ABS sensor fused to aluminium housing.

[Ribenapigeon]

Just did some rust treatment to my swing arm which involved removing the rear wheel to get good access. No biggie you would think until it came to putting the wheel back on. The problem was the workshop manual assumes you can remove the ABS sensor from the aluminum housing that locates into one side of the wheel. If you can do this them its a one-man job to lift the wheel into place. The sensor, however, is mounted in a stainless steel plate which has fused itself to the housing and would not separate. This made the whole business of lining up the wheel, the sensor housing and the rear brake caliper stanchion a bl00dy PITA. I ended up having to get my brother to come over and do the lifting the wheel part while I did the wiggling, locating, forcing and swearing bit to get the wheel to locate back between the swing arm. I forgot that when I had new tyres put on it ended up being a two-man job to relocate the rear wheel. I'm a bit hacked off that if I remove the rear wheel again I will have tog et help to put it back on as really it should be a one-man job surely.

I'm wondering though. Any tips on how to free the ABS sensor? I can't use heat such as if it was just a stainless bolt stuck in a bit of aluminum as that would destroy the sensor. I don't want to try and use shock to break the fusing. So wondering if there's a chemical way to loosen the bond. My brother said he had a similar problem with a stainless brake bleeder that had fused to an aluminum brake caliper on a car he had and it basically made the caliper toast so a new one was fitted.

Cheers.

[MCN]

Cillit Bang.

All you can do is try to dissolve the crust. It is probably aluminium oxide due to electrolysis between the dissimilar materials plus salt as the electrolyte compound.
Brut force is all it will respect.
You could fool yourself into thinking a WD40 soaked rag taped to the bastirt like a poultice might help. And light a candle in the chapel to the St. Of Stuck Things.

(Edit: Using a smartphone to post is shite.)
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[MCN]

I use a shovel to lift the wheel up. 😎
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Ribenapigeon]

[stinkwheel]

A good penetrating oil? 50:50 atf and paraffin.

How about freeze and release spray?

You can dissolve ferrous metal from aluminium using a concentrated solution of hot alum but it'll destroy the ferrous metal. You also need to immerse it in the solution for a protracted period. They use it for getting broken taps out of complex drilled pneumatic valve blocks.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Pete.]

Stainless stuck in ally - heat it up. They have vastly different rates of expansion. This time of year the ally is going to be a tight grip due to the temperatures.

3-400 degrees should do it. 600 will cause the ally to melt.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[stinkwheel]

[Ribenapigeon]

After a little research apparently a mix of ATF and acetone is the best for releasing stuck disimerler metels. So just need to find some acetone. I dont know what magic substance is in ATF I always assumed it was just a type of oil.

[Grubscrew]

Abs sensors are really a s0d when this happens. Any bike new to me always under goes an abs removal and anaplication with either a smear of water pump grease or graphite powder.
If your bike is for keeps, try over a period of time and at regular intervals dab the offending housing and sensor with a drop of brake fluid, over a course of a few weeks you may just be lucky.
Try also if it’s designed in such a way it can be knocked side to side after the securing bolt has been removed.
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FJR1300/CBR1000F

[MCN]

[stinkwheel]

I didn't want to recommend acetone in case there were any rubber or plastic componants on your sensor. Acetone will destroy them. Paraffin is much less likely to.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Ribenapigeon]

If it wont budge ive settled on uncliping the cable from its stays and disconnecting at the end. A pain though as the connector is under the tank buried in a bunch of other wires.

[Ribenapigeon]

[A100man]

Acetone from paint shop or nail varnish remover from poundland or similar - costs just £1.. Look at the back though,some have water in others are 99% Acetone plus some floral scenting -- which is nice..
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[stinkwheel]

You can buy drums of acetone on ebay for very little money. I use it to clean spilled epoxy off stuff, among many other things. It brings carb componants up lovely. I put them in a jamjar of acetone in the ultrasonic cleaner. Just don't let it touch rubber o-rings or gaskets. It even attacks nitrile gloves after a bit.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[MCN]

[MCN]