Hydro and I got together last night to replace his brake lines and bleed his brake system (those who were at the track on Saturday know why
). We figured this might come in handy for those out there who are thinking about doing the upgrade themselves. If you can turn a wrench and handle a screwdriver, you can replace the brake lines. The basic logic to this upgrade is that the stock lines are rubber and thus flexible/expansive under braking. This reduces pedal feel and in extreme cases can lead to a rupture and a complete loss of braking ability.
Before you start, make sure you have all the tools you need. This includes a variety of socket sizes (I believe they were mostly 10 mm), screwdrivers, pliers and flare wrenches.
The first step is of course to get the car on jack stands. To jack up the front, use the crossmember/plate behind the skid plate. For the rear, use the rear differential. Place the jack stands just inside of the pinch welds along the side.
Next, remove the wheels, front and rear.
You can see the brake line running away from the caliper here, this is what we want to replace.
Before you undo a single bolt, make sure you have a pan underneath to catch the brake fluid. Be warned, brake fluid smells horrible and eats paint, if any gets on the car or caliper, wipe it off immediately. Now would also be a good time to clean your calipers and remove any mud or dirt from the wheel well, struts, etc.
There are three bolts/screws on the front that need to be removed/loosened.
There is one bolt on the caliper.
When you remove it, fluid will come out.
Another bolt holds the brake line to a bracket on the strut.
Finally, the flexible brake line is held to the hard line coming from the rest of the brake system.
In order to release the flexible line, a clip needs to be removed. This clip is replaced with a different clip provided with the lines. You can see the clip here.
Take note of the arrangement shown below, when putting the hardware back, you need to repeat it. It goes bolt, washer, line then washer again.
A comparison between the old lines and the new lines. The new lines are slightly longer but they still work fine. I presume that was done for tolerance reasons.
To install the new lines, simply work backwards. It's easiest if you start at the rear and move towards the caliper. Attach the bracket last so you can slide it as needed.
Repeat for the other side.
Now for the rear brakes.
Again, now is a good time to clean the calipers and remove dirt and buildup from the brackets.
Once again there are three bolts/screws.
There is a bolt on the caliper.
As with the front, there is a clip holding the flexible line to the hard line. This clip is replaced with one provided in the kit.
The bracket holding the line to the strut is behind the strut and uses a clip. This clip is reused.
With the old lines removed, you may want to wipe down the bracket. Exercise common sense, cover the hose when wiping dust and dirt away.
As before, to install the new lines, simply work backwards.
A shot of the new clips. These are used at all four corners.
The new rear lines installed.
For this install, Goodrich lines were used. The install should be the same regardless of the manufacturer.
Now for the fun of bleeding the brake lines. I don't have pictures of this as I was involved in it rather than just floating around watching. The process is fairly basic but two people are a must. The order you want to go is front right (passenger side), rear left (driver side), front left, rear right.
Step one would be to fill the brake reservoir. Throughout the rest of the procedure, the reservoir must stay full. If it is allowed to empty, you'll get air in the lines and have to start all over again.
With the reservoir filled, have someone fully depress the brake pedal and hold. Open the outside bleeder screw to release any air in the system. Close the bleeder screw and have the other person release the brake pedal slowly so it returns to the top. Repeat this until no air comes out of the bleeder screw (ie. only fluid comes out). Do this again for the inside bleeder screw.
Be sure to select a quality brake fluid that is consistent with your needs. If you simply drive around town, OEM quality should be fine. If you track the car, a more race oriented product would be wise. Motul and Amsoil are two reputable manufacturers. Racing quality fluid is less prone to boiling which makes it superior for applications where the brakes get very hot and don't have a lot of opportunities to cool down (ie. racing).
The last step is to put the wheels back on and take the car for a test drive. Start by braking at low speeds just in case.
