12 replies to this topic

[Fangio]

Going to upgrade to braided hoses tomorrow. I believe it's relatively straight forward. But has anyone got any good tips to ease the job? Is there anything I should do to minimise the amount of air that will get in to the lines? How much fluid am I likely to need for the job? I think I read somewhere that disconnecting the inner end of the hose first will minimise the amount of air getting in to the caliper. This will negate the need to invert the front calipers when bleeding after the change. or should I invert anyway? Any advise much appreciated. Thanks.

[rsg]

invert anyway. You'll need to give the system a good bleed so you may as well do it properly. To flush the old stuff through fully you'll need no more than a litre The rears are fairly straight forward, but connecting the front inboard side of the hose up is a PITA due to spanner access. Some people have cut a larger slot to get more turn, but I just persevered and did the nut up turn by turn.

Edited by rsg, 13 March 2010 - 03:32 PM.

[westie]

Hi, i pre filled my lines with brake fluid, with a syringe and then attached to the caliper first,then removed the syringe and connected to the fixed brake line union last,i had minimal air in the system which i blead through with an eezibleeder. It seemed to work well for me, i've used this way for a few cars i've had and never had any problems with the brakes. Also made a cut down spanner for access to the front unions as there's minimal clearance especialy under the ABS unit pipework. i didn't find it nessasary to invert the calipers as very little air came out and the brakes feel great now.Another way is to fit the line to the caliper, but not the other end then push the pads back which will force fluid back out into the hose,Hope this helps,regards Mark.

[Fangio]

rsg & Mark, Good stuff. Great help. The syringe idea, very clever. I like the push-the-caliper-pistons back idea too. Think I'll try that to minimise air intake to the calipers. Thanks.

[mandarinvx]

I managed to cross thread the connector on the rear line when doing mine, so take your time when doing them up - the rear hard brake lines are only £8 from Vauxhall, but took nearly three feckin months to arrive

[Zoobeef]

I managed to cross thread the connector on the rear line when doing mine, so take your time when doing them up - the rear hard brake lines are only £8 from Vauxhall, but took nearly three feckin months to arrive

Are the hard lines not the same as any car so you can get them made up anywhere for a few quid? Obviously you would have to measure and shape yourself?

[robin]

if you do buy some then the hel lines are the nuts have them on my bike and in lots of colours too

[Zoobeef]

if you do buy some then the hel lines are the nuts have them on my bike and in lots of colours too

and there the same quality as the better goodridge ones for the same price as the base goodridge

[mandarinvx]

I managed to cross thread the connector on the rear line when doing mine, so take your time when doing them up - the rear hard brake lines are only £8 from Vauxhall, but took nearly three feckin months to arrive

Are the hard lines not the same as any car so you can get them made up anywhere for a few quid? Obviously you would have to measure and shape yourself?

I tried at a couple of places but they said both the gauge and material were non standard

I was half expecting a small roll of pipe to arrive from Germany, but they actually get delivered fully formed

[Zoobeef]

I managed to cross thread the connector on the rear line when doing mine, so take your time when doing them up - the rear hard brake lines are only £8 from Vauxhall, but took nearly three feckin months to arrive

Are the hard lines not the same as any car so you can get them made up anywhere for a few quid? Obviously you would have to measure and shape yourself?

I tried at a couple of places but they said both the gauge and material were non standard

I was half expecting a small roll of pipe to arrive from Germany, but they actually get delivered fully formed

God forbid a brake line fails the mot then. What a bummer

[starlight]

There's nothing particuarly special about the hard brake lines - I had to make new ones for all the front on mine. They really are just standard steel brake pipes. I used cupro-nickel as I'm not a big fan of copper brake pipes. Made the flares and re-used the fittings

Edited by pjohn151, 15 March 2010 - 01:35 PM.

[Fangio]

Just to close this off I'll update on my experience. The braided hoses are on and I'm happy with the results. The job itself is not something I'd rush back to as it's quite time consuming until you get familiar with the whole approach. I also had to cut and lengthen the access slot on the offside front inboard hose join by about an inch. It was impossible without doing this to get any movement on the nuts as the ABS unit pipes to the servo route directly over the access slot. I also found the foillowing a good approach: - after removing the old hose first connect the inboard end just enough to let the hose fill with fluid. - then back off the 13mm sleeve on the metal pipe until nearing the end of the hose thread. - then attach the other end to the caliper and hand turn the whole hose until the caliper end is nearly tight. This has the effect of turning the inboard end in to the metal pipe sleeve at the same time without leaving any strain on the hose. - Then just tighten up both ends. Another thing to watch for is the fact that the old original rubber hoses have 15mm nut sizes, but the replacement Hel hoses that I used have 14mm. Having started on the rear nearside this wasn't that obvious with the restricted access, poor light and everything covered in brake fluid. It was only when the spanner slipped for the umteenth time did I twig the size difference. All done and dusted.

Edited by Fangio, 21 March 2010 - 08:30 PM.

[FLD]

Just to add my twopeneth worth... I've replaced some with cupro-nickel pipe. Nowt fancy, just reuse the fittings as already said above. I also pit a piece of film over the reservoir opening with a rubber band. DStops the fluid draining out.