[$tinkle]

my hayes hydraulics are about a decade old, and when i got to treeline, i had nothing up front.

absolutely nothing.

so i took the wheel off, popped off the pads, and noticed they had a piston-sized ring of fluid on them. did a seal get blown/bypassed from the 5000ft ascent (shuttle, not gradual like actually riding it)? 2 days later, and it's kinda sorta restored, but obviously i don't trust them now.

is there a rebuild kit that includes replacement parts for something that's now failed, or is it time to simply get new brakes? hate to throw it away if it can be rebuilt either trivially by me, or if the LBS can do it for less than half of replacement cost.

 

[rockofullr]

If it's a blown seal you can usually rebuild the calipers and replace the seals but...

If they are that old it might be time for an upgrade. Juicy 5's and 7's seem to be showing up cheap online every once and a while now that the Juicy line has been replaced.

 

[kazlx]

You *should* be able to rebuild them, but that's assuming you can get new seals and whatnot. If it was me, I would just buy new brakes. The newer XTs are fantastic.

 

[sanjuro]

When the word, Hayes is stamped on your caliper.

 

[IH8Rice]

depending which model it is, parts are becoming harder and harder to come by for the older Hayes calipers and levers. its sometimes easier/cheaper to get a newer generation caliper to mate up with your lever.
if you can find the parts for them, you can rebuild them

 

[$tinkle]

i'm not brand loyal; i can hate on anyone

my m.o. for upgrading anything in life is usually to find the highest rated product that's a generation+ old. seems i might give juicys a tumble; i like my elixirs on my XC

only issue is: i currently have an 8" rotor up front, & avids seem to be proprietary, or at least don't play well outside of their brand. maybe i'll just go back to 6"/160mm up front. ain't like i ever ride fall lines or ride my brakes for minutes at a time.

 

[Pesqueeb]

@ Monarch? Le suck.

If it's just seals, even if Hayes doesn't "make" them any more, you can probably find a replacement at an auto parts store or the Caterpillar dealer. Whistler Bearing here in town might have something too. If it comes to that though, I would probably look into upgrading if you've got the scratch.