[snipes287]

well first off...there wobly as all hell but the thing that bothers me the most is that they keep poping out. like the hfx9's use a ball joint to conect the lever and the piston and whenever I do anything they pop out. anyone got any ideas on what to do? I was thinking about using a chain of zip ties connected to the bars. what do you all think?

 

[bradical]

Originally posted by snipes287
well first off...there wobly as all hell but the thing that bothers me the most is that they keep poping out. like the hfx9's use a ball joint to conect the lever and the piston and whenever I do anything they pop out. anyone got any ideas on what to do? I was thinking about using a chain of zip ties connected to the bars. what do you all think?

You've broken them... as I have 3 times now. The bitch part is the parts you'll need will be around 70 bucks and then 20 for labor. My rear lever has been toast for a while and I still haven't gotten it fixed

 

[Shanks]

If your confident at bleeding and using snap ring plyers you can save yourself sooooooooooo much money. Half the time I just undo the snap ring and using a hammer flatten the washer and ring. Carfully so you dont kill them mind you! It will work great as ever, and you wont need to buy the mastercylinder kit.

Im supprised though, more people had issues with the olive fitting jamming itself in the lever body, and issues with the 1 O ring being screwed on the piston.

 

[Repack]

Originally posted by Shanks
If your confident at bleeding and using snap ring plyers you can save yourself sooooooooooo much money. Half the time I just undo the snap ring and using a hammer flatten the washer and ring. Carfully so you dont kill them mind you! It will work great as ever, and you wont need to buy the mastercylinder kit.

Im supprised though, more people had issues with the olive fitting jamming itself in the lever body, and issues with the 1 O ring being screwed on the piston.

Yup! I flip the reflattened washer over in hopes that you'll get more bite.
If the washer is trashed, make sure that you replace it with one that is the same thickness. The lever piston only has to move in a little bit before it closes off a fluid port.

 

[snipes287]

how do I get at the little buger? do I need to take anything apart? or will I be able to reach in thre and grab it. I know the part you are talking about...just don't know if I need to take the lever apart to get at it or what

 

[Repack]

Originally posted by snipes287
how do I get at the little buger? do I need to take anything apart? or will I be able to reach in thre and grab it. I know the part you are talking about...just don't know if I need to take the lever apart to get at it or what

When you say wobly, do you mean play that is in line with the direction that the lever is supposed toi move, or all over the place? If its all over, than I would get a new pivot kit. They are <$10 and easy to install. Go slow b/c there are some small plastic pieces that you can break. If the play is mostly in line with the lever throw direction, then the problem probably has more to do with the piston issue.

I would say start by unthreading the reach adjuster. Having the lever out of the way will make it easier. Then pull the rubber boot out of the way. It is ~pressed in, so be careful removing it. After that, you'll be able to see everything and figure it out. If something is really jammed, you might have to unthread the hose from the lever and push something through the tip of the lever to push the piston back out, but I have never seen that happen. Just don't go trying to rip anything out. The snapring sits in fairly soft aluminum so it is conceivable that you could break something.

Its an easy job. If your not a hack you have very little to worry about.

 

[snipes287]

so I would need to bleed the breaks before I take the ruber cup out? and yes it has play in the direction of the throw which I am sure is caused by the piston problem.

 

[Repack]

Originally posted by snipes287
so I would need to bleed the breaks before I take the ruber cup out? and yes it has play in the direction of the throw which I am sure is caused by the piston problem.

You'll need to bleed them as part of the last possible step. To fix the problem, you ned to take apart the lever, letting all of the fluid leak out. You may even want to try and let the fluid out before you start unbolting things. I just remembered that to get the rubber boot back in you ,ay need to remove the (I think) 13mm not that holds the piston into the lever (its the nut between the jam nut and the body). But don't worry, its easy.
If you can bleed brakes, this will be an easy job.

 

[snipes287]

ya I can bleed but I just got the hfx 9's and havent made a bleed kit for them yet...or wate...is the bleed whole on the hfx 9's the same size as the mags? cuase I made a bleed kit for my mags, but im not sure if the bleed whole on the piston takes the same fiting...lol not sure if that post makes any since lol

 

[Repack]

Originally posted by snipes287
ya I can bleed but I just got the hfx 9's and havent made a bleed kit for them yet...or wate...is the bleed whole on the hfx 9's the same size as the mags? cuase I made a bleed kit for my mags, but im not sure if the bleed whole on the piston takes the same fiting...lol not sure if that post makes any since lol

No, it makes perfect "since." At this point, all I can say is check the owners manual. But I think that the bleed kits are the same.

 

[oldeskuel]

I have the same problem with my levers popping out. It is possible to take out the washer, flatten it, and reinstall it without bleeding. Just takes some time and patience.

 

[Capt. Jack Sparrow]

I just incurred the same problem with one of my Hayes brake levers this weekend. Popped the ball joint back in but now the whole thing's loose. The brake lever seems to work okay so I'm not too worried. I hear I can use a zip tie to keep the lever from flopping forward if it's annoying me.

But should I be worried about this?:

When I apply my brakes, they barely work until they are mashed down as far as they'll go before hitting the shifter. Then they stop the wheel fine. But I never had to squeeze them so hard before.... this is a new problem as of my DH-ing this weekend.

Have I worn out my brake pads? Or does it sound like something else? I have a really important DH ride this Saturday and I'm not sure if I should ride with my brakes feeling like this.

I got the bike in early April and have done a lot of braking on the DH'ing....

 

[DßR]

Originally posted by Capt. Jack Sparrow
I just incurred the same problem with one of my Hayes brake levers this weekend. Popped the ball joint back in but now the whole thing's loose. The brake lever seems to work okay so I'm not too worried. I hear I can use a zip tie to keep the lever from flopping forward if it's annoying me.

But should I be worried about this?:

When I apply my brakes, they barely work until they are mashed down as far as they'll go before hitting the shifter. Then they stop the wheel fine. But I never had to squeeze them so hard before.... this is a new problem as of my DH-ing this weekend.

Have I worn out my brake pads? Or does it sound like something else? I have a really important DH ride this Saturday and I'm not sure if I should ride with my brakes feeling like this.

I got the bike in early April and have done a lot of braking on the DH'ing....

Are you coming out on Thursday? If so bring the G., I'll take a look at 'em. It sounds as though you've got a bit of pad contamination; if you wear the pads down the lever feel won't change b/c they're self-adjusting.

It may be something associated with the lever coming out - those brake levers are really a big problem though. If you get much cash lying around, buy yourself a pair of HFX-Mag lever assemblies. They'll make a massive improvement; there's no true "cure" for the HFX-9 ball-joint issue, you can fix it but it'll just happen again.

Anyway I've got some spare brakes you can borrow for Saturday if it's terminal....

 

[Capt. Jack Sparrow]

Originally posted by DßR
Are you coming out on Thursday?....

Dear Dan, thanks for the reply and offer of help! I took my bike to the shop and got the brakes worked on... apparently the rear brake (the one that I had to mash all the way down) had leaked a bunch of fluid out because a small screw was loose by the lever. So now that one is working fine. The front brake lever is still sketchy, but as long as it helps me stop the bike, I'll be okay with it for now.

See you Saturday?

 

[DßR]

Originally posted by Capt. Jack Sparrow
Dear Dan, thanks for the reply and offer of help! I took my bike to the shop and got the brakes worked on... apparently the rear brake (the one that I had to mash all the way down) had leaked a bunch of fluid out because a small screw was loose by the lever. So now that one is working fine. The front brake lever is still sketchy, but as long as it helps me stop the bike, I'll be okay with it for now.

See you Saturday?

Ahhhh, yes... the OTHER hfx-9 lever issue pops its ugly head in!!! The "other issue" is that the bleed hole in the 9's is closed by a little rubber/plastic plug. If you ride offroad, this lil' plug invariably falls out and for 1st-time owners of that brake, generally goes unnoticed while all your brake fluid leaks out.

Enter reason #2 to buy a pair of HFX-Mag levers - they close the bleed hole with a screw, which doesn't fall out.

The other, cheaper way to fix this is to put a piece of duct tape over the bleed hole plug so it won't fall out as easily. Although you mentioned a "small screw was loose"?? Maybe they replaced the plugs with screws for '04; I know last years were all plugs and they all fell out....anyway I guess it didn't help much.

Hell yeah, see you Saturday...

 

[triumphbc]

Dan,
I was actually coming here to post about this same problem. My HFX-9 front lever has popped out and although it still works, it's pretty annoying. What's the recommendation if this is just going to keep happening? Where would you get just the Mag lever? I don't really want to spend much, but would like to fix this.

PS - Off topic, but I replaced my bent evil guide boomerang. Problem is the chain rubs on the plastic by the roller gear. Anyway to fix this? Worst case I ride it until the chain wears away the 1mm or so that comes in contact.

 

[DßR]

Originally posted by triumphbc
Dan,
I was actually coming here to post about this same problem. My HFX-9 front lever has popped out and although it still works, it's pretty annoying. What's the recommendation if this is just going to keep happening? Where would you get just the Mag lever? I don't really want to spend much, but would like to fix this.

You can take the washer out, and flatten it out w/ a hammer and anvil, then re-install - when you bust the lever out, the ball-end of the push-rod pulls on the washer making it cone-shaped and that shape prevents it from seating firmly in the lever, so it'll just keep popping out. Hayes will also send you new washers if you call 'em and ask/complain.

I did that with my Shimano XT's and it seemed to solve the problem. I think the only place to get a whole Mag lever assembly would be to special order it thru a shop, or thru go-ride.com, they list them. Unfortunately, they aren't gonna be really cheap; go-ride has 'em for $80 each (either the '99 or '00 lever assembly will work; the '00 has 2-bolt lever clamps, the '99 has one-bolt like the HFX9). You'd also have to get a new set of hose fittings as well, since the Mags go on a little differently from the 9's.

PS - Off topic, but I replaced my bent evil guide boomerang. Problem is the chain rubs on the plastic by the roller gear. Anyway to fix this? Worst case I ride it until the chain wears away the 1mm or so that comes in contact.

Yeah, the chain will rub away the plastic, if you want to stop the rubbing before that happens, you can add a 1mm (or whatever) BB spacer between your BB cup and the chainguide, pushing your chain/ring away from the guide 1mm. It's nothing to worry about though, they're called "wear plates" I think, which suggests that it's okay for that to be happening.