Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 27, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2012 Hey guys, lately my right-front caliper was making a grinding noise when I wheeled the bike around the garage. I found the source of the noise and it's not good. Basically the slot where the pad retaining clip sits has been worn out and is rounded! The pad retaining clip does not sit tightly anymore and it rides up to the point where it hits the edge of the disk. Given enough time, what's likely to happen is the pads will come flying out of the caliper! I suggest anyone with a high mileage sixth-gen check their calipers to see if the cutout where the little pad retaining spring sits is rounded. If so, it's time for a new caliper! I'm going for a ride tomorrow so I think I may need to commit some time to replacing the caliper right now. Luckily I have a caliper from a 2006 VFR just sitting around in my garage. Also during my investigation I discovered that the 2002-2005 caliper is WAY different to the 2006+ caliper. The 2006 model caliper is much more beefy and its mounting point makes it sit differently against the disk. The left-front brake caliper is also different, but the rear caliper assembly is the same from 2002 onwards. Anyone else already know this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 27, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2012 OK caliper has been changed. Even the brake pads are different on the '06+ bikes! Thank god I had just ordered some from Jake Wilson and ordered the "wrong" ones, which actually fit the '06 calipers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 27, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2012 Here are the pics of how bad the 2002 caliper with 150,000KM on it was. I'm uploading a video of it to YouTube tonight as well. If your 2002-2005 VFR is high mileage, I'd be taking a very close look at your calipers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer800Canuck Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Oh, so it's just the mounting bracket with the slider pins then. Not the caliper itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Polarbear Posted January 27, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2012 Really? Calipers can wear out?? Well, that's good to know!!! I'll keep it in mind, but considering the rate at which I put klicks on my '03, I'll be good for a few good years. I only got about 45,000km on it (third owner). Thanks for the tip Kaldek! Can I ask you to post a pic of the old and the updated beefier caliper if you can manage one without taking it off the bike? Just curious to see what it looks like... C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VietHorse Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Here are the pics of how bad the 2002 caliper with 150,000KM on it was. I'm uploading a video of it to YouTube tonight as well. If your 2002-2005 VFR is high mileage, I'd be taking a very close look at your calipers. Never seen a caliper like this. However, the number 150,000km should be a big one to consider those... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 27, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2012 Really? Calipers can wear out?? Well, that's good to know!!! I'll keep it in mind, but considering the rate at which I put klicks on my '03, I'll be good for a few good years. I only got about 45,000km on it (third owner). Thanks for the tip Kaldek! Can I ask you to post a pic of the old and the updated beefier caliper if you can manage one without taking it off the bike? Just curious to see what it looks like... C Sure mate, video coming soon that shows this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 27, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2012 Oh, so it's just the mounting bracket with the slider pins then. Not the caliper itself. Technically yes. Part number 06453-MBG-405 (non-ABS bike). Could be different part if the bike is ABS. If you replaced that part you'd be good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 27, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2012 OK here's the vid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum CEO HispanicSlammer Posted January 27, 2012 Forum CEO Share Posted January 27, 2012 5th gens do that too. If the rubber boot gets cracked or is torn the slider dries up and it stops floating like it should. I had to replace the rubber and grease it with high temp grease. Cleaned and polished the slider rod. Then I put a wire brush on my drill and cleaned the keep caliper slider tube and I packed it with ht grease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 27, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2012 5th gens do that too. If the rubber boot gets cracked or is torn the slider dries up and it stops floating like it should. I had to replace the rubber and grease it with high temp grease. Cleaned and polished the slider rod. I lubed the new caliper's slider pins with coppaslip grease, just in case! I am surprised about how this happened, but maybe the pad spring needed to be replaced long ago and it moved so much over time that it caused the bracket to wear. I did fit a new disk a few months ago, which turned out to be warped, and also my pads were worn down to the backing plate when I removed the disk. So I had a combination of warped disk and worn pads in there. Maybe the wear occurred really suddenly? I guess if a few other high mileage owners (Baileyrock?) check theirs out we'll know if it's a common thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer800Canuck Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Good video. Probably a lot of Hondas with LBS could be subject to the same wear. Blackbirds and the like. I noticed you were using Copper-Kote to lube the slide pins. While that may work, I'd like to let everyone know what the proper product for this application is: http://www.permatex....iper_Lube_1.htm Permatex® Ultra Disc Brake Caliper Lube An environmentally-friendly, green, nonmelting, synthetic lubricant. It is formulated to lubricate under the most adverse brake conditions, assuring that critical caliper pins, sleeves, bushings and pistons remain lubricated throughout pad life. Suggested Applications: Caliper pins, sleeves, bushings and pistons There is also this stuff too, although I'm sure it is WAY more expensive, because it has EXTREME! in the name: http://www.permatex....s_Lubricant.htm Permatex® Ceramic Extreme Brake Parts Lubricant This 100% synthetic lubricant contains real ceramic solids for extreme performance under the most critical braking conditions. A purple, environmentally friendly, non-melting formula, this premium lubricant is our longest lasting, most temperature resistant way to silence brake noise such as squealing and chattering; also effective in preventing long bolt and sleeve seizing and galling. Excellent on rolling and sliding surfaces operating in wet or dry conditions from -65°F to 3000°F (-54°C to 1648°C). This product assures that critical brake parts remain lubricated throughout brake pad life. Resistant to corrosion and contaminants, it will not wash out. It is compatible with internal/external brake rubber and plastic hardware, including ethylene-propylene rubber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 27, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 27, 2012 Thanks mate, I removed the copper grease. You're right, it's apparently good for threads and backing plates but not for sliders. While there I replaced the boots as apparently copper grease causes the rubber to swell. I used red brake grease to replace it as it's all I had handy and it's 9pm now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 28, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 28, 2012 Well after a good long ride today I have to say these 2006 calipers are great. Good feel, bite, and power. No complaints! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted January 28, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted January 28, 2012 Good find, Kaldek.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted January 29, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted January 29, 2012 Went to replace the left-front caliper today, but it's a bigger job than expected as you also need to replace one of the brake hoses due to a difference in length. Means a tad more brake bleeding, as the hose has to be disconnected from the steel lines up at the headstock. A job for a rainy day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer eastbowl2 Posted March 3, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted March 3, 2012 Thanks for posting this Kaldek. I just checked mine and it too is worn pretty good @ 130,000kms (like yours, it was the right side calliper mount... left side was fine). It will be replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I heard some noise last Friday coming from my bike. Checked it out and did a google search and found your video on Youtube. It seems I have the same issue on my 02 that has 60k miles. The pad will not even stay in and pops out a bit on the top inner pad on the right front caliper if sitting on the bike. Can you confirm this sounds like what you had? I'm going to pull the caliper off tomorrow but want to get a jump on it and buy the caliper replacements now. If I get a pair of used 06+ calipers with the hoses will it mount up without any mods on an 02? Also any tips on bleeding for this job would be geatly appreciated. I have never done the brakes on the VFR due to the linking. It it difficult to do? Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I just replaced both my Calipers on my 02 due to this issue. Not only did I have wear much worse than this pic but my retaining clip was completely gone. The swap was pretty simple to be honest but you need to replace one hose. Bleeding was a PITA until I tossed the speed bleeder and did a round the old fashioned way which worked like a champ. Unless you tefflon tape your bleed points or install speed bleeders I highly recommend the old fashioned way while following the steps in the manual. My bike only has 57k miles and most of that commute and touring. If you have miles like this I recommened you check your right brake caliper to see if you have this wear as indicated. I consider myself very lucky with mine as honesly nothing was holding in the top of my brake pads after than clip came out. I'm so lucky they didn't fall out on my way home at 80mph. Someone was surely looking out for me that day. This seems like a really bad design flaw with the 02-05 bikes to me. I wonder if Honda is aware of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Great info, but at almost 100k miles i'm not too worried as I don't use Brakes as they just Slow you Down! J/K will check mine right off! BR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 I have High milege 100,000, so I look at mine next time I change the pads, you mentioned something about the pads, may have a different fit amongst type and brand, do you see something different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kaldek Posted September 8, 2012 Author Member Contributer Share Posted September 8, 2012 I have High milege 100,000, so I look at mine next time I change the pads, you mentioned something about the pads, may have a different fit amongst type and brand, do you see something different? I hadn't thought of that before. But my '02 calipers were fed a steady diet of SBS brand pads for 140,000KM aside from a short test of Ferodo pads (horrible!) and then after this I switched to EBC pads. Only the front-right caliper was worn, but I have since also replaced the front-left caliper as well. To replace the front-left you will need to use the CBS circuit hose from the donor '06+ bike (the one that routes to the right-hand side of the frame near the R/R). Reason being that the '02 hose won't mount to the '06 caliper due to the fact that this is the hose with the two banjo mounts on it and the newer caliper is a different size and shape. You absolutely need a 10mm flare-nut wrench to disconnect and reconnect these hoses from the rigid lines up on the frame. Those nuts are super tight and will just round off with a regular open end spanner. It took me a long time to bleed the CBS lines; Speed Bleeders were the godsend here because otherwise I would have been opening and closing nipples for hours. I went through an entire bottle of fluid to bleed it properly, and the most air came out of the PCV bleeder near the battery. That one alone took me a good 20 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Maybe thats why I havent bothered with anything other than stock pads on my 06, I didnt know pre 06 has different calipers. A good informational thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 I have been having issues with my front right brake and figured it was time for a rebuild (only 30k miles). I'll have to take a look at the caliper when I get a chance. Is there any downside to replacing only the front right with an 06? Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dustin Posted March 25, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted March 25, 2015 Well, my bike dropped a brake pad yesterday and it looks like I've got the same issue. I ordered a new bracket (06453-MBG-405) and will replace it with the new retainer and that should get me another 10 years at least. What an annoying issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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