How can you tell if your brake piston seals are shot?

[land_shark]

...I'm guessing by the fact that I've burned through my front brake pads in about 7 months (~5000 mi). :

My Pads don't seem to retract, which results in a really tight brake lever.  This happend before, and installing new pads seemed to make things better, which I suppose could mean that it's my pots that are shot....I dunno.  I have a trip to Canada and back planned for friday, and a new set of pads on the way to my house.  Can I install new seals (on my own) before then?  Is it likely that the dealership will have them in stock?   ACK!!!!

[00Bandit Rider]

the seals are ok unless they are wet on the outside---brake calipers
freeze in position due to lack changeing brake fluid,some kind of sediment settles out of of the fluid & jams them up.  It may by possible to
flush the crud out buy cycling them with new fluid in them, if not replace them.  Seals should not be reused if you dissassemble them.

[tacoman]

I'm with the above post.  If you have time, remove the calipers and remove the pistons.  I recommend buying a rebuild kit (If you have access to an air compressor this helps with removal).  Spray out good with brake cleaner, use an emory cloth on the bores, spray again and blow out with compressed air.  Reassemble with a light coating of brake fluid.  Reinstall and bleed good (the brakes, not you, although you may be bleeding if you pop those pistons out with compressed air and don't cover with a towel).  This should be the cure

[land_shark]

I may not have time to rebuild this week.  00Bandit Rider, I'll try flushing the fluid.  I've witnessed sediment before in my clutch line, so I agree that it could be the culprit.  The cheapest to get at, anyway!  I'll keep all y'all posted
 

[land_shark]

I gave my new Mityvac a try tonight, and found it to be quite a hassle for the first use.  Adapters didn't fit for s#!t  I ended up with some air in the line after running through with fresh fluid.  After another try by hand, I think I got everything out.  There may still be some air in the line, but I'm able to get the full range of motion on the brake lever now (doesn't go all the way to the handle, btw).

Still curious about the condition of my pots, but this seemed to do the trick.  To clarify: I can take the pistons out without having to replace the seals?

[Red01]

To clarify: I can take the pistons out without having to replace the seals?

Only if they don't get damaged during the process and they are still servicable.

[land_shark]

Well, I flushed the fluid (twice), cleaned the calipers and retaining pins with brake cleaner, and installed new pads.  They still don't seem to want to retract.  I can't spin the front wheel freely even after about 20 miles and some deliberate braking to mate the pads with the rotors.  I think the next step is to pop the pistons out and completely bleed the system.  I suppose I should probably stop by the dealership to see if they have a brake rebuild kit just in case I find something nasty.  Hope I don't cause more problems by doing this right before my trip  

[land_shark]

Last night I took my calipers apart for a good cleaning.  Thank god I didn't spend the 2x$55 for the piston and seal kits.  The pistons were in great shape, but very dusty and dirty.  The seals looked fine as well.  I could feel a fair amount of grit and sediment in the cylinders and fluid ports, which I washed out with brake cleaner/compressed-air/fresh brake fluid.  

I've decided that I hate, and am not very good at, dealing with brake fluid!  That crap is nasty, and sure has a tendency to get eveyrwhere.

I'm still astonished at the improvement!  They haven't worked this well in years!     I highly recommend getting close and personal with your calipers if you haven't already done so.  I'm sure 98% of bikes out there are lacking in brake performance just because of dirty calipers.  It took me about 1.5-2hrs from start to finish (30 more min to clean up my mess...)