Replacing front pads on a 97 RSTD

[jkeyes1]

I need to replace the front pads on my 97 tour deluxe. Have not gotten into it yet, was wondering if there is a blow by blow out there for this particular job. Not sure if there are any tricks that help it go smoothly..

[ToyOdie]

The job is pretty straight forward. I would suggest picking up some speed bleeders if you plan to bleed them by yourself. When I did mine I think I found a thread on the site with step by step instructions. The only thing I remeber that was a trick, was to bleed the left side first, then the right. I think that has to do with the length of the lines. The right one is farther away from the master cylinder. You need to keep a close eye on the fluid level when bleeding. If you get too low and suck air, it's time to start over. Be carful when you squeeze the lever, there is a return hole that will squirt everywhere if you squeeze too fast. Cover everthing with rags to keep it off the paint just in case. Don't ask me how I know. If your fluid is discolored you might want to flush the whole system to clean it out. I did mine shortly after I bought it in 2010. The bottom of the master cyclinders (clutch too) had what looked like jelly. Before I removed the old pads I pumped the old fluid down to the bottom and cleaned it as well as I could. After changing the pads, I pumped a full quart of dot 3/4 fluid through each of the break and clutch systems. I know that ther was still a little of the old fluid left in the system, but I didn't want to break any of it apart. (If it ain't broke - Don't fix it!) It's not a bad job and it can be done in a couple of hours. Good luck.

[flb_78]

Why would you open the bleeders to just change pads?

 

Remove the 2 bolts that hold the caliper on the fork, remove the outer pad, use a c-clamp to push the piston back into the caliper, remove the inner pad, install new pads, reinstall caliper on fork, Repeat on the over side, squeeze brake lever many times to push piston back out.