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Stainless Steel brake lines?

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I definately do notice a firmer brake feel and it's made me more confident gauging braking distances. I had to do a lot of extra work to prevent unusual twisting and dirt/dust from destroying the lines. If I knew they were this much work, I would have considered them more carefully. But overall I'm happy with what I have.

If anyone wants to know I'v uploaded all the pics and what I did here:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255087

Now that the fronts are all set, I've noticed the rear calipers are shot...
*sigh* Now I have to go get rear calipers, I'm just getting them without the bracket, with the old lines, I'm not going through this again...
 
A better solution for a covering would be heat shrink from your local electrical supply store. You can get lengths that will cover the entire line, sealing it with one continuous tube.

The dirt and grime can and will wear on the inner PTFE liner. I've been witness to this on OEM durability testing. I've had parts tested in these conditions, and the grime is VERY abrasive. The level of wear is dependent on the location and amount of movement of the part.

Unless you are running in extreme racing conditions where temp is critical, I would just go with the OEM line.
 
A brake hose failure is a very serious matter!!!

One of the things that I have seen cause trouble on these cars is brake hose failure at the fittings where the flexible section is swaged into the metal end fittings.

I believe some of this occurs during brake system maintainance. When the caliper is removed, many people let it dangle from the hose. This is a VERY bad idea, as it concentrates the stress at the fittings. The caliper won't dangle straight, and it will pull on the hoses at an angle, stretching the hose out a schosche under the swage joint. You may be able to get away with that on a new hose, but most of these cars are older, and the hoses are beginning to get brittle and crack.

Some people tuck it up on top of the dustshield/control arm etc. This works....untill you swing the suspension around or knock it off. Then the poor little brake hose gets an opprotunity to play caliper bungy, and that's a really bad deal. Dsm calipers are heavy (!!!!), and having them fall a foot or so and then get stopped by the hose, well it goes without saying that's a bad idea. :rolleyes:

So, take a tip from an old guy. Take the time to hang your caliper off the strut with a real bungy cord, and you'll avoid the problem altogether. Just take a ~ 1 foot long bungy, thread it around the coil spring on your suspension strut, and then hook the ends thru the caliper mount eyelets.

Done deal, and it's out of the way as well, alllowing you full access to the rotor and hub flange. ( :tease: you were going to clean that rusty old hub flange before you bolted on that shiny new rotor,...right???? ;) )

Btw, a lot of the stainless hose problems that I've seen have also been at the fittings. I can't help but think that stainless lines would be even less forgiving to a caliper freefall/hose as a bungy episode.

:dsm:
 
I like the idea of the heat shrink, but i imagine that would also degrade quite a bit after a while dealing with the elements. Now i imagine better than all the rubbing that happens with dirt in SSB line and blah blah, but i don't know. There has to be a solid way to coat these.

Those lines from machv look to be very nice. Granted they are 180 a set. But if that means you don't need to worry about them at all, then i'm sold.
 
cine135 said:
I definately do notice a firmer brake feel and it's made me more confident gauging braking distances. I had to do a lot of extra work to prevent unusual twisting and dirt/dust from destroying the lines. If I knew they were this much work, I would have considered them more carefully. But overall I'm happy with what I have.

If anyone wants to know I'v uploaded all the pics and what I did here:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255087

Now that the fronts are all set, I've noticed the rear calipers are shot...
*sigh* Now I have to go get rear calipers, I'm just getting them without the bracket, with the old lines, I'm not going through this again...
Click to expand...


While I see what your trying to do with the rubber tubing & electrical tape, I think you may be making things worse. Your covering won't seal out the elements 100%, so my thought is your going to end up getting dirt & crap trapped between the hose & the outer layer & it will have noware to go. If you normally give your lines a good pressure wash to try & clean them out, this will no longer work. I think the only way is to have the hoses 100% sealed or don't try & seal them at all. Probably not a good idea to seal them after their used as you may just be trapping dirt thats already in there.
 
I understand what you're saying.

But short of running out and buying premium (expensive) brake lines. These will have to do.

The point where grime can get it is at the holder where I didn't cover it.

As far as the elements getting trapped between electrical tape and vinyl tubing, thats fine with me as long as the brake lines are safe.

I'v learned that of the things I've worked on for my car, this has got to be the least pleasant. Brake fliud gets everywhere and it's a mess. I definately don't like changing brake lines...

If I get sealed ss brake lines then they might be cut to stock size, making them too long for this reroute. But at least oem brake line holders are cheap.

Either way I'm satisfied...
 
staticbrainwash said:
I like the idea of the heat shrink, but i imagine that would also degrade quite a bit after a while dealing with the elements. Now i imagine better than all the rubbing that happens with dirt in SSB line and blah blah, but i don't know. There has to be a solid way to coat these.
Click to expand...

Degrade? Maybe after 8-10 years. Heat shrink is and has been used in places of high abrasion on OEM applications. It works exremely well. As the stuff shrinks, the thickness of the material grows. If you are worried about the thickness you can get a piece that's 1/4 to 1/3 larger in diameter rather than one that just fits the tubing.

There are also different types of heat shrink. I'd bet that the MachV parts are done in heat shrink. It's just a different type. Not the typical stuff you think of that's black. The colored stuff is generally more expensive.
 
If thats the case sign me up for some heatshrink! I just assumed it'd fall apart. All of the shit i've seen used lately has been really cheap. Maybe i'm just getting the wrong stuff. Who knows?

You're probably also right about the machv lines. If it is just heatshrink then the extra 80-90 bucks is insane.
 
Until I read this thread I was not aware of these potential issues with the SS lines. I have had the Goodridge lines since 2001 without any problems. Is anyone aware of any signs to look for that this process is indeed taking place or something that may suggest an impending failure of the lines? I wonder if flexing the lines by hand will reveal noticeable laxity or decreased resistance to bending compared to a new line of the same brand?
 
romeen said:
Until I read this thread I was not aware of these potential issues with the SS lines. I have had the Goodridge lines since 2001 without any problems. Is anyone aware of any signs to look for that this process is indeed taking place or something that may suggest an impending failure of the lines? I wonder if flexing the lines by hand will reveal noticeable laxity or decreased resistance to bending compared to a new line of the same brand?
Click to expand...











I wonder if a brake pressure gauge would aid in diagnosing potential leaks/problems.
 
My experience with brake line failures so far (not on my cars, but others) is that they usually get a pinhole leak first, JUST enough to let some fluid squeeze by under pressure, but not so much that you lose the brakes. So if you're paying attention you may spot a little brake fluid on the line, or notice a slight mushiness before the coming sudden, total failure...
 
I should have taken pictures of the lines before I sent them in. I'm going to go for a set of techna-fit lines next probally. Hopefully it'll hold up better than the goodridge set. As far as the issue of staying OEM or going SS, I personally would go SS. I've only run OEM pads and rotors with them and they helped improve brake feel which I like because it responds with less effort on the pedal. Can't wait to get the new ones in and try them with my brembo blanks and axxis ultimate setup.
 
1LE said:
My experience with brake line failures so far (not on my cars, but others) is that they usually get a pinhole leak first, JUST enough to let some fluid squeeze by under pressure, but not so much that you lose the brakes. So if you're paying attention you may spot a little brake fluid on the line, or notice a slight mushiness before the coming sudden, total failure...
Click to expand...

1LE is right about the failure, on the set that failed on me, the hole that formed was not very big. It was about the same size as a hole that would would make if you shoved the tip of a ball point pen into a piece of paper. That and the actual braid broke and you could see it start to unravel, its easy to look over unless you're really paying attention to detail
 
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