saints bleed went wrong?

[castlo]

ok guys this one has completely stumped me. i bled my saints about a month ago and they worked fine straight after,

i took the pads out and put the bleed block in and the disc and wheel was nowhere near where i was doing the bleed, i wiped it clean and everything and now the front brake does nothing but squeel like a pig in the mud, and doesnt do anything to slow it down even on full lever pressure.

any ideas?

 

[MarioM]

Did you disconnect the hose ? If so where from ? At the lever you will have to get a new compression fitting and sleeve if you took it off there . Some more info here woud be good . Did you change fluid brand ? This affects it as its not all compatible and will swell your piston seals . Trouble is with all shimano hydraulic brakes is that they are not serviceable which is a shame being such a good brake .
I have to replace mine as i have a master leak which wont go away , look at this also if you notice a little wetness ( not a lot of fluid ) around your resevoir cap . I know this sounds weird but it creates all sorts of funny things when the resevoir cap does not seal properly .
Under warranty ? If so get them replaced .

 

[castlo]

cheers man, no i didnt pulll them apart no leaks, didnt diconnect hose just did a standard bleed, filled them up coz it felt like squishing a load of bread from the ends. i dont understand what could have gone wrong i didnt take anything out or undo anything or diconnect it thats why im stumped and probably not under warrenty either, double

thanks for your suggestions. any other option apart from a re bleed?

 

[castlo]

ok so it does stop but under much suffering

 

[MarioM]

What about fluid ? Did you use the same as in the shimano stuff or something else ? When you handled your pads did you wash your hands first so that there was no crap on them . If you didn`t chances are you have contanimated the pads and if you did chuck them out and put in new ones , re bleed and it should work as it should .

 

[castlo]

Yeah I washed my hands and used shims no branded fluid for them the mineral oil that you are ment to use , will I need to change my disc too? Or will that still be ok?

 

[Storm999]

Clean the rotor with metho.

If that doesn't fix it, change the pads clean the rotor again (with metho).

Apart from the squealing, are there any other issues (fade, spongyness etc)?

 

[castlo]

no i got no fade and as far as im aware the power being like a wet paper bag is due to all the squeeling?

 

[muvro]

Have you washed the bike recently?

By the sounds of your description. Either the pads or the rotors (or both) are contaminated, not necisarily by the brake fluid either. Washing the bike with say car wash or any cleaner containing silicone can contaminate brake components. Or possibly a fork leak?

Before you buy anything, get some 180 grit sandpaper on a flat surface and sand the pads, keeping them and the paper flat.

 

[castlo]

hasnt been washed in a while coz i havnt ridden it, i wil do the pads and the disc tonight and report back tomorrow

thanks heaps guys for your help

 

[Burrito_Boy]

I had this issue. The lack of power was due to air stuck in the caliper body that isn't moved during regular bleeds. The squealing is something to do with the pistons not fully extending.
Drain the system, check lines for integrity, also check/replace the barbs and fittings. Then refluid the system from caliper end. I found that if you cycle the oil in and out of the caliper with a syringe it pulls out any stuck air, then bleed as per normal once you know you have it all out.

Hope this helps as it worked for me. My saints are now onto their 5th year of operation.

** also, i would avoid doing the metho on the rotor thing. Can do more harm than good on certain types of pads and rotors

 

[udi]

Squealing usually means contaminated pads, you must have got oil on them somehow I'd suspect. Sometimes fluid drips out of the bleed nipple on those brakes for a little while after you do a bleed, and it can get on the pads.

In short though (assuming the caliper is aligned correctly), a spongy lever that comes to the bar easily = bleed issue, while if the brake isn't bitey/snappy even though the lever feel is good, then it means the pads/rotor are contaminated. You can separate the issues and then decide what you need to do.

Contaminated pads will never be 100% again but if you can't afford new ones you can get them to a usable state with cleaning. It's worth removing the caliper from the frame and cleaning it thoroughly with metho as well, to stop it happening again.

 

[DirtDisciple]

I'm having same issue with my Saints

Interesting. I've just replaced by rotors with Hope monos and bled the rear and I've been suffering similar issues, but I was originally struggling with alignment of the rotors so didnt notice too much.

But my brakes are squealing like a mo fo too and power is down.

Seems to be a consensus that contamination is the issue - I must admit I didnt clean my new rotors.

Time to crack out the metho, rub down and soak the pads and discs.

Cheers!

 

[Spotty]

DirDisciple, Buritto Boy just mentioned using metho may do more harm then good on pads/rotors. Use a brake cleaner or isopropyl alcohol, which makes sure all contaminates are gone evaporate much better and leaves no other contaminates or residue.

As for the problem, I reckon it's the contamination., just try your best to decontaminate it first, using traditional methods, brake cleaner, boiling water etc. f that doesn't hepl even a tiny bit, its probably a problem in the system.

 

[castlo]

i just cleaned the discs withthe iso-wahtever it is stuff and sanded the pads to take the shine off them and it worked i did a re bleed so i think my nipple may not have been fully tightened... stupid me

it works now,

 

[Craftworks]

The left over fluid in the bleed nipple, inside the calliper, even on your fingers can be enough to contaminate the pads/rotor and cause the issue you are having.

When there is no pads or rotors in the bike use power brake clean/Metho to clean up then blow of the excess into a rag - this ensures there is no fluid lurking to contaminate everything.

Some people don’t bother removing the pads or rotor when bleeding – this is fine if everything goes to plan, however one slip can spell new pads both front and rear!

 

[castlo]

thanks for the replies guys, i need to bleed again -.- coz somehow i still have a little air inside the lines