[SHARPMACHINE]

Great thread. I will need to do some of this to a few of our older machines.

Thanks

 

[neckless]

this system is fairly easy to bleed but on my old 900 honda motorbike i used a var sol gun and put sucker hose on bleeder and was able to bleed booth front calipers in couple off cycles of the gun like took 5 minutes instead of hours

 

[motoman620]

I had my 670 HO brakes lock up on me a couple seasons ago, luckily I was close to home when it happened. I cleaned the master cylinder and flushed entire system with alcohol and filled/bled system with DOT 5 Silicone brake fluid. Being silicone based DOT 5 will not attract moisture like DOT 3 or 4 but it's not compatible with 3 or 4 so you need to make sure the system is entirely clean of fluid before adding DOT 5. DOT 5 is very popular in the collector car world because of the amount of time vehicles are stored and it will not harm paint. I have been switching my motorcycles and snowmobiles over to DOT 5 for years because of the amount of time they sit in storage over the off seasons and I've had absolutely no issues with moisture in the systems or brake performance.

 

[td77]

It happened to me today,96 grand touring
Slightly caught fire.
Luckily I was on my property bit just driving to the house from the back of 5 acres it got hot enough to start a fire and it was dragging bad.
If I would have known I wod have tried bleeding some pressure off.

This is what I found after sucking the crappy fluid out.
I'm pretty sure it's that return port.
Will it damage anything blowing air into the master where the line comes out?
Thanks for the write up.

**Update**
Turns out the line had a blockage, cleared it out with brake cleaner and compressed air.
Took some effort to bleed, really like the idea of pumping the fluid up from a bleeder.
Brakes work great again now.

 

[td77]

Guess I spoke too soon on the 96 grand touring having just the blockage in the line and being fixed because it's doing it again.
I attached 2 pics one of my 97 GT master with the little pinhole in the nylon bushing in the return port clearly visible.
The other pic is from the 96 GT, I circled what I assume to be the return port but I dont see any pinhole.
It looks more like a divot in a small ball bearing or something.
Is it some kind of ball bearing check?
Should I be able to move that up and down with a pick or something?
Or is it just FUBARD?
Any ideas?
Thanks.
T

 

[FormulaZ583rider]

New to sledding. My ‘98 Formula Z 583 started on fire my first ride. I was able to get it out quickly but I now need a new oil/coolant reservoir, most likely main engine and dash wiring harnesses, and possibly new brake rotor. I believe it was caused by the brake system issue discussed in this thread. Does anyone know if the rotor off of a ‘98 Touring will fit my ‘98 Formula Z? My rotor is solid and started to flake apart when it overheated, the Touring rotor I have found has holes milled in it I assume to aid in cooling.

 

[FastD00]

Thank you very much this will definitely be helpful for alot of people me included.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

 

[syracusestars37]

I think some folks are selling themselves short in doing it the way that was mentioned.

I did this in a pinch on my old 98 Mach z last winter in the trailer because I didn't feel like bringing it home. It shortly started hanging up again. I caught it before it melted through the entire fuel line.

I am going through that sled now as sort of a small resto and I completely disassembled the master and all in the plunger between the seals was full of rust and crud and I suspect the issue would of occurred again.

 

[mjmachz]

good intel.

 

[kehubbard]

I think some folks are selling themselves short in doing it the way that was mentioned.

I did this in a pinch on my old 98 Mach z last winter in the trailer because I didn't feel like bringing it home. It shortly started hanging up again. I caught it before it melted through the entire fuel line.

I am going through that sled now as sort of a small resto and I completely disassembled the master and all in the plunger between the seals was full of rust and crud and I suspect the issue would of occurred again.

I agree. If the ports in the master cylinder are plugged then it needs to come apart and be completely cleaned.

 

[Byrdman]

Great info here. I just proactively did this to my 98 Formula Z. As hard as the reservoir cap screws came out, I think I may have been the first to ever open her up!

Anyhow, there wasn't much fluid in the master and the little that was in there looked like crude. A few q-tips and some brake clean had her looking like new in no time. Made sure the bleed hole was clear, added new fluid, and bled until she was nice and firm.

Now I'm off to fix my recoil.

 

[Powdah_Skier]

I bought a Mighty Vac hand pump to bleed brakes on all my toys. Works great, and I flush my brakes every year now because I couldn't believe how dirty the fluid becomes in a short time. Plus I just like taking things apart and putting them back together and then taking them apart and repeat.

 

[buffalosledder]

I can't thank you enough for posting this thread BigNuge. I just test drove the 2004 MXZ I bought from my buddy and after a couple laps around the pasture the brakes froze up. I've been working on this thing on and off for hours for a couple days trying to figure it out. Tried bleeding the brakes various times with no success. I finally decided to take the master cylinder apart and clean it up but I did miss your tip on the return port. Once I saw your post, I opened it back up, cleaned it out and VOILA, problem solved !! Again, big thanks to you for saving me from certain death! 🧐👍

 

[fallflight]

Nice Job Guys!

 

[OldFleet]

When I did mine, I put the new fluid in from the bottom with a syringe (I forced it in through the bleed port). That way, I forced fluid back through the return port, ensuring it was clear. I had to suck the fluid out of the master cylinder as I went or it would overflow. Worked for me, rode for about 150 Km with no problems. The owners manual with my machine (1998 Formula 500) recommends flushing brake fluid every year.