swapping out the stock for braided brake lines. anything special I need to know? Is it a simple swap and bleeding of the system?
In a WRX I know its RF, LR, LF, RR Be careful when changing the brake lines as the nut from the hard line to the flex/stainless brake line is a softer material than most nuts and can be rounded easily.
Just did this last week on my '01 RS. The circlips that came with the kit were about as useful as a chocolate teapot, and the stock clips to hold the lines to the shock had to be drilled out to fit the new lines. My mechanic was underwhelmed by the fit of these clips when done. I'm looking for a way to better secure them to the shock. The end that mates up to the hardline seemed to be OK though. That said, they survived Sunday's AutoX without coming adrift. Stuart.
Just a little tip to those with STi's don't forget there are TWO I REPEAT 2!!!! bleeder valves per brake caliper. I didn't know this at first and it took me forever to figure out why the hell my brakes still didn't work.
USE A FLARE NUT WRENCH. it's a very tight fitting wrench, and you want to use it on the stock portion of the hardlines to keep from rounding off the bolt. it's worth the $17 to buy a set of metric ones just to keep from stripping that bolt out.
I'll be changing out lines and bleeding the brakes for the first time in the STi this week. For bleeding brakes, my last car was RR,LR,RF,LF...can someone explain the difference (this assumes furthest wheel first...but there could be something about the STi braking system that I don't know about). Any help before I go about this would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike
Subaru's brakelines are arranged kinda weird. In general, you would start at the longest brakeline (usually the RR) and work your way to the shortest (LF). But Subaru's are arranged in such a way that FR is the longest and LR is the shortest.
I just got stainless steel lines as well. I have heard when bleeding the lines to attach a piece of clear tube to the bleeder valve. Is this just to be able to see better if there are more air bubbles coming out? Or is this necessary to have?
I just wanted to point out to people that braided lines will not last as long as the stock rubber lines and should be changed more frequently. It is often suggested to change them every 2 years on a street car to prevent failure. Just something to think about. Most people don't know this. I run braided ss lines on my Merkur but not on the wrx cause I put alot of miles on it. http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Performance/brakelines.htm
Yes, definately use a clear tube. If you can get different color fluid...that helps too. This is best for ease of bleeding the brakes, checking for bubbles and watching for the old fluid to be flushed. Just did lines, pads and fluid last night and whoever suggested the flare nut wrench gets a gold star...worked like a charm. Without it I would have ended up with a few stripped hardline nuts.
This used to be an issue with most SS brake lines. Any of the good lines now will have a rubber outer coating to protect the inner teflon tube from being worn by dirt or sand getting through the SS braiding.
hrm...thats good to know. except if you buy custom lines with custom ends. They are still just a stainless braid over ptfe
I retract all my previous statements about SS lines for street cars. I was installing my coil overs tonight and one of the outer liners on one brake line is cracked open and showing the SS braid. Mine lasted 4 years, so if you have them, inspect at least once a year.
