Pinion seal on Viper conversion

[pwhoever]

Try cleaning the caliper pistons, they may not be releasing all the way causing the wear

Surprisingly they all seemed fairly clean from what I could see. But the GL1800 braking system is a bit unique. It has 2 different ways for rear brakes to activate. There are actually 2 different brake lines that go to each caliper and they dont work completely toogether. On a regular 2 wheeled 1800, there are also 2 brake lines to that caliper IIRC as well as 3 pistons but there is a single set of brake pads. So no matter which pistons are activated, the single set of brake pads gets compressed. On the CSC, there are still 2 sets of brake lines to each rear caliper, however, they seem to be independent of each other, so the front set in rear caliper operates independent of the rear. And instead of a single set of pads in each caliper, there are 2 sets in each so a total of 8 pads for all the rear calipers. It would seem that I may be relying more on either the front brake lever or the rear foot brake lever. I do use both pretty much all the time so I may have to pay closer attention to this. Here is a diagram that is a better illustration of what I'm talking about.



Now one other thing to throw into the mix, you can see the anti dive plunger in the bottom left of the illustration by front wheel. For those with stock fork springs, the anti dive makes sense because the stock springs are softer and can dive fairly easy when hard braking. But some, including myself have swapped out the stock springs with Progressive Suspension springs. Because they are stronger springs, it is usually recommended to disable the anti dive most commonly with a shim. Also, the anti dive is known for getting stuck in the activated position especially in cases where brake fluid is ignored, not flushed regularly and then gets dirty. This will which cause a very harsh ride as the forks get locked. I'm wondering if this also has an effect on how the different sets of rear pads wear.

 

[pwhoever]

One more thing I wanted to add that I noticed... A traditional common disk brake caliper is a floating caliper that operates off a piston or pistons arranged on the same side. When the piston(s) are activated, the caliper is able to slide on the sliders so both pads are able to squeeze onto the rotor. The CSC calipers are not floating calipers and rely on pistons on each side to compress the pads. I did notice that the pistons in each position were easily pushed in so none appeared to be binding. But interestingly, when I would push one of the pistons in, (let's say the inside one) the corresponding piston (outside one) would then push out from the pressure. That's why I had to use a screwdriver to push back on second piston to get second pad in.

 

[pwhoever]

And I almost forgot probably the most important thing and how this whole thread began...

I received the replacement Spicer u-joint today. I was able to pull 2 of the caps off the new one and swap them on the original. I was very careful to inspect the needle bearings on new ones to make sure they were all there and in position. I got the driveshaft back in the yoke, bolted it down and it looks good. I did run up to the local Oreillys because I noticed a bulb out on the trunk. I did have a run down the highway of a couple miles each way at speeds around 55-70. I didn't notice any drips finally! Although I need to make a longer run just to be sure but hopefully I have gotten this taken care of. Maybe tomorrow...

But I am a glutton for punishment. After replacing the burnt out bulb, I turned my attention to my Silverado. I just received new struts but have to remove the leveling kit first and thats a bit involved. Of course, just my luck, it's not going according to plan... It took all afternoon and I'm almost finished with the one side. I need to pick up some parts tomorrow to finish so this would probably be a good excuse for a ride.

 

[ROAD DOG]

And I almost forgot probably the most important thing and how this whole thread began...

I received the replacement Spicer u-joint today. I was able to pull 2 of the caps off the new one and swap them on the original. I was very careful to inspect the needle bearings on new ones to make sure they were all there and in position. I got the driveshaft back in the yoke, bolted it down and it looks good. I did run up to the local Oreillys because I noticed a bulb out on the trunk. I did have a run down the highway of a couple miles each way at speeds around 55-70. I didn't notice any drips finally! Although I need to make a longer run just to be sure but hopefully I have gotten this taken care of. Maybe tomorrow...

But I am a glutton for punishment. After replacing the burnt out bulb, I turned my attention to my Silverado. I just received new struts but have to remove the leveling kit first and thats a bit involved. Of course, just my luck, it's not going according to plan... It took all afternoon and I'm almost finished with the one side. I need to pick up some parts tomorrow to finish so this would probably be a good excuse for a ride.

Yes F the truck and take a 300 mile ride

 

[Marc H]

Those type calipers and pads have been around along time in automotive.I sure don't claim to know them all but right off I remember Mercedes having them in the early 90s.