Hitchcocks Forum

Ok... not an enfield specific question but certainly something that someone here will be able to answer




My caliper has always been a bit sticky, mainly due to all weather riding, so stripping and cleaning is quite common for me. Doesn't take long at all. A few days ago I cleaned my front caliper again, pads and pins out, and rubbers out too. Cleaned the pisonts a wee bit, but didn't remove them - can't be bothered bleeding again! All cleaned, greased where appropriate and replaced with new rubbers and a new springy thing in the caliper (what does the spring actually do??). A bit more than normal since I was replacing a few old, worn parts.



Well I noticed that my brake 'clicked' when I pressed the lever today, and I didn't notice it when I was moving, but when I was waiting at lights. The clicking was coming from the caliper (it probably happens when moving too, just didn't notice it). It was quite loud, and I initially though a caliper bolt was a wee bit loose - but no. After some really hard pumping on the lever, the clicking seems to have stopped. Any ideas what the clicking might be, and do I have anything to do when I get home??

Hi Michael,that springy thing sounds like an anti-rattle spring to stop the clicking on initial brake application.Are you talking one piston and a floating caliper? If so is the caliper free and floating.Is the disc hot after stopping with the other brake after a run (brake binding check)?

HI guys---------- agree with jaffa90....That "really hard pumping" has probably moved the various items together just that tiny bit more, enough to remove a small gap between the ant-rattle shim and the piston, OR---- it hadn't quite fitted into place initially and does so now ?? ---------- but check those other parts for freedom of movement as well though....

------------- helps to know what the actual bike is....Most on here have experiences of many other makes down the years, so can help in some way or the other..

Silly me... should have said before that this is my EFI Electra brake. The 'not Enfield specific' referred to calipers in general.

Wow Micheal the conditions you are riding in must be pretty bad if you have had to replace all these bits including rubbers on a bike that is a max of 5 years old. ".My caliper has always been a bit sticky, mainly due to all weather riding, so stripping and cleaning is quite common for me. Doesn't take long at all. A few days ago I cleaned my front caliper again, pads and pins out, and rubbers out too. Cleaned the pisonts a wee bit, but didn't remove them - can't be bothered bleeding again! All cleaned, greased where appropriate and replaced with new rubbers and a new springy thing in the caliper (what does the spring actually do??). A bit more than normal since I was replacing a few old, worn parts."

Norm, it's the salt on the roads that does it. The caliper seized last winter, seized solid so some heat was used to free the slider off, but the rubbers got damaged at that point. Laziness meant that I just put it back together to replace another day. The caliper has never really been quite right since, always a bit sticky. But it works well enough. I think it's the pistons that are sticky now though... but to reply to your post - it's the salt. It eats everything in sunny Scotland.