Intermittent rear brake fluid leak

[Dundee387]

I think I'm having an intermittent rear brake fluid leak, on my 06 RT. Sometimes I find just a few drops of brake fluid on the upper part of the swingarm/final drive, just above the rear brake line which leads to caliper. I followed this fluid, and it appears as though it came from (above) the rear brake reservoir. The hose takes an almost 90 degree turn, and then down to the rear brake pedal area.

 

My fluid level is good, and I could go hundreds of miles between seeing the fluid. Anyone experience this on their bike? Cause? Overfilled?

 

Thanks.

[T__]

Dundee387, can you tell if the fluid is coming from the ABS controller vent line? That usually comes out from behind & above the R/H riders foot peg.. That vent hose is just an open ended small rubber hose..

 

If the fluid is coming from that vent hose then you might just have too much fluid in the ABS controller fluid reservoirs & that expands when it gets hot or drips a little when the bike is leaned over.. If you recently installed new brake pads that could have pushed the caliper pistons into the calipers farther & could have forced the ABS controller master cylinders to over flow slightly.

 

In any case you need to at least identify WHERE the brake fluid is coming from.. There are 2 sets of master cylinders on that bike (assuming the IABS power brakes).. One set you can see as one on the handlebar & one above the rear brake pedal (both in plain sight).. There is also another set of master cylinders & those are in the ABS controller under the fuel tank (you have to remove the fuel tank to see those).. The ones under the fuel tank also have floats in them so the dash brake warning light lights up when they get low..

 

Twisty

 

[GordonB]

Another place to check is the rear brake reservoir. Does it apear to be weeping fluid from under the cap? If so remove the cap and dry the inside of th cap with a clean rag and remove the rubber thingy sitting in the top of the reservoir and also clean it with a rag. Much like the valve cover gasgets they will weep if they are wet when put back together. By the way, mine has a pinhole in it..drive me nuts for months before I could find the culprit.

[10ovr]

A great way to find oil leaks is to spray the area where you think the leak is with white foot powder spray,,,Ride for a day and check,,You well be able to see where the leak starts from if there is a leak at all..

[Dundee387]

Thanks for the help guys. I have not installed new pads, but had the annual brake service done over the winter, and it was fine. I did have new tires installed recently, can improper handling of the rear brake caliper, cause this problem?

 

I will dig into this further. I'm almost certain it's weeping from under the rear brake reservoir, like GordonB said.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

[T__]

Dundee387, it could go back to the tire installation. They would have forced the front bake pads back into the bores to get the front wheel off.. Not sure if your bike has the ABS vent catch container in the vent or not but if it does that probably had some fluid spit out into it (especially if the brake service was done with older worn brake pads that allowed more fluid in the caliper system)

 

Twisty