oil in pads

Techno Destructo

Riding In Peace
If you've got oil ON your pads, and it hasn't been there very long (the longer it's been there, the more it might have soaked in - 3 or 4 days is too many though... and your pads won't recover...), you can try scrubbing the surface of the rotors and pads with rubbing alcohol.
If that doesn't imporove your braking performance, you can try lightly sanding the surface of your brake pads with a fine grade of sandpaper (something above 150). If the oil hasn't soaked in too much, you might be able to remove the layer of your pads that are affected.
Beyond that... either suffer weak braking power, or get new pads. REMEMBER to clean the rotors THOROUGHLY with alcohol before using new pads!
 

josh

Likes Bikes and Dirt
ive already had to fork out $55 for new back brake pads, and im pretty sure im now going to have to do the same on the front :(

How the hell does oil get into them?
 

nathan

Likes Dirt
Dont fork out for new pads yet.

I use 'Isopropyl Alcohol' (see a chemist, they can put some in a bottle for you), on both the pads and the disc. I just use a scotch brite and rub the hell out of em with the alcohol. Then afer its all dried out get out on your bike and pedal around for a while with the breaks on. Seems to work fine for me.

If that dosent work you can burn them with a blow torch. We used septone degreaser and then burnt it off. That worked fine to. But i would try the other option first.
Oil from your break line maybe?

Hope you have some luck.
 

Roadie Rob

Likes Dirt
Pour heaps of talcum powder allover discs and pads ride downthe street pedaling with brakes applied if stiilno good rub pads on the concrete edge on the gutter in a figure 8 motion wax on waxoff style sounds rough but it works if light sanding worked your pads would wear out in a day
 

Techno Destructo

Riding In Peace
Roadie Rob said:
Pour heaps of talcum powder allover discs and pads ride downthe street pedaling with brakes applied if stiilno good rub pads on the concrete edge on the gutter in a figure 8 motion wax on waxoff style sounds rough but it works if light sanding worked your pads would wear out in a day
RR... that's an interesting call on the talcum powder. If I get in that situation with contaminated pads again, I might give that a go... although adding a powder to the pads almost sounds slightly risky by adding another element to your pads (whereas the alcohol evaporates...). Have to research that...

But what do you mean about the concrete gutter edge vs sanding?

Are you saying that rubbing on the concrete will do as good a job as sanding? And that it'll do less damage to the pads than a light sanding? Merely curious... seems a bit coarse, and then there's the question about what surface the concrete is like... But I suppose in an emergency situation....

I think the statement "pads would wear out in a day" is a little subjective, since that depends on the original wear level of your pads, and how much sanding you've applied to them (grit+pressure+duration of sanding). :?

Also, Nathan... very cool idea with septone degreaser and burning it off. That's a pretty tech solution. 8)
 

Techno Destructo

Riding In Peace
josh said:
How the hell does oil get into them?
Have you been going heavy on the lubricants around your drivetrain or hubs? Putting lube around the seals on your hubs is possible, as it may run down one of your rotor arms, make it to the braking area, then transfer to your pads... Basically, if any lube dripped onto the braking area of your rotors, it'll get onto the pads. Always a good idea to wipe down ALL excess lube that you put on your bike, then, if you think some may have gotten to the rotors, clean those with alcohol. (Do all this WITHOUT rotating the rotors in the calipers.... or take the wheels off and do it...)
 

CHEWY

Eats Squid
ive heard if uve got a oxy torch or an oven u can burn the oil off or out off the pads. sounds like it would work to mee
 

Ty

Eats Squid
i read on stikman's site (lopes mechanic) that you can boil the oil/dot fluid out of pads, it's pretty simple so it might be worth a shot.
 

frank-oi

Likes Dirt
yeah i think thats what my mechanic did to mine.i think anway but thats also what i had herd. so that would be a shot. don't know how boilling-ish it has to be but i'd just exeriment with it cause water can't hert them.
 

Ty

Eats Squid
isocol rubbing alcohol is one of the comerical names, you can buy it from coles or woolies
 

Doogs

Likes Bikes
heating the pads through boiling is dangerous, coos it makes the good stuff flake off, it seems a bit strange, coos the pads generate mroe heat when braking. all i do is just leave em in and ride, eventually the contaminated bits will wear away, you will just ride faster and more on the edge if you have shitty brakes...not really, but u get the idea.
 

Roadie Rob

Likes Dirt
sanding usually won't be harsh enough to clean the surface thats why you use the concrete if it's grey and not oily looking it clean enough dirt doesn't matter remember it is a mountain bike If you go into the pits at any major DH there will be clouds of talc flying around the pits getting brakes working properly. I had a brake leak at Nundle, couldn't find any talc and used dirt and are still using the same pads
 

Bonnet

Likes Dirt
I had this problem with my pads... i think the oil might come from road grime and residue oil on the road, to fix the situation i tried using rubbing alchohol, but it didn't work to great. i then went to my LBS and they did the same and tried to clean the pads, but that still didn't work. then i thought "fuck it" and went to the local hardware store and he recomended some 'Caustic soda'....and it worked a treat. just buy some, mix it up and use an old toothbrush to rub it on (wear gloves though, its really corosive). the best thing is its cheap and as far as i know, hasn't ruined the pads, this is almost 2 months later.
 
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