2007 Suzuki Eiger Brakes

[Gwbarm]

I decided it was time to do the brakes on the Eiger, i got it a couple of years ago and worked out all the bugs got it running good and ignored the brakes. None on it ,front or rear. Decided to attack the front first no pressure on the master cylinder and screws were stripped out on the reservoir, took the banjo bolt loose and pure water ran out, glad i didnt wast time on drilling the screws out, pads were shot also. Pulled a couple out of my box o parts. One was for right hand so wouldnt work, the other looked fine until i opened the reservoir and full of white powder. Cleaned it out anyway and tried it, only would build up a minimal amount of pressure. So no go on that one. So ordered new master cylinder and pads, so now i have to hurry up and wait.

On to the back they are drum brakes so i knew this would be fun, 20 year old machines that have been mudded and abused for that length of time nothing comes off easily. The engage shaft was froze solid from corrosion. Getting that out is easy but you have to get to it first.

 

The center nut was supposed to be 30mm but it wasnt it was 27 the only size not in my large set, go figure,

The previous owner decided it was a good idea to JB Weld the cover on making it near impossible to get off, had to chiesel it off.

The mounting plate was a different story, nut was tight tight tight took my biggest impact two or 3 times hammering on it to get it loose after soaking all night in PB Blaster. Got it moving along the splined shaft easily but wouldnt come off, when it got to end of its run it would just stop, ended up using 2 24 inch pry bars one on each side, past the point of being gentle and it finally came off.

Got to the drum and it came off easily a little suprised at that, it was full of mud and rust, i knew it was going to be bad because there was a snorkle on it when i got it, never buy one with a snorkle, they are highly abused to the machines limit, but i got it cheap .

Finally got in there and no shoes left and a complete mess.

Lots of mess to clean up.

Got it looking a little better.

Lots of cleanup later! Waiting for new parts. 

[jen]

Hmmm...?   That's a project.   I replaced the brakes on my sand rail with Disk breaks...four bolt lugs just like you have. Its a  '66 VW chassis components.. ...It was easy as they  make a conversion kit.   The only problem I have is the front wheels lock up on braking as there is not much weight  on front of  my sand rail.    Drum brakes are a mental challenge getting that long hook spring positioned with auto adjuster...LOL.

I have never used "Filler primer"   on rusty  wear  parts.   I have used 'Two Part' filler primer on body parts.      I use Rusteoleum "Rusty Primer" on badly rusted parts..  

Nice pictures

[WeeBee]

6 hours ago, Gwbarm said:

I decided it was time to do the brakes on the Eiger, i got it a couple of years ago and worked out all the bugs got it running good and ignored the brakes. None on it ,front or rear. Decided to attack the front first no pressure on the master cylinder and screws were stripped out on the reservoir, took the banjo bolt loose and pure water ran out, glad i didnt wast time on drilling the screws out, pads were shot also. Pulled a couple out of my box o parts. One was for right hand so wouldnt work, the other looked fine until i opened the reservoir and full of white powder. Cleaned it out anyway and tried it, only would build up a minimal amount of pressure. So no go on that one. So ordered new master cylinder and pads, so now i have to hurry up and wait.

On to the back they are drum brakes so i knew this would be fun, 20 year old machines that have been mudded and abused for that length of time nothing comes off easily. The engage shaft was froze solid from corrosion. Getting that out is easy but you have to get to it first.

 

The center nut was supposed to be 30mm but it wasnt it was 27 the only size not in my large set, go figure,

The previous owner decided it was a good idea to JB Weld the cover on making it near impossible to get off, had to chiesel it off.

The mounting plate was a different story, nut was tight tight tight took my biggest impact two or 3 times hammering on it to get it loose after soaking all night in PB Blaster. Got it moving along the splined shaft easily but wouldnt come off, when it got to end of its run it would just stop, ended up using 2 24 inch pry bars one on each side, past the point of being gentle and it finally came off.

Got to the drum and it came off easily a little suprised at that, it was full of mud and rust, i knew it was going to be bad because there was a snorkle on it when i got it, never buy one with a snorkle, they are highly abused to the machines limit, but i got it cheap .

Finally got in there and no shoes left and a complete mess.

Lots of mess to clean up.

Got it looking a little better.

Lots of cleanup later! Waiting for new parts. 

Hell of a Mess! So glad my '02 Arctic Cat 300 came with Disc Brakes & Mechanical Ebrake ! As it was, parts were easy to get which I was surprised to find out ! Very thorough posting .Thanks!

[Gwbarm]

I only used that primer because its what i had in black, i started with engine enamel but it was green so dnt use it. The primer holds up well and sticks to anything.

[jen]

interesting...I could not see the Brand Label.   You could share that.   Did you do well in kindergarten Sharing?

[Gwbarm]

Its made by Plasticote, not a brand i generally buy, but it is one of the best i have used for painting metal with pitting and imperfections, does a good job of hiding those, of course i really didnt need it for this, i used it because once sprayed on its there very hard to get off maybe keep the rust down to a minimum. Plus i didnt have to run to the store to get something, that kind of throughs a pebble in your pond, and it takes a minute to get back to where you are.

Wife came out while i was working on this, 3 quads sitting around and 2 riding lawnmowers, she said you need therapy, my response was yes maybe, but will that help me get these parts cleaned up, i dont think so. 

[jen]

She was keeping you focused...LOL...She was thinking that her girlfriend's husband doesn't even know how to change a light bulb!

[Gwbarm]

Got the rear all finished up

 

 

 

 

Looking much better. The hubs are pretty worn but they will be OK for now will probably replace them next round, see how long these aftermatket shoes last. Now on to the front. I think they are going to be worse than the back.

 

Got the master cylinder installed. Always use anti seize on the resorvoir screws.

 

 

 

Find the bleeder valve

 

 

Next replace front pads, that will have to be another day.

[jen]

are they auto adjusting?   I did not see that spring.

[Gwbarm]

No they are not, quite different from a car, you either push the petal or pull the right hand lever and they make contact and stop, you adjust them with a wing nut attached to a cable just above rear axle, very easy to adjust, now that i have it all lubed up with antiseize, they were rusted solid when i first started taking things apart.

[jen]

DOT oil???  Ialways getb confused about what number to use...I guess it depends on types seals   Some rubbers don't last?

[Gwbarm]

A lot of newer brake systems are calling for DOT 4 this is older so i used DOT3 but the new master cylinder might want DOT4 it didnt say, maybe i should get a magnifying glass and read the fine print. I think i will , let you know.

[Gwbarm]

Got on the front brakes yesterday! Interesting find!

 

Crappy mess as i expected!

Completely down to metal!

The left side was worse, inside shoe was completely gone! Remnants of shoe inside piston.

 

 

Never seen one this bad , i just ground it back down with the grinder reinstalled and working perfectly, see the remnants of the shoe i dug out of the piston laying on the tire in the background.

Had to reinstall it with a c clamp my caliper tool was to large to fit in the tiny caliper.I have new calipers ordered for both sides, but its working good now i suspect the bad one will start leaking. Caliperss are so cheap 25 for set of 2 new caliper is cheaper than piston and seals.

 

I have one more of these Eigers to do, i have the front brakes working with no issues but never pulled the caliper to check it out, rears not working at all, while its fresh on my mind i think i will do it also, plus thats the one i need to mount the new tires on. That will be an interesting venture, i usually take it and have them mounted but the cost has gotten so expensive i decided to do it myself. I bought one of those Harbour Freight portable tire changers cheaper than the cost of getting them mounted,  very interested to see how that goes, but that will be another thread. 

 

[jen]

You're the Man!

[Gwbarm]

Started on brakes on the 2004 Eiger, this is the one that wouldnt roll when i got it, found out that someone pulled the side case, when you do that on an Eiger all the gears on that side fall out, so you have to spend a minute figuring out where everything goes back, this guy figured wrong and put the main drive gear in backwards and tried to hammer the case cover back in place, case was cracked and i could see the claw hammer indentations on the case, ended up having to replace the case cover.

 

 

After pulling the wheel i could see that someone had been in there recently a new castle nut rusty but may not be to bad in there.

 

Digging a little deeper i could see it had a new drum also.

Also new shoes, after looking closer i could see it was never used after new brakes were installed, he spent some money here, OEM shoes and drum, cost more than i paid for the whole rig. All i could find wrong was one of the brake cables was missing the hand brake on right side.

 

Some cleaning later and good to go.

 

I suspect the front is going to be OK as well because they are working, i will check them out. Even though this one was easy glad i checked it out.