Leak from banjo bolt attached to the front master cylinder
#1
Leak from banjo bolt attached to the front master cylinder
i have been fighting this issue for a week and im going crazy. Long story short, the bike sat in a shed for 5 years and has needed a good bit of work. One if the items that needed fixed was the front master cylinder. It refused the hold brake pressure and I bought a rebuild kit. To my knowledge, there was no leak before i disassembled. The rebuild went great and after bleeding the brakes, the handle feels great, the brake works great and it hasnt lost any pressure, even after sitting for days. After putting it all back together, i reused the old copper crush washer and immediately checked for a leak. No leak was detected so i rechecked for a leak about 3 hours later and noticed a very small amount of fluid on the bottom of the banjo bolt. I didnt want to overtighten it so i went a little more which didnt help. I went to the harley dealership and got two new washers but these have the rubber in the middle. I installed them and after bleeding, it still leaks. I went and bought two brand new copper crush washers and barely tightened it past finger tight. It had a bad leak and everytime I detected it leaking, i put the wrench on it and bumped it to make it tighter. Ive been doing this for days and now its on very tight and i dont want to really go anymore. The banjo bolt looks good (had some minor rust at the head and on one of the flat spots in the bolt but its all clean now). Its only leaking between the master cylinder and the washer. The master cylinder looks great and is clean. I am out of options here. What should my next step be? Thanks
Last edited by 99DWG; 02-15-2018 at 01:52 PM.
#2
#3
I am not sure about the copper crush washers. Are you sure that is what you should be using, especially now that you are having reoccurring leaking?
I use OEM 41733-88 which they call a gasket. Washer with a rubber inner diameter. It takes four for a single caliper system, two on the master and two on the caliper. 4 of them will cost you about $15. You can get the same 12 mm banjo gaskets all over the interweb for a fraction of MoCo's cost.
I use OEM 41733-88 which they call a gasket. Washer with a rubber inner diameter. It takes four for a single caliper system, two on the master and two on the caliper. 4 of them will cost you about $15. You can get the same 12 mm banjo gaskets all over the interweb for a fraction of MoCo's cost.
#4
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You may want to replace the banjo bolt along with the crush washers. If that does not work I would look for a crack on the master cylinder where the banjo bolt goes in. I expect there is a torque value on the banjo bolt, you may want to torque to spec. You may also want to look closely at the brake line fitting to see if there is any corrosion on that.
#5
You'll have to pull apart the banjo, bolt and master cylinder and look real close at the surfaces where the washers sit. My bet would be that when you replaced the master cylinder guts you, dinged the surface on the end of the master cylinder where the washer goes. If the surface isn't perfectly flat it will leak no mater what copper washer you use.. If it's not the master, look at the banjo.. I've use copper sealing washers for various pressure fittings and found that the smallest ding in the surface will cause a leak..
Add: You can rub the dinked up surface on flat plate with some 400 grit wet and dry to get it flat again..
Add: You can rub the dinked up surface on flat plate with some 400 grit wet and dry to get it flat again..
Last edited by Max Headflow; 02-15-2018 at 11:32 PM. Reason: add:
#6
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