Front brake grinding

xd45c

Member
Oct 8, 2009
251
3
49
PA
Well the other day I took the Blaster out for the first ride and the front brakes were working fine. Had to go through a few puddles on the trail, but were still working up until putting the bike away. Took it out today and the front brakes are screwed up. The right brake is grabbing way more than the left and when the brake is applied it makes a very loud sound and jerks to the right. It's not quite "grinding" but maybe a better description would be a mix of a loud vibration and some grinding. I'm going to pull the tires off tomorrow, anything I should look out for, or something else I should try before pulling the tires? Rear brakes aren't working right now so trying to get the fronts running, I'll be getting a new cable for the rear and doing the DIY but that won't be for a week or two.
 
I tried adjusting them via the wingnut when the problem started. The right brake was grabbing hard and jerking and the left didn't seem to be working at all. I turned the left 5 times and it was working nicely, but i loosened the right brake more than 10 times(i tried up to 14 times i think) and it was still locking up. Is it normal for them to need to be adjusted that much, day to day? As they were working fine the day before the problem. Is there a possibility of loosening the nut too much? Or will you just run out of threads to loosen?
 
Check your wheel bearings. I had the similar problem and I found one of my wheel bearings was all chopped up.. might not be the problem but worth a look.
 
Thanks for the help guys, I took a look today and still had pads left. Took some sand paper to the drums and pads and gave it a test ride. Good as new. Sure will be a pain in the ass to have to do that every time I go through some puddles though. Thanks again.
 
when this happens to me, i just ride with them on for a few hundred yards, holding brake and giving gas, this will heat them up and "cook??" the water out of them, but ultimately taking the hub off and sanding them is best