Dumb Brake Cleaning / Rebuilding Question

I've never rebuilt a brake MC before. I've removed the front MC from my 82 xj550r. It is full of sludge and crappy brown fluid. I've bled / drained it and the reservoir is still nasty looking. I assume that that same nastiness is down in the lines too.

Is it OK to clean all of the internal brake parts with brake cleaner. In other words, can I flush the reservoir / cylinder / lines with brake cleaner?

Also, what is the purpose of the lower triple tree mounted doohicky that the front brake line connects to? There are actually two sections of line that are connected through the doohicky. Can I go with a single braided line from the MC to the caliper?

Thanks!

 

There are rubber parts inside of the MC. Some cleaners are more powerful than others, which could be bad news for rubber parts. Consider removing the piston first (which would make cleaning easier, anyway).

I'm not sure on the "doohicky"... Clymer's calls it a "joint".. I suppose you could run a very long braided line... But something tells me you'd be better off leaving it like it is, and get 2 pieces of braided line...

my 2 cents (canadian).

 

I have removed the elbow in the brake line and installed a one piece stainless steal line with no problems and better braking.

 

You should use alcohol to flush and clean the internals. Brake cleaner will chemically attack the rubber parts and can/will mess them up! Use technical grade alcohol (not the wimpy hospital grade 70% stuff) and you should have no problems.
I'm with the fellows on replacing the lines. Stainless is reasonably priced and gives better performance. I chose to retain the brake "joint" on my bike but you can go either way. Remove it at will.

 

Sweet!

Thanks guys. What specs do I need to know to purchase a single braided line? Obviously length, but what else? Are they pretty standard and can I pick up a line at any moto shop, or is it a special order type thing?

By the way, I cleaned the reservoir using the brake cleaner before I read the response. I'm doing a rebuild on the master cylinder, so hopefully anything I damaged will be replaced with the rebuild kit.

 

If your MC is in bad shape your brake caliper/cylinder is also. Don't be afraid to remove it, take it apart, clean it all out and rebuild with new seals.

Be careful with brake cleaner it will strip the paint off.

 

You should be able to get them spec'd to your model. Galfer is right here in Oxnard CA and will build to suit if they don't have your specs on hand. I'm having to provide the old lines off of my Seca so it is possible that you would be in the same boat. Turn-around is about 1-2 weeks at about $120 (local bike shop quote).