In prep for a 4 week PA to Co, Utah, OK, TN, AZ, AR, NM, not in that order but I digress.
I wanted to clean my front brakes and pistons, and flip the pads around as has been suggested on the forum here. I removed all pads, marked them on removal flipped them opposite, cleaned what I assume are anti-rattle clips and all the pins. The pins where really coked up and took a very heavy hand with brass brush and 200 grit paper. I always coat the pins with a bit of high temp copper anti-sieze and where it makes contact with the anti-rattle clips.
I also wanted to check the balance of the relatively new Z8, but I really wanted to clean and grease the axle and check the bearings. This was the wheel I replaced when I crushed the front rim on a rock and froze/heated the new bearings in myself. They were fine balance and bearings quick sand of the axle and grease the bearings and cups of the seals and the axle and torque to 66.
So today I wanted to pull the rear brake pedal pivot and clean and grease it. It was not too bad, but cotter pins are my nemesis! And that one is in a bad place for an old busted up guy like me to get too. I used some 200 and 400 grit paper on anything that was flat, and IMHO the pivot needed cleaned as it did have some crude on it and not enough grease to suit me at all, it does now, a tub of grease is cheap. Not a bad job, but for the time you get little bang for your buck, except maybe the rear brake lights lite from a hung up rear brake peddle. Gosh I miss my lift that is not available right now, but hell I digress.
So while I am looking at it laying on carpet in a driveway, in shade though. I look up and see the dog bones and say shit I have not touched any of that in almost 14K and know it is called out on the 16K. OK what the hell the rear brake is not going anywhere. Well the two we can get to easy, the upper bolt in back, the shock one and the lower one. The looked OK to me the, inserts took a little cleaning as there was a shiny spot hear and there but nothing I could feel. The needle bearings are forever strange to me. This is the top one never touched in this picture. However I had sprayed the crap out of it with white lithium grease while wiggling it but still a strange arrangement, metal rollers imbedded in a wax like substance.
Nothing was loose in any of those three and I used my pinky and smooched it through the ones I could. Sent the sleeve through and did that a few times. And that led me to dammit I want to do that top one! Well I know you got the right way and the other way to do this, I pushed it through and cut it with the Dremel and a cut off wheel!
I have not researched it through, but think I remember someone saying about reversing the bolt but I do not see how that is going to work and have my doubts, at least with the stock bolt length.
So I went to my handy ACE Hardware and got two choices.
The one is a tad shorter then stock, and the other is more so but not a bunch I would say 1/4" to 5/16". Also worth mentioning is the bolts were really crappy looking and needed dressed up a bunch. I will make sure the bolt and inside the sleaves are well greased.
I did see where one guy cut his center stand on that side but man I do not want to do that as there is not much there when you take an arch out of that flat mount, and it has a cut in the steel, part of the manufacturing process, close to the flat area you need to take out, so do not want to do that.
I have a floor jack and a Black Jack that is a nifty jack so if I need to I think I can get off the ground to remove the center stand.
Anyway that is what I did to my FJR yesterday and today. No stress and I am sure I will sort this bolt length issue out. It really has been fun and a learning experience on stuff that needs done once in awhile and no one wants to do.
Next to do my rear brake pistons and remove and clean pads and service as I did the front pair. Then on to the shifter and service that.
but not so many good front tire choices.
