general question about rear brake

[huskey89]

Actually i have 2 questions.
first off, i recently had it off my bike, and without thinking i pressed the brake pedal all the way to see how far it went. (i know stupid). Now the rear brake is pressurized and i don't know how to unpressurize it. how do you do it?

Also, another question with the brake; to brake hard i really have to press the brake far down and it is really hard to lock up the rear tire, and it feels mushy compared to my brothers brake. how do i fix this?

 

[XRpredator]

you should be able to pry the brake loose while opening the bleeder screw.

also, your brakes are probably mushy because they need bled.

 

[huskey89]

ok, that all sounds good, A) where is the bleeder screw? and B) how do i bleed the brakes?
anyone know of a good tutorial or can write a quick one?

 

[Rich Rohrich]

This one is well written and has lots of descriptive pictures:
http://www.spokes-women.org/Technical_Cornor/brake_bleeding.htm

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

I would not recommend opening the bleeder valve to separate the brake pads. While it is possible that the brake cylinder has extended too far and is now jammed I suspect that you should be able to simply pry the brake shoes apart. Use a pair of flat blade screw drivers. Come in from opposite sides and simply pry the brake shoes apart. They should move fairly easily.

Mushy brakes are generally because there is air in the line. The usual reason for air in the line is that the brake fluid level in the reservoir dropped too low and the master cylinder sucked air. The usual reason for the reservoir level dropping too low is because the brake pads have worn too thin.

My suggestion is:
1) get a manual.
2) With the information in the manual, determine if the brake pads are too worn and replace if necessary.
3) Bleed the brakes.


Rod

 

[Tom68]

Sounds like your pushrod isn't coming all the way back.