Hope brake servicing

Quoted message said:

Dear All,

I'm planning on overhauling my Hope brakes (M4 front and DH4 rear with
Pro levers)

They no longer seem to work well, the pads don't retract properly and
they constantly seem to need bleeding. I can't see any leaks.

Has anyone here done this themselves? Or should I take them into a shop
(£30 per brake!)?

What should I replace? I'm thinking all seals and hoses. Are the seals
standard O rings or do I need to get proper Hope spares?

Any advice gratefully received!

I doubt that there is a leak in the hoses and pads not retracting can be
tricky to diagnose. They are easy to disassemble and reassemble
although a bit messy with the brake fluid covering everything. I would
replace the seals using the proper Hope ones, put it back together,
bleed it - the Hope bleeding kit works well by forcing the fluid up
through the system into the levers rather than draining down from the
levers - and test it out. I had one that really flummoxed me until I
detected the two seals were of different resilience but once they were
replaced with new ones it worked fine once more.

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

Cheers Tony,

Is the bleed kit basically a big syringe and some tubes?

The excess fluid would have to come out of the reservoir, do you just
mop it up?

I've heard of lubricating the pistons too with brake fluid. Surely you
risk contaminating the pads?

In article <[email hidden]>,

() said:

Dear All,

I'm planning on overhauling my Hope brakes (M4 front and DH4 rear with
Pro levers)

They no longer seem to work well, the pads don't retract properly and
they constantly seem to need bleeding. I can't see any leaks.

This happened to one of mine; turned out to be where the diaphragm fits
into the little square slot at the join 'twixt fluid reservoir & the cap
thereof.

Copper seize stuff applied carefully to the pistons seems to help with
the retracting.

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
And I begged, "Angel of the Lord, what are these tortured screams?" And
the angel said unto me, "These are the cries of the carrots, the cries
of the carrots! You see, Reverend Maynard, tomorrow is harvest day and
to them it is the holocaust."

In article <[email hidden]>,

() said:

Cheers Tony,

Is the bleed kit basically a big syringe and some tubes?

Hope do a thing called, improbably, "My Little Bleeder" with all manner
of strange tubes and fittings in it, but it's not required for bleeding.
I have one but have not yet had cause to use it. However, I think it
only works with the Mini levers.

Quoted message said:

The excess fluid would have to come out of the reservoir, do you just
mop it up?

With all my Hopes (2 x Mono Mini, 3 x Mini, 1 x M4), fluid goes in at
the reservoir and excess comes out at the bleed nipple on the caliper.
Manuals are available in PDF format here:
<URL:http://www.hopetech.com/technical/technical_index.htm>

Quoted message said:

I've heard of lubricating the pistons too with brake fluid. Surely you
risk contaminating the pads?

Remove them before going anywhere near the pistons...

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
They came for Eamonn Holmes; I think I'm right in saying that I
applauded.

Quoted message said:

Cheers Tony,

Is the bleed kit basically a big syringe and some tubes?

The excess fluid would have to come out of the reservoir, do you just
mop it up?

I've heard of lubricating the pistons too with brake fluid. Surely you
risk contaminating the pads?

The bleed kit is a pressurised container (connected to a tyre for the
pressure) that forces the fluid in.

Lubricating the pistons helps, just clean the fluid off the outside bits
before fitting the pads.

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

in message <[email hidden]>,

(') said:

Dear All,

I'm planning on overhauling my Hope brakes (M4 front and DH4 rear with
Pro levers)

They no longer seem to work well, the pads don't retract properly and
they constantly seem to need bleeding. I can't see any leaks.

Has anyone here done this themselves? Or should I take them into a shop
(£30 per brake!)?

What should I replace? I'm thinking all seals and hoses. Are the seals
standard O rings or do I need to get proper Hope spares?

I swapped from Hayes to Hopes simply because the Hopes are so much easier
to service. Get proper Hope parts. It won't cost a lot more and you have
more confidence they will work.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

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[seen on /. 08:04:02]

Thanks for the useful advice everyone!

I'll get the bits and have a go at fixing them!

Nick