| Author |
Message |
vwmike333
Samba Member
Joined: November 16, 2004
Posts: 68
Location: Uxbridge, MA
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
insyncro
Banned
Joined: March 07, 2002
Posts: 15086
Location: New York
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
vwmike333
Samba Member
Joined: November 16, 2004
Posts: 68
Location: Uxbridge, MA
|
 Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 7:38 am Post subject: |
 |
|
Nice source of OE Cohline metric brake fittings for this job, but I can't find any line clips there. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
vwmike333
Samba Member
Joined: November 16, 2004
Posts: 68
Location: Uxbridge, MA
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| vwmike333 wrote: |
Nice source of OE Cohline metric brake fittings for this job, but I can't find any line clips there. |
Today, I pulled the rear lines from the pressure reducer by the front suspension all the way to the rear wheel cylinders. All the plastic clips broke except two. The only reusable parts are the 4 steel hose end clips. The lines, ends, brass tee, hoses are all unable to be reused. It'll be nice to have all new stuff! Maybe I'll get all the new lines and hoses in and bled tomorrow, if all goes well! I haven't been able to drive this thing in over a month, so I can't wait! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
vwmike333
Samba Member
Joined: November 16, 2004
Posts: 68
Location: Uxbridge, MA
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:31 am Post subject: |
|
|
Today, I decided to relocate the rear tee to the left side of the transaxle for ease of access. The old location is completely obscured by the coolant pipes and it's no big deal to have the long line go left instead of right as it makes it's way to the rear tee. The lines from the tee to the rear flex hoses stay the same length, just with reversed locations. I cut the lines to the old tee and left it in place, as I couldn't get the screw loose, plus it also clamps a wiring harness at that spot. The way to replace all of these lines and remain original, would require removal of the gas tank, and draining the coolant pipes so they could be disconnected and lowered out of the way of the tee. I did neither as I didn't have time for all that.
This worked well and all of the lines and hoses went together without a hitch. The copper-nickel-ferrous lines are very easy to work with and my brother said that the black poly-armor lines are excellent, too. I bled it easily with my Motive pressure bleeder and all is well now. Took it for a drive, all is well with the rears now. Next, the front lines and hoses.....
Last edited by vwmike333 on Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:06 pm; edited 2 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
vwmike333
Samba Member
Joined: November 16, 2004
Posts: 68
Location: Uxbridge, MA
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 1:26 pm Post subject: Re: Complete Brake line replacement |
|
|
| vwmike333 wrote: |
ETKA shows the following parts info for LHD/ non- ABS,
3. Front tee to left brake hose 140mm (5.5 inches)
4. Left front brake hose to left front caliper 350mm (13.8inches)
5. Front tee to right front brake hose 950mm (37.4 inches)
6. Right front brake hose to right front caliper 350mm(13.8inches)
Mike B. |
These measurements copied from my previous post are wrong in 1986 thru 1991 VW ETKA!
Some MAJOR differences I've found in the actual lengths upon removal:
3. Front tee to left front brake hose measured 560mm (22.0 inches)
4 and 6. L & R front brake hose to L & R calipers (Girling) measured 120mm (4.7 inches).
5. Front tee to right front brake hose measured 1150mm (45.3 inches)
1980 thru 85 ETKA shows errors also;
3. Front tee to LF hose 500mm
4. LF hose to caliper 120mm, while RF shows as 1100mm! (wrong, both are identical @120mm!)
My front hoses were so corroded that the hose end crimp sleeves were almost gone! There was almost nothing left to hold the rubber hose to the hose end! Can you say dangerous? Also, I cut one of the hoses and the inner opening at the ends was swelled almost shut at 1/32" or less! No wonder I had to pump the brakes! The caliper piston won't move as far and as fast if the hoses are restricting the flow greatly. This also causes the pads to drag and squeal, as it's not free to auto-return easily. These original 25-plus year old hoses are likely to be swelled almost shut inside, so replacement is recommended, even if you don't have all the corrosion that I have on my lines. Also, my caliper bleeder screws won't come out, so I'll have a harder time bleeding the calipers. These bleeders are larger than the ones on the rear wheel cylinders, which are the same as a bug. I had to find a new routing for the one of the front lines, because the cross-frame members, coolant and power steering lines and the steering rack are all in the way, so it makes things really tough to remove or re-install that line. In re-routing the front tee to right front hose line, I ended up having to make up a new line that was about a foot longer than the stock measurement. This made it much easier to go from the hose clip bracket straight over the gas tank, then bent 90 degrees forward to the front tee. The original routing was nearly impossible for me to recreate, so this made it go much easier and quicker. One of the two lines that travel from the master cylinder, thru the firewall grommet, above the spare tire, to the front tee and rear brake pressure reducer were so corroded that it broke in two pieces upon removal. The corroded area was above the spare, where it's harder to see. I'll have to bleed using the short hard line fittings to the calipers for now. I'll have to get the $50 exchange calipers (plus $50 core charge) and re-use my carriers to fix this issue properly. I've never successfully drilled out a broken bleeder screw, so I don't want to risk ruining the caliper trying to get it out. Replacement bleed screws (113-615-273 A) are $12 apiece at Airhead Parts, but Dorman HELP! offers a 2-pack under part #13905 for $9 at Autozone near me. I finished bleeding the lines and I still had almost no pedal, so I gave up for the night. I went back in the morning and drove it around the block, pumping them all the way. The front caliper pads are in contact, so I know the fluid filled and bled well there. I suspected the rear brake pressure reducer was the problem, and read that there's a bleed screw on top of it also. Well, nonetheless, an extra round of bleeding the rears using my Motive pressure bleeder set to 15psi made all the difference! Using a small transparent bleed container and hose, I watched the superfine air bubbles come out of the right rear. Now I have a nice firm pedal, so I took it for a long drive to run some errands, and it worked great! I'm glad that's done! New lines, new hoses, new fluid. Next year, maybe new master cylinder, calipers, wheel cylinders and hardware, in addition to front and rear shocks. I'll be shopping around this winter for the best deals on these items, slowly gathering all the parts to do the rest of this job next spring. Anyone have some good used backing plates and/or dust shields? Mine are so corroded, they need replacement, too.
Mike B. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
tjet 
Samba Member
Joined: June 10, 2014
Posts: 3533
Location: CA & NM
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
tjet
Samba Member
Joined: June 10, 2014
Posts: 3533
Location: CA & NM
|
| Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 7:14 pm Post subject: Re: Complete Brake line replacement |
|
|
[quote="vwmike333"]
| vwmike333 wrote: |
.......
5. Front tee to right front brake hose 950mm (37.4 inches) ....... |
Do you have any details or a p/n on the tee's (all of them)?
thx |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
T3 Pilot
Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2011
Posts: 1507
Location: Deep South of the Great White North
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
shagginwagon83
Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016
Posts: 3803
Location: VA/TN
|
| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 11:48 am Post subject: Re: Complete Brake line replacement |
|
|
| vwmike333 wrote: |
I've been doing some research of my own and come up with some info;
all hard lines are 4.7mm (3/16 inches) diameter
all tubing nuts are M10X1.0 threads
all tubing flaring is ISO bubble flare
Napa does sell a professional ISO flaring tool for $96 with a lifetime warrantee.
Also, I'm now ordering 20 tubing nuts thru Fedhillusa.com for $1 apiece plus shipping. http://store.fedhillusa.com/m13.aspx |
The link shows a male steel nut with non-threaded lead. Is this the best option out there regarding quality of fittings? I was going to make all new hard lines and would want the best quality fittings.
_________________
Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
