Help File: Site Glass Replacement (MC)
Ok, even though I had taped up my site glass when I stripped it and polished it, I screwed up and got crap all over it. So it gunked up, clouded over, and actually got all bumpy and wavy -I was kind of worried that it would leak, but they are actually quite thick.
So I ordered a new site glass from this website:
http://www.newrivercyclesalvage.com/sight%20glass.html - New River Cycle Salvage
Costs about 15 bucks including shipping. I got a new one in a week or so, along with 2 new master cylinder cover screws. Which is nice, because those things might be the most easily stripped screws on a bike. Any bike, any brand.
1) vacuum out the brake fluid. Make sure to cover your tank, because brake fluid will eat paint. Leave just enough in the bottom of the cylinder to cover the hole going to the piston. This way you won't have to re-bleed the system.
2) I used a socket that was slightly smaller than the site glass, and pressed it against the glass from the backside. Once the socket is placed against the glass, there really isn't enough room to put a finger behind it to push the glass out -you push it out from the inside. So I took a very large screwdriver, placed it behind the socket that I was holding in place, and twisted it so that it was pushing against the socket, and the back of the master cylinder. It worked pretty easily actually, and the glass slowly popped out in a few seconds.
3) Behind the site glass is an o-ring. I tried to glue the new glass in place with the o-ring still there, but it doesn't work well that way, so I removed it.
4) Using clear silicone RTV, you glue the new site glass in place. This is a pain to be honest. Nobody wants streaks of silicone on their new glass. The nice thing is, if you screw it up, you just take the glass out, and clean it with warm soapy water and start over. Like SIX times until you get it right.
5) I finally found that the easiest way is to run a bead (very thin bead) of silicone around the rim (on the outside) where you are going to push in the new site glass. BTW, this glass is not a tight fit, so it goes in quite easily. It is also much thinner, since it's just a piece of glass.
6) Then you let it sit for 24 hours. I chose to do this yesterday/today, because it's raining today Needed something productive to do.
I checked it today after it sat 24 hours, and it's solid as a rock. Put fluid in, no leaks. Pulled on the handle several times, no issues. I haven't ridden it yet, but I don't anticipate any issues.
I attached some before and after pictures, as well as what a site glass looks like when you pull it out (front and back) and their card.
BTW -The picture with the master cylinder covered is the one with the site glass replaced. You can't even see it now.
Ok, even though I had taped up my site glass when I stripped it and polished it, I screwed up and got crap all over it. So it gunked up, clouded over, and actually got all bumpy and wavy -I was kind of worried that it would leak, but they are actually quite thick.
So I ordered a new site glass from this website:
http://www.newrivercyclesalvage.com/sight%20glass.html - New River Cycle Salvage
Costs about 15 bucks including shipping. I got a new one in a week or so, along with 2 new master cylinder cover screws. Which is nice, because those things might be the most easily stripped screws on a bike. Any bike, any brand.
1) vacuum out the brake fluid. Make sure to cover your tank, because brake fluid will eat paint. Leave just enough in the bottom of the cylinder to cover the hole going to the piston. This way you won't have to re-bleed the system.
2) I used a socket that was slightly smaller than the site glass, and pressed it against the glass from the backside. Once the socket is placed against the glass, there really isn't enough room to put a finger behind it to push the glass out -you push it out from the inside. So I took a very large screwdriver, placed it behind the socket that I was holding in place, and twisted it so that it was pushing against the socket, and the back of the master cylinder. It worked pretty easily actually, and the glass slowly popped out in a few seconds.
3) Behind the site glass is an o-ring. I tried to glue the new glass in place with the o-ring still there, but it doesn't work well that way, so I removed it.
4) Using clear silicone RTV, you glue the new site glass in place. This is a pain to be honest. Nobody wants streaks of silicone on their new glass. The nice thing is, if you screw it up, you just take the glass out, and clean it with warm soapy water and start over. Like SIX times until you get it right.
5) I finally found that the easiest way is to run a bead (very thin bead) of silicone around the rim (on the outside) where you are going to push in the new site glass. BTW, this glass is not a tight fit, so it goes in quite easily. It is also much thinner, since it's just a piece of glass.
6) Then you let it sit for 24 hours. I chose to do this yesterday/today, because it's raining today Needed something productive to do.
I checked it today after it sat 24 hours, and it's solid as a rock. Put fluid in, no leaks. Pulled on the handle several times, no issues. I haven't ridden it yet, but I don't anticipate any issues.
I attached some before and after pictures, as well as what a site glass looks like when you pull it out (front and back) and their card.
BTW -The picture with the master cylinder covered is the one with the site glass replaced. You can't even see it now.