Hey group

Just bought a 2006 klx250. Not a mechanic. Front brake is going all the way to the grip so I'd like to dig into the cylinder and see what's going on in there. The screws on top are rusted to the point where my first attempt at muscling one off resulted in a slight stripping of the screw head.

Before I start in with the normal rusty screw removal regimen wondering if you folks can tell me anything about how delicate that lid is. And if there's any better way to get in there then diving into the normal tactics.

Thanks for any advice!
-roccit

 

NOTE: those aren't Philips head screws they're JIS. Filing down the tip of the proper size philips will approximate a JIS driver, best is to get JIS screwdriver.

Discrete use of a quite small and well sharpened cold chisel after soaking with a good penetrating oil should get that stripped one out.

 

JIS. Hah, thanks for the tip. Big difference actually.
Thank you, and thanks for the removal tip!
-r

 

Vise grips might work if you can grab it on the side of the screw head. Soak it with some kind of penetrating oil 1st to help it along.

 

MC cover screws are CS, nothing to grab......

 

The cap is also easily damaged or cracked.
Just be careful, you should be fine.
They shouldn't be in that tight (just seized) if the cap isn't broken.

 

Put in some allen head countersunk screws when replacing them. Put a dot of silicone seal in the sockets.

 

Thanks. Yeah, need to source some new screws. And great idea about sealing the socket. Would a dab of shoo goo do it?

 

Anything you can stick in there that can be picked out easily.

If you get the black oxide screws you need to do this, black oxide will often easily rust - as those black oxide coated screws on Kawasakis have proven. I use the bright zinc (silver) plated screws wherever possible to avoid corrosion. I don't do stainless, with rare exceptions, due to the need to coat the threads to avoid the thread metal fusing seizing the fastener in place - which can be a disaster. A good hardware store may carry the zinc screws needed or see if a local Fastenal will sell them by the piece. I know they sell SAE by quantity packages, but with metrics I think they sell by the piece. Other hardware sources may do the same.

I need to take the screws out of my reservoirs and replace them when I install the braided lines. I'm thinking it's M5-.8 x 10, but best to measure the screw to be sure.

 

Zinc sounds like the way to go. Thanks for the tips. I live on Kauai so our hardware stores are limited. Crossing my fingers for Ace, or I'm ordering from some website.