Author Topic: Brakes squeaking - mechanic trying to scam me?? (Read 6001 times)

elcid · « **on:** December 13, 2006, 11:59:31 PM »

My buddy has a cb500 twin & had some carb problems, leaky fork seals, squeaky front brake & other misc. problems. My question is what if anything would these guys do for a squeaky front brake? These guys are jokes. They kept telling us the bike would be done & then we would try & get it & they said oh no tomorrow. A week & a half later we go to pick it up & test drive it & the carbs are still spilling gas. He then "fixed" it before we paid for it. On the bill part of the brake down says "fork seal & brakes - $140". Well first of all on the same day as he paid for & rode the bike, the fork seals are still leaking oil. Second of all the brakes don't squeak but did they really do anything to the front brakes other than loosen some nut to take off drag or spray some "stop squeak" type solution on it? We are going back tomorrow to talk to these guys & want to be educated enough to really know what should have or could have been done to those brakes. Your guys's help is much appreciated.

Rsnip988 · « **Reply #1 on:** December 14, 2006, 12:24:51 AM »

well the forks shouldnt be leaking if they replaced them properly(obviously), as far as what they did to the brakes, their response will probably be "well it stops and it doesnt squeak now so we charged you for the labor time the book says it took to fix it" which is a load of crap meaning I dont know what i did but it took time and i'm getting paid for it

RKS

scunny · « **Reply #2 on:** December 14, 2006, 02:18:37 AM »

as RKS said, if they replaced the fork seals they shouldn't be leaking, unless there are score marks on the tubes but if there are he should have advised you that the new seals might start leaking before he did the job.
as for the brake noise, is this during braking or always when the wheel is spinning ?

KB02 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 14, 2006, 06:02:18 AM »

Just be careful. If they are anything like the guys around here, if you don't have a modern bike that they can sell you tons and tons of accessories for, then they don't really want to see your bike.

As for the forks, they better be willing to stand by their work.

As for the brakes, honestly, if spraying on "stop squeal" did the trick, that's probably all they did. That's probably all that I would do. I have a can of the stuff myself. It works okay.

kettlesd · « **Reply #4 on:** December 14, 2006, 06:04:19 AM »

Seals could leak if they were replaced if they were not installed squarely. Pull the dust covers up and yu can tell if they are new. The brakes could have had the screw adjusted on the stay arm to adjust proper intial travel -IF they were dragging beforehand.

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 14, 2006, 07:34:12 AM »

The brakes on these bikes sqeak - kinda the nature of the beast...

bryanj · « **Reply #6 on:** December 14, 2006, 08:03:50 AM »

$140 relates to about 2 1/2 hours work plus the cost of fork seals, or at least it would here in UK. It takes 2-3 hours to strip clean and replace fork seals BUT i personally would either refuse to rebuid or not start the job if the fork tubes were in a state where the seals would not last---a temporary repair can be made using epoxy BUT not without customers INFORMED consent and it would take about an extra hour.
Squeaky brakes can take either 10 seconds or 4 hours to fix depending on the problem, and then it will probably start squeaking again soon.
There are some bad shops and mechanics out there just as there are some excellant ones and personal recommendation is the only way to go, having said that good communication is a priority from shop to owner and it sounds like this is missing

elcid · « **Reply #7 on:** December 14, 2006, 10:47:32 AM »

Thanks guys. My friend is going to take the bike back today but I don't think there is going to be any way he can get a refund. Especially for whatever they did on the brakes. What gets me is the receipt just says "front brakes". It does not say at all WHAT they did to them!

jaknight · « **Reply #8 on:** December 14, 2006, 05:05:38 PM »

Hi elcid,

I don't believe I am near your area........

But, it might be a good move to post the name/location of this outfit, so that other members in your area could be forewarned about what to expect there........

I know I would appreciate that information if they were in my neck of the woods.

Just a thought...........

~ ~ ~ jaknight ~ ~ ~

mick750F · « **Reply #9 on:** December 14, 2006, 05:22:38 PM »

Quote from: ProTeal55 on December 14, 2006, 07:34:12 AM

The brakes on these bikes sqeak - kinda the nature of the beast...

Ummm...mine don't and I don't think it's the nature of the beast either. From posts here it seems that certain brands of pads will for sure as will brakes with pistons that aren't retracting properly. Dirty pads are another possibility as is a warped disc or a misaligned wheel.

It sounds like the shop that did the work is kinda sketchy. I'd find another shop or better yet start wrenching yourself.

Mike

elcid · « **Reply #10 on:** December 15, 2006, 09:52:30 AM »

This place is right where alvarado & the 2 meets. Just south of Sunset. It is called Cycle Stop I believe. The guys seem real nice but are horrible mechanics. We are dealing with this #$%* for two weeks now. My buddy has to drop it off again today so they can fix the fork seals which they never did. I am going down there to see what there excuse is & also what they actually did to the brakes...

Rsnip988 · « **Reply #11 on:** December 15, 2006, 08:48:11 PM »

they give you the "Smear some brake jelly on it and call me in the morning" treatment

haha

puppytrax · « **Reply #12 on:** December 16, 2006, 05:57:03 AM »

Quote from: mick750F on December 14, 2006, 05:22:38 PM

Ummm...mine don't [squeak] and I don't think it's the nature of the beast either.

I don't either. I've owned CB500's both new and 30+ years old; if maintained properly, the brakes won't squeak.

In my limited experience, it's the aluminum hinge [holder, caliper] on the fork leg that gets stuffed up with crap and doesn't move properly. Honda puts o-rings on each end of the pivot pin, and greases it on assembly, but there is no way to grease it without disassembling it. I put Zerk fittings on mine.

...After pressing the pin out in an arbor press...it was really full of caked crud...

(#9 and #10 below)

Rsnip988 · « **Reply #13 on:** December 17, 2006, 06:52:34 PM »

Speaking of brakes....

My dad took my new bike for a ride and came back with the front brake stuck, i had to unbolt it and drain some fluid before it would let go of the caliper...... some adjustments are definately in order

kettlesd · « **Reply #14 on:** December 17, 2006, 07:21:58 PM »

Quote from: puppytrax on December 16, 2006, 05:57:03 AM

Quote from: mick750F on December 14, 2006, 05:22:38 PM
Ummm...mine don't [squeak] and I don't think it's the nature of the beast either.

I don't either. I've owned CB500's both new and 30+ years old; if maintained properly, the brakes won't squeak.

In my limited experience, it's the aluminum hinge [holder, caliper] on the fork leg that gets stuffed up with crap and doesn't move properly. Honda puts o-rings on each end of the pivot pin, and greases it on assembly, but there is no way to grease it without disassembling it. I put Zerk fittings on mine.

...After pressing the pin out in an arbor press...it was really full of caked crud...

(#9 and #10 below)

A grease nipple there is a great idea. I have a box in the garage. Gonna put one in.

toycollector10 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 17, 2006, 07:38:08 PM »

Would a regular application of CRC lubricant to that pin help to clean it out a bit and free it up? Has anyone tried that? Mine brakes squeal like a bast*rd so I use CRC Brakleen regularly. After about 100 miles or so the squeal comes back. It's been getting on my tits lately.

mick750F · « **Reply #16 on:** December 17, 2006, 07:59:34 PM »

Quote from: toycollector10 on December 17, 2006, 07:38:08 PM

It's been getting on my tits lately.

Have you tried redirecting the spray?

Mike

petercb750 · « **Reply #17 on:** December 18, 2006, 01:07:43 AM »

Quote from: toycollector10 on December 17, 2006, 07:38:08 PM

Would a regular application of CRC lubricant to that pin help to clean it out a bit and free it up? Has anyone tried that? Mine brakes squeal like a bast*rd so I use CRC Brakleen regularly. After about 100 miles or so the squeal comes back. It's been getting on my tits lately.

TC - my brakes (K2 750) have been screaming their guts out too (even just wheeling it around - heavy or light lever pressure), and on the weekend I put a liberal coating of copper grease behind and around both pads, oiled the spring adjuster thingo, cleaned everything up, deglased the disc with an emery wheel - and yep, after about 3 brake uses the squeal was back, slightly better, but it was back.

So I reckon your 100 miles is a pretty damn fine result $:-\$
Ive even cut lines into the pads - I've done everything (I think) that I can find on these boards, with little or no improvement. Me thinks we just have to live with it

Where do you actually put the brakleen, apart from on your tits?

Peter.

andy750 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 18, 2006, 05:36:32 AM »

I think there has to be another cause of brake squeal (like pad quality or rotor issues, or non-retracting piston, or something) as I (and it seems others) have managed to get squeak-free brakes on ouir CB750s (or whatever). In May 2006, I had the infamous brake squeal (wasnt so bad) and so dissassembled the front brake, cleaned up the piston side, new o-ring, cleaned behind the stationary pad, applied some Dow Corning Silicon grease to behind both pads and squeak was gone - lasted all season (May -Dec; couple of thousand miles).

So my point is, the SOHC bikes didnt come from the factory with squeaky brakes so its NOT really the nature of the beast...
good uck,
Andy

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Author Topic: Brakes squeaking - mechanic trying to scam me?? (Read 6001 times)

elcid

kettlesd

elcid

elcid

kettlesd