HOW TO: Stainless Steel Brake Lines
I haven't gotten permission or a reply so I just figured I would post it here
1) Here are the simple tools required
Jacks and Stands
(1)Vinyl Tubing
(1)Lg. Bottle Brake Fluid your choice although some arent recommended for conventional brakes
(3)Wrenches 10mm, 12mm, 14mm
(1)Small adjustable wrench
(1)Mallet
(1)Flat Head Screwdriver
Other tools may be useful but these are the bare necessities.
2) The first things to do are jack up the car and remove the wheels. Not being able to raise the car on all four sides will complicate things a little and require more time in the whole installation process. I will give you an account of how I did it by jacking up one side at a time.
3) I first jacked up the front. Afterwards I went into the engine bay and took the top off the brake fluid reservoir. I then went down to the brake caliper and put the vinyl tubing over the bleed valve and turned it clockwise to empty the reservoir and hardline going to that caliper. Removing the cap on the reservoir will assist and make this go faster. Make sure to catch the brake fluid in the right container. Certain containers will react with the fluid. Glass, an empty brake fluid bottle, or a bottle with recycling code #3 will do the best. These I am sure on.
4) Next thing to do is remove the stock line. Start with the 12mm bolt on the caliper. There will be residual fluid in the line so have the bottle on hand to catch what you can. After that remove the 10mm bolt on the hardline attached to the wheel well. After both bolts are off the stock line you may now remove the clips as shown in the picture. Large pliers will help here. By keeping the clips in it will make the removal easier because it keeps the stock line from rotating with the bolt.
5) Now that the stock line is removed you may take the SSB line and begin to install it. The short lines go in the front and the long lines go in the back, remember this to save some time and aggravation. Start with the top clip next to the hardline. Install it to keep the SSB line in place. Now align the hardline and the bolt and wrench it into the hardline until there is no lateral play in the line. Any play whatsoever will result in leaks, which is exactly what happened to me because I got a poorly fitting kit.
6) The banjo bolt to the caliper is different. Take the bolt and put on a crush washer. Put that bolt and washer through the banjo and another crush washer over the banjo. So the order is: bolt-washer-banjo-washer- caliper. Sorry for the blurry image but it is hard to get the right focus. To clarify the following is a picture of the banjo and bolt complex. It shows the bolt upside down because when it is flipped behind the caliper to its female end it comes out on the right side. If you do it you will know what I mean. Using a 14mm torque wrench tighten down the bolt to 22-29N-m(2.2-3.0kgf-m; 16-21ft-lb) in the front and rear lines. The last part to do is to install the last clip. Simply position the grommet in such a way that the longer side is not tight and the short side has enough line to bend the way it needs to. Now just twist the grommet until it is in the brace all the way and hammer in the clip using the mallet.
7) Repeat steps 3-6 three more times and all four lines should look like this:
8) Now it is time to bleed the system. First make sure all bleed valves are closed and then fill the reservoir with your choice of fluid. I used Valvoline Synthetic DOT 3 & 4(that is the name) because of its high hydration temperature, which has a little lower hydration temp than DOT 5.
9) Open up the bleed valve and put on the vinyl hose, which feeds into your container. Be sure to put the cap back on the reservoir otherwise it will take longer for the system to bleed. Now it is time to pump the brake pedal. I found one long press and holding it for a couple seconds was way more fruitful than pumping it fast. Do this until there are no air bubbles coming out. It is helpful to let the line sit for a while and let the bubbles settle into larger bubbles because they come out more readily.
WARNING: Do not let the reservoir get too low otherwise air may be reintroduced into the line and youll have to start over.
Just be sure to keep and eye on it every once in a while.
10) Once all air is out of the line simply close the valve and repeat steps 8-10 three more times.
11) Put wheels back on and lower the car.
Total time approximately 4hrs. with minimal equipment 3 hrs with a lift or four stands
Andrew Melicharek
I haven't gotten permission or a reply so I just figured I would post it here
1) Here are the simple tools required
Jacks and Stands
(1)Vinyl Tubing
(1)Lg. Bottle Brake Fluid your choice although some arent recommended for conventional brakes
(3)Wrenches 10mm, 12mm, 14mm
(1)Small adjustable wrench
(1)Mallet
(1)Flat Head Screwdriver
Other tools may be useful but these are the bare necessities.
2) The first things to do are jack up the car and remove the wheels. Not being able to raise the car on all four sides will complicate things a little and require more time in the whole installation process. I will give you an account of how I did it by jacking up one side at a time.
3) I first jacked up the front. Afterwards I went into the engine bay and took the top off the brake fluid reservoir. I then went down to the brake caliper and put the vinyl tubing over the bleed valve and turned it clockwise to empty the reservoir and hardline going to that caliper. Removing the cap on the reservoir will assist and make this go faster. Make sure to catch the brake fluid in the right container. Certain containers will react with the fluid. Glass, an empty brake fluid bottle, or a bottle with recycling code #3 will do the best. These I am sure on.
4) Next thing to do is remove the stock line. Start with the 12mm bolt on the caliper. There will be residual fluid in the line so have the bottle on hand to catch what you can. After that remove the 10mm bolt on the hardline attached to the wheel well. After both bolts are off the stock line you may now remove the clips as shown in the picture. Large pliers will help here. By keeping the clips in it will make the removal easier because it keeps the stock line from rotating with the bolt.
5) Now that the stock line is removed you may take the SSB line and begin to install it. The short lines go in the front and the long lines go in the back, remember this to save some time and aggravation. Start with the top clip next to the hardline. Install it to keep the SSB line in place. Now align the hardline and the bolt and wrench it into the hardline until there is no lateral play in the line. Any play whatsoever will result in leaks, which is exactly what happened to me because I got a poorly fitting kit.
6) The banjo bolt to the caliper is different. Take the bolt and put on a crush washer. Put that bolt and washer through the banjo and another crush washer over the banjo. So the order is: bolt-washer-banjo-washer- caliper. Sorry for the blurry image but it is hard to get the right focus. To clarify the following is a picture of the banjo and bolt complex. It shows the bolt upside down because when it is flipped behind the caliper to its female end it comes out on the right side. If you do it you will know what I mean. Using a 14mm torque wrench tighten down the bolt to 22-29N-m(2.2-3.0kgf-m; 16-21ft-lb) in the front and rear lines. The last part to do is to install the last clip. Simply position the grommet in such a way that the longer side is not tight and the short side has enough line to bend the way it needs to. Now just twist the grommet until it is in the brace all the way and hammer in the clip using the mallet.
7) Repeat steps 3-6 three more times and all four lines should look like this:
8) Now it is time to bleed the system. First make sure all bleed valves are closed and then fill the reservoir with your choice of fluid. I used Valvoline Synthetic DOT 3 & 4(that is the name) because of its high hydration temperature, which has a little lower hydration temp than DOT 5.
9) Open up the bleed valve and put on the vinyl hose, which feeds into your container. Be sure to put the cap back on the reservoir otherwise it will take longer for the system to bleed. Now it is time to pump the brake pedal. I found one long press and holding it for a couple seconds was way more fruitful than pumping it fast. Do this until there are no air bubbles coming out. It is helpful to let the line sit for a while and let the bubbles settle into larger bubbles because they come out more readily.
WARNING: Do not let the reservoir get too low otherwise air may be reintroduced into the line and youll have to start over.
Just be sure to keep and eye on it every once in a while.
10) Once all air is out of the line simply close the valve and repeat steps 8-10 three more times.
11) Put wheels back on and lower the car.
Total time approximately 4hrs. with minimal equipment 3 hrs with a lift or four stands
Andrew Melicharek
