is essential to avoid slippage.
Excellent thank you, great to see some vintage know how because main stream mechanics didn't know where to start. Cheers
Thanks for your help will try this method
Excellent video, great job with basic tools, rotation and pulling at the same time, but they come out eventually.
Thanks for sharing, so glad that i find this video. You’re a life saver!
For the People with a Suzuki GSX600F(And similair model brakes), For the front brakes you need a 12mm socket and a 5mm Hex key. That do the trick.
Thankyou, your method worked on my schizzed '81 2x XJ750 Seca front calipers. And now, a full rebuild.
Good work, glad it got you out of a hole.
Remember to give me a subscribe, it makes a big difference for me. Maybe I'll come up with some more Yorkshire level money saving tips.
Only just found your video -Thank you for making, sharing/posting it, it is just the sort of solution I was looking for - I am also adverse to spending money on unnecceary tools - It really helped me out. Mucha appreciated.
You're very welcome, glad to help.
Thanks for posting, tried using air, repeated heating and cooling, soaking in solvent, and finally a torch. Nothing worked until I tried your method. Thanks for posting! G
Brilliant, give me a follow, I may yet come up with more money saving tips.
Thank you, it worked. My piston was at least as stuck as yours, but with your technique and a lot of brute force I was able to remove it.
Good work
my friend you are a genius.. just broke my caliper loose. Thanks for posting
You are very welcome
My husband has just removed 4 pistons from 3 GS1100 calipers using your method. The 2 pistons from the front calipers took some doing initially but once you see that first bit of movement you just keep going back and forth with some WD40 sprayed around as well. Brilliant Tip !
Great stuff. Glad it worked for you. Don't forget to subscribe, I'll try come up with some similar tips.
@@BikeFromTheBrink I would not use WD40 unless you want to ruin the seals by having them swell up. The best way to remove pistons is to leave connected and pump the pistons using hydraulic pressure. No chance of damaging the pistons either.
You legend, just got 4 pistons out of our 99 zx6r with your method. Thanks for posting this
Glad to help
Watched this last night, tried it this morning having gone through a variety of other methods, air line, grips, etc and it worked like a dream. 10 mins to take out the offending piston. You are sir, a God send indeed😀
Great to hear, glad to help.
thanks for the idea, i've got a few stuck on my 83 goldwing. keep riding.
Very clever and neat little trick. Thanks for sharing this. Got stuck pistons on an XR that needs to be convinced.
Glad to help
Thanks for sharing this, I'm currently restoring a GPz750 Turbo, just tried this on the rear caliper that was bone dry and the piston hadn't moved for ten years - 5 minutes and I had it out. I'm also a Yorkshire man 😉
Nice work
Thank you. Worked very well.
Impressed with that ingenuity. I'll try that one day
Thanks. Appreciate it. Hope it helps.
Hi Ben I really appreciate the video, I had 2 stuck pistons on a 1982 RD350LC and I had the pliers type removal tool and it didn’t budge. After watching your video and a little faffing about with sockets and that I had both pistons out in a few minutes. You’re tip is genius and really works a treat thanks again and keep up the great work 😊
Great stuff, glad it worked for you.
Great stuff, glad it worked for you.
Ben, you’re a gentleman and a scholar Sir. Worked brilliantly. If I ever have the privilege of meeting you, I will stand you a beer. Or three.
Careful, I'd travel for a promise like that
You’d be made very welcome.
You Yorkshire legend! This method saved me scrapping an MR2 caliper. Can't thank you enough for sharing this simple genius method! 👍
Nice one, please say it was a mk1 or mk2 and not the newer hairdresser type.
@Bike From The Brink Hahaha 1994 MK2 donated to me on the brink of death. Only things left are brake rebuild and sill welding and she's ready for the road again :D
Not sure what Toyota were drinking when they designed the MK3... shameful 🤣
truth! remember to subscribe, I'll see if I can fathom any more money saving tips
Worked like a charm!!! Thank you for the video. Definitely helped me
Fantastic, remember to give me a subscribe. It's free, it helps me, and I may yet come up with more money saving tips.
I tried it and it did not take as long as I thought it would, to get the piston out. So simple but.......many thanks will not forget this one...
You sir, are a life saver.Thank you so much for this footage.I did my calipers today.
At first, I was desperate.Your method worked like a charm!!
Nice one, what were they on?
Zx-6r 2003
@sitesofelasticy4402 nice, my latest challenge is to replicate a ZXR750H1 Expansion Tank in resin. Can't be bought these days.
Looks like a good method, been struggling for 3 hours with an air line and mole grips !I will try this tomorrow, Thanks
Hope you didn't damage it already with the mole grips.
Did you get it?
Great idea! Worked for me. 1994 Honda Goldwing GL1500A been sitting for 8 years.
Nice one, are they 2 pot calipers?
This worked perfectly thank you for sharing!
Glad it helped!
Hi mate. I just stumbled across your video as I was researching this very topic about removing, "stuck" pistons from a caliper (in my case, a piston from the front caliper of my 1996 Landcruiser 80-series). I tried soaking it in WD-40 for days end, smacking it with drift, attempting to lever it up with a rather large screwdriver - all to no avail. I just saw your idea - bloody brilliant concept, though I suspect I may need a longer lever than your particular (large) allen key, but the concept is truly brilliant. Though in order to apply the necessary force, I may need to temporarily mount the caliper back on the car (without the disk mounted) in order to apply maximum leverage. Wish me luck, and thanks for this exvcellent idea.
I think the WD40 is a double edged sword, sometimes it eases them, but if it doesn't, I think it swells the seals and makes the job harder. If it has a big pot you will certainly need a bigger allen key then you can choose, flex your muscles or put a scaffolding pole on it :)
Awesome no nonsense video !
Glad you liked it!
You are a genius Sir. Thank you for this solution to a stuck situation.
Your are welcome. Please subscribe, for more money saving tips :)
This worked absolutely perfectly!
Genius!!
Superb, glad it helped
was going to break out the grease gun again, but i hate the mess, so i thought i would see what youtube says about the matter. this worked very well (with the help of a bench vise). i was thinking that once i got it moving then i would finish it off with the air gun, but it wasnt necessary. thank you !
Nice work, not everyone has a grease gun
Well done! I did wonder if extending the leverage of that allen key with a hollow tube, a handle bar perhaps, would have made it less stubborn though?
So simple,,,,, when you know how, very well done will give it a go thank you..
You're welcome, let me know how you get on
Brain power prevails, you saved me time and money getting a piston on my ebike brake caliper unstuck. Smaller application, so I used four allen (hex) wrenches.
Nice one, I hadn't even thought about tony stuff
@@BikeFromTheBrink A brake caliper is a brake caliper... Another nice thing, I'd bought some loctite thread sealant while working on a Saab hydraulic clutch, and also used it on the ebike hydraulic brake line. A brake line is also a brake line! 😉
Thank you brother. You saved me with this information
You're very welcome
good thinking ! once you get that thing moving it's only going to get easier and easier ... eventually it must succumb to your will. i am going to do a bit of messing around and see if i can make a set-up where i am successfully moving the mass with a ratchet on a hex shape, which should speed things up a bit.
If you have an airline you can use it once they start to turn. This one was too stuck for the airline at the beginning.
You could put a socket hex in the hole pointing up and put a socket and ratchet on.
Top ! Works very well. So clever. Thank you sir !
You're welcome!
Excellant idea! It gos without saying, if you use your brain, there's a will, there's a way to get the job done! Special tools are nice, but expensive! Sometimes you"ll only use them once in awhile! Thank You for the idea!
exactly that, did it work for you?
Bloody Legend mate🇦🇺🙏🙏🙏🙏🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙Thanks heaps for the excellent advice, worked like a boss!!!!!!!!! Keep up the great vids.
It's not just Yorkshiremen who don't like spending money on tools you only use once!
Top tip. I'll be giving this a go at the weekend.
Glad to help, report back how you get on. Subscribe for more money saving tips.
I just used this method on a 2018 Beta EVO rear caliper, both pistons seized, I used a 7mm and a 10mm allan key and it worked perfectly!
Noice!
Just went on ebay and thought the same thing, good idea, thanks.
The drawback of having too many bikes some sit about for years.
The struggle is real
Worked a treat for me - thanks.
Winner
Thanks for the tip. I was going to order a set of ratchet caliper piston pliers but I agree they look like cheap crap. Used your tip using a quarter inch 8mm socket with a little bit of knurling around it (more grip methinks) and a 10mm Allen key to lever it out. 3 out of the 4 out in a few seconds, the really stuck one took about 10 mins and from what I'd seen, the pliers wouldn't have touched it. Top tip and £30-40 richer so a few pints in the pub tomorrow too... Thanks again 👍
Nice work
Great discovery, worked for me! 2001 Honda ST1100,s tuck pistons...
Great stuff
thank you very much, it works like a charm
Brilliant little trick!!!
Worked a treat on a really nasty calliper job!! Thankyou that man!
Just used a large socket and a 1/2’ extension. The square edge seemed to help more and u can turn with your ratchet 👍🏻
Glad to help, remember to give us a subscribe.
This comment saved me so much time. Thanks!
what a great idea ! Thanks bud
Great tip.
Good idea! I would make the hex wrench handle even longer and add a piece of pipe for extra leverage. Thanks
Thanks for that tip, I'm going to try it on my SV's brakes. I used the air method but only one piston is moving so I'll try your tip on the other piston and see if I can get that moving as well. Also, I would say get a decent vice but then I remembered, you're from Yorkshire so you'll make do with your cheap, German Workmate rip-off😁 (I have one as well and they are made of cheese somewhat).
I wouldn't recommend a vice on a piston unless you have soft jaws. That's why I used my vorkmate ;) I've had it 25 years, not bad for a copy.
thank you ... i'd tried everything and take back all i've said about Yorkshiremen 🙂,, i've subscribed , rgds Pete
Fantastic. Glad to help.
What a great idea thanks 😃
no worries
Yorkshire is proud of you Ben. Nice use of that workmate there, saving another few quid on wear and tare on the soft jaws. Try 0000 steel wool on that piston but it does look bad.
You'd be proud. The ID was about 1mm bigger than my chuck. I lay some paper towel over and pushed it up snug on the chuck.
Once powered on I used 1000/2000/3000 wet and dry.
It has come up really well.
@@BikeFromTheBrink Well thought out and glad you rescued the piston. you would be also proud of my "Heath Robinson" blast cabinet made from a 45 Gallon drum, works well even with my 25L compressor, will do a vid about it soon. Writing it all up for the VJMC mag at the mo. No space for a lathe in my shed, have to keep moving the pillar drill on and off teh bench when required.
@@robbateman7987 oh I like the sound of that, I've been considering a blast of some kind
That was truly stuck. Well done and a like and subscribe for all the grunting.
Just flexing for ya :)
Brilliant. Thank you.
You're very welcome! Did it work for you?
Brilliant tip. I had been trying with a track pump with no success. It was a bit fiddly with my small twin pot caliper but I used some 6mm hex drive bits the bit holder and an old slider pin. Once they had rotated they blew out easily with the track pump.
Nice one, glad to help.
Thanks a lot sir, you made my day
Glad you got sorted
Congrats on not cursing when the thing didn't initially want to move :D I find swearing often helps!
Thrust and leverage ;)
Thank you! I’m going to give this a go tomorrow morning. Mine is a two piston caliper, and I tried to use the pressure from the brake lever, but one of them just refused to budge at all.
And yes, those plyers would have fallen apart from your calliper!
Let us know how you get on
@@BikeFromTheBrink Worked perfectly using a 6mm socket and a 1/4" extension bar. Thank you!
Great stuff, you're welcome
Just jam the moving piston with a block of wood then the "froze" piston will shift.
Great tip. A bit pipe over the allen key would reduce the puffing and panting. 🙂
Just flexin' :)
@@BikeFromTheBrink 😂
Same one I was thinking
Thanks for this tip! Gonna have another go today with mine. Going to try this with WD40. Hopefully they’ll move 👍
How did you get on
Good tip. I’ll give it a go. I have been grappling with a seized caliper piston for well over an hour filling the inner piston with a single socket and the square end of a socket extension on a socket wrench for the rotational force. It’s work to spin the piston but can’t quite get it outward while it’s spinning. Perhaps a large hex key will do better.
Let me know how you get on
It was quite a bit more effective and didn’t slip multiple times like the socket extension did! Thanks so much for posting this.
Got all three calipers rebuilt but still need to bleed the system.
Good work, thanks for the feedback, remember to subscribe, it's free and helps me a lot.
This is very clever but also making an easy job very hard. You simply need to connect your caliper to a master cylinder, bleed the system and use the hydraulic pressure to push the piston out. I keep a front master with hose on the shelf just for this purpose. You can also remove the front master from your handlebar and use that one. This is very easy and probably much faster. I have done this many times, it always works. If there are 2 pistons, let the first one move halfway out then restrict it with a c clamp so the other one will start moving.
I disagree. Firstly I didn't have a master cylinder, as it came without one.
But even if I did, I got that out faster than you can connect and bleed up a caliper.
Wish I would have seen this sooner...saved myself a couple of hundred dollars.
Thanks. worked great..
Glad it worked for you
Thank you!!!
no worries, what vehicle was it?
Great tip thank you so much! But would have been easier if you used a long metal tube on the Alan Key to lever it instead of straining with just the short Alan key. Cheers!
Just wanted to flex for ya
what a great way to do this and yes with basic tools. But would adding some brake cleaner or some kind of liquid help with the turning and pulling?
It had soaked in plusgas over night, I've also heard it can swell the seal and make it harder to turn
@@BikeFromTheBrink im gonna have a field day with mine as its a 2006 brake that dont look like has been touched
@Ryan Thomas man up, that's basically new 😀
Try putting a bleed nipple in the brake line hole and then use a grease gun, if its really welded stuck buy an air grease gun and you can apply pressure well into the 100's psi (far far more than an airline that might only have 60 odd) and not a mark left on the piston. Then you have a grease gun which is a tool worth having anyway.
I had an airline to hand. It didn't shift it.
Rather than buying, the point was to fathom a way to shift it with stuff you have just lying around. Stuff regular Joe has. Most people don't have a grease gun.
with you George, just put a grease nipple in the banjo hole and pump it out.
Yes, the grease gun method works great. Air is compressible, grease and oil is not. Use a grease fitting (zerk fitting) with the appropriate threads in the bleeder port. May require a brass hex bushing as adapter for size difference. Another method is to bake caliper in an oven at 250° F (121° C) for 30 minutes then use freeze spray on just the piston and it will come out with ease. Use a penetrating fluid around the circumference of the piston will aid in its removal.
Awesome .....worked for me...I even boiled the caliper half first to get it hot. Used wife's saucepan....not happy
But I was.
BTW I used four vertically placed
Allen keys then stuck my index finger down the centre so it
splayed the four of them....
It worked well
Thanks again
good 1. yea im from leeds
Still there?
Genius. This + compressed air (simultaneous) = done in 5 min.
Fantastic, careful with the air, they can fire out once freed up.
Give me a subscribe click, it helps a lot and I might come up with more money saving tips.
great advise!!!!
Glad it was helpful!
My piston seems to be on backwards?? Every video ive seen has the hollow side of the piston shoeing out, mine has its flat side showing. Should i turn it around?
Yes, sounds like someone put it back that didn't know. It will probably work but need more brake fluid.
@@BikeFromTheBrink Thanks for the answer!
Trouble is with my bike the piston is solid metal in the middle no hole what do I do ?
Do you have a grease gun?
Just take the brake pads off and leave the caliper connected to the fluid line and push on the brake pedal. It will push that piston out.
That can work, but if one put its seized it will only push the free one out. This bike cave to me with no master cylinder. Connecting it to another, bleeding it up, trying this then, reconnecting the original would have taken much longer.
While doing this method, I managed to put deep scratches inside my brake caliper piston, should I replace them or is it okay to still use them?
Inside the cup? It doesn't matter in there, the outside is the important bit. Half the time an old piston is full of rust in there anyway.
If you gouge it on the slide / outside the piston then even if it's not corroded it'll be scrap...I've gouged a couple of the pistons on my Honda 125 but replacements are available..it's the callipers that are not produced for older bikes and cars...and callipers are expensive so clean them up carefully and especially corrosion in the O-rings grooves...also I changed all 4 on a Kia Picanto for a family member...kits are readily available for most modern cars and bikes...even some classic bikes...I was lucky with the stuck Picanto front calliper...I think passenger side...seized solid...wish I'd had this video as a guide...the inlet for the fluid lined up perfectly with the back of the stuck piston...on my old Black and Decker Workmate (coincidentally) with a 8mm bar I first hit down inside with a 1lb hammer...nothing...so I got my 4lb club and belted it...the workmate was jumping off the ground but the piston moved then...i punched it right out...then set about cleaning with wire brushes in a drill and smaller ones in a Dremel clone...didn't bother painting callipers...fitted each new piston with seals and boots...one new boot didn't fit and tore...I refused an old boot...new pads...do for another 5 years or more...
Thanks my good man, only trouble is I have 2 to do 😬 and that's before I start getting them down to bare metal and paint them, I kid you not they look like they went down with the Titanic 🤣
Perseverance, good luck
Thanks, just got it done, couldn't have done it without you 😎
Now for the bit I enjoy cleaning the calipers.
@@christopherchappell1278 I pushed my piston onto my drill chuck and packed it with tissue to hold it there, then spun it to clean it up
Spray some 3 in 1 or cold T somthing to help it slide
It had soaked overnight, it wasn't playing nicely.
Wouldn't it have been better to use a ratchet or extension bar in the socket as well as the allen key. For better leverage
Just wanted to flex. Grrrrrrrr.
Just did the calipers and master cylinder on a 2000 gold wing soaked them overnight in vinegar and the pistons came right out.
Using this method?
@@BikeFromTheBrink no I was able to twist them out by hand.
The important thing is they came out :)
I don`t know why i didn`t use the pedal to press it out but i do know that is the reason i am here.
Truth! There's probably a pattern :)
Oi! Yorkshireman, get a longer lever are on that setup and Bob's your uncle, Eh?
Just wanted to flex for you :)
It's easier to put the caliper back on the bike and then squeeze it out with the brake pressure!
It is. But this bike came with no brake lever or master cylinder.
It was so seized I'm not sure it would have been enough.
@@BikeFromTheBrink Just building the brake caliper on another motorcycle also works!
@@erniegroen1 I thought that, but the point of the video was to add another method to people's arsenal.
I think putting it on another bike, bleeding it, removing it, bleeding up the original would take longer than the 5 minutes it took doing it my way.
Looks like a great way to destroy your caliper too. Perhaps proper maintenance is a better option?
What makes you think that? There was no caliper damage on mine and no one here has said they damaged theirs.
I agree, good maintenance is far better, but we don't always have that option when a machine comes to us used.
This was on a neglected 535 I picked up.
Use some wd40..... those are rubber seals that have dried out.
Why not pump the piston out with the master cyclinder? That's free and MUCH easier. Just don't take the hose off the caliper.
I got this bike without a master cylinder. Also if you have 2 pistons that method will only push the easiest one out.
The other piston will come out when you stop the first piston just before it comes out with a "C" clamp or something.
@@bottmar1 it may do. But the point of the video was to do it with no special tools when it's not on the bike as the was the situation I was in.
I could have fastened it to another bike, but by the time I bled it up, then put the other back it would be an hour.
This took 9 minutes including explaining and filming. So it's a 3 minute job and no cost.
Why didn’t you just push it out with a grease gun. First I try air if that don’t work I use grease. All you need is a old banjo fitting and tig weld a quarter inch fitting onto it. A standard grease gun have 8000 psi. Never had one that did not come out.
Air didn't move it.
Most people don't have a grease gun.
This was faster.
A few sockets in and swing on it.
As opposed to finding a banjo I don't have, using a welder most people don't have, then spending half an hour getting grease or of every little bit.
You are overcomplicating something I've shown can be very easy with basic tools we all have.
Compressed air.
Tried that at first. It was more stuck than that.
Just buy a new one. Much easier. What if it does it again, your going to hurt your hand, doctor bill will be more than a new caliper.
You still need to remove the old piston if you are putting a new one in.
Or do you mean the whole caliper? That would cost as much as the bike is worth and be no better than a proper repair.