Complete Front Brake Overhaul

I am about to embark on my first real project with my XJ (83 650 Maxim) by placing the first of probably several good sized orders through Chacal.
Brakes being the majority first round: I intend to rebuild the master cylinder and caliper, install a new rotor, new pads, and new stainless steel brake lines. I've been combing over Chacals parts catalog and will likely be picking up a lot of the little odds and ends as well, such as a new sight glass window, union bolts, washers, etc. If there are any other little parts I should think to order while I'm at it please let me know.

Now to my reason for the post: as I see it, there's three "sections" of the system: the master cylinder at top, the brake lines in the middle, and the caliper at the bottom. Would there be wisdom to only removing, rebuilding and replacing one section at a time, say master cylinder first, installing back on the bike, then replacing the lines, etc...

OR, since I intend to overhaul the entire system anyhow should I simply do it all at once? I understand it may be a good idea to leave the original brake lines in to serve as guides for where the new ones will go, but other than that if I intend to have all brand new brake fluid in the system when I'm done why bother going piece by piece? I could just drain the system, remove/rebuild/replace, and then fill the system with brake fluid, bleed as necessary, and be done with it?

It should be mentioned that this will be the first time I've ever worked on a hydraulic brake system before, apart from the one or two times I've replaced disc brake pads on cars in the past. Also, for what it's worth, I will be buying a Mity-Vac as well, so I'm hoping that if I have to bleed the brakes multiple times it won't be that big a PITA.

Thanks for reading and any help!

 

My advice is to leave the master cylinder until you've done the other stuff! Its very useful for pumping those cylinders out of the calipers that haven't moved for years. Others recommend a grease gun or compressed air but I found the MC method better... just my 2 cents

 

You could do it either way, I suppose; as you just mentioned, saving the lines for last serves as a guide as to how to route them and position the ends when bolting them to their endpoints. If, on the other hand, you had a good visual record of where the lines go and which way the end connectors point when they bolt up to their respective endpoints, that would work as well. (Yonder digital camera might come in handy.)

I've only done it the one time myself, without the benefit of having done it on a car beforehand, and I can tell you; it's not that hard. The Mity-Vac will come in very handy, I can assure you.

If you haven't already, you might want to go through Selecting a Sight Glass and Installing Stainless Steel Lines.

Looking through an old parts catalog I made up for him, he lists two caliper rebuild kits for the 650 Max; the OEM one has a fluid seal retaining circlip included; the aftermarket does not, meaning the existing one must be reused. The OEM, however, was almost three times the cost of the aftermarket unit.

Sight glass; if you don't already have some sort of sealant that will stand up to brake fluid, he sells tubes of the stuff. It's far more than you'll ever need, but it's the smallest size he can get.

Getting the retaining clip out off the piston for the master cylinder can be a challenge; if you don't want to sacrifice a pair of needlenose pliers (the tips will need to be ground down to a point), he sells a custom tool for the job.

Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

Thanks for the quick replies! And thanks for the advise, your suggestion makes sense to me adrian.

And thanks for the links schmuck, I had seen those before but didn't bother to bookmark them; now I have. I'll definitely have a digital camera ready for the whole job, but I think I'll do what I can to keep the original lines in place until I am ready to install the new ones. Also, the tubes of sight glass sealant and the deep-reach circlip pliers Chacal sells are already on my order list . I also intend to go OEM wherever possible, so I'll be getting that particular MC rebuild kit, but thank you for the heads up.

One thing I would like to know before I place my order is which sight glass I have; everything I've read leads me to believe that it's most likely the kind that is retained by a circlip considering I have the single disc setup. I'll take a quick peak under the reservoir cover before placing my order, hopefully I'll be able to tell from a quick visual inspection.

Overall I'm not too intimidated by it all, I'm actually looking forward to it. I have a vacation week coming up and I'm hoping to use the final 3 days of it for bike work With my Basic Rider Course spot reserved for early May, summer just won't come fast enough!