Rear Brake Spring Tube or No?

[Grizzly_A]

Do you take the rubber tube off your rear brake return spring or leave it on?

My rear brake has been sticking down, locking up the rear and killing the engine. I have to reach down and pull it back up or use my foot while riding.

When I pulled off the tube on the spring, it seemed to have enough strength to pull the lever back into position. I tried lubing the tube and it seemed to work ok...until I washed the bike. Then same problem.

I guess the other possibility is that the pivot bolt and dust seals need lubing??? Would a marine grade grease work, or something a little lighter?

[hornetgod13]

Leave the rubber sleeve on the return spring. It's there to prevent it from rubbing against the swing arm bolt head. If your brake lever is sticking it time to take it apart and grease it. If it hasn't been disassembled in a while, I bet it's dry and corroded. Mine was pretty nasty and needing greased/antisiezed and I bought my quad new less than 2 years ago.

[Grizzly_A]

I typically anti-seize any bolt's threads when I take them off. Any particular grease not to use?

Thanks for the tip.

[JOEX]

Originally posted by Grizzly_A
I typically anti-seize any bolt's threads when I take them off. Any particular grease not to use?

Thanks for the tip.
It's not the threads you need to woory about. It's the pivot shaft where the lever goes through the frame that can sieze. I learned the hard way with a brand new set of pads. Fried and warped them in less than ten minutes of use:(

[hornetgod13]

Like JOEX said, it's the pivot portion of the brake lever. You'll understand when you take it apart. I used a regular multi-purpose grease on mine. I cleaned up the corrosion and used a lot of grease. Mine moves up and down very smoothly now.

[Grizzly_A]

Thank you. Now just need to find some time to complete the greasing.

[hornetgod13]

Do it before your next ride or your just going to rear out your rear brake pads.

[Grizzly_A]

Holy crap that brake lever was a pain to get off! That cotter pin caused me almost as much pain as working the lever out.

There was lots of nasty black and rust colored gunk in there, so I cleaned it all out and greased the inside and the pivot shaft.

It went in a whole lot easier than it did coming out and it's amazing how smooth it is now.

Thank you for your help!

[hornetgod13]

Congrats on the fix. If your rear brake pads could talk they would be thanking you too.