TheSamba.com :: View topic - Epytec brake lines, for front and rear disc brake conversions?

Wed Nov 26, 2025 1:28 pm

I've recently got everything together for my disc brake conversions front and rear on my two-wheel drive vanagaon. The last thing I need is some custom brake lines. My van is a two-wheel drive and I'm using the ate 57 in front and the t4 in the rear.
I see that someone has used a Land Rover part for a brake line... I'd like to have a set of custom stainless steel lines made. Has anybody done this? Can you recommend banjo bolts or threaded fittings? Can you specify front or rear length? Epytec doesn't appear to specifically specify a spec for these, although I may be missing that. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Wed Nov 26, 2025 2:21 pm

We assemble our own steel braid brake hoses in house. Go to Summit Racing and look at Earls fittings. You’ll need AN 3 bulk hose, #3 AN stainless hose ends and AN to metric adapters for the caliper and chassis line. It’s not that difficult to do. You might also use banjo bolts at the caliper if they would work better.

If you search my Samba gallery, there are a couple photos of a steel braid hose I made to adapt a BMW master cylinder to the Vanagon lines. It utilized a 10mm banjo at the master.

Wed Nov 26, 2025 4:15 pm

When you get to the rear, remember that braided steel lines will ground your drivetrain at its extremities.
Which is the worst place to ground a drivetrain.
You want the extremities of the drivetrain to be dead-ends, where NO electricity can get out.

Drivetrain extremities on a Vanagon are "wheel hubs" and the "tranny nose".

There is some wheel hub grounding via the parking brake cables, moreso when pulled tight.
If you find your parking brake cables blistering their plastic and rusting after only 3 years.....grounding your starter directly will prevent your brake cables from beckoning amps.

Drivetrain grounds should be at the required electrical device (=the starter :wink: ).

Electricity ruins your ball bearings, CVs, & gear faces.
Ball bearings are "precision rolling elements" accurate to "tenths of tenths" of thousandths of an inch.
Their lifetime is shortened significantly by electrical arcing where the balls contact the races.

Braided steel on the rear brakes can “ground” the hubs, then if current is "available" the wheel bearings fail quickly.
If installing braided lines on the rear brakes - a new starter ground should be added - directly from the starter nut to chassis.
After that - the front VW tranny ground strap should be deleted like a bad memory.
Actually the starter ground mod should be done regardless of braided brake lines. Everybody with a 40-year old vehicle should do this. Especially VWs that have a gearbox of stacked housings. Vanagon tranny cases are all old & corroded and haven’t been sufficient as a ground path for 20 years.
It's only $15.

VWs that have split-case gearboxes are not susceptible to electrical erosion of drivetrain bearings.
But they would still have trouble from grounding at the wheel bearings.
The (091 and 094) stacked housing gearboxes are bad news for grounding at the nose.

Personally I would avoid grounding any of the extremities of the drivetrain.
I would not use braided lines on the rear because they provide a path OUT for electricity.
The increase in braking performance is so tiney, it will go unnoticed on an RV.
Whereas we all read about "new wheel bearings" not lasting 250k miles, new CVs not lasting 150k, new gearbox rebuilds not lasting 80k.

I understand people like their braided lines......but basic physics is NOT on your side.

Thu Nov 27, 2025 8:33 am

Yes making your own lines is completely doable. I was buying ss lines for a dodge 3500 and the guy said they are back ordered but they expected the fittings in on Monday. So I asked “you make them”. Yep, the order just got more expensive!!

As far as length, that up to you, I have Lexus 400 in front and Jetta in the rear but in front of the axle so I can use the factory length for an 06 Jetta. The fronts use a Toyota on one end and a vw on the other.

So if you can find a shop that can make to order you should be golden.

Thu Nov 27, 2025 11:37 am

For lengths I would use bailing wire bent to the route of the brake line(s) and use that as my length guide(s).

Thu Nov 27, 2025 11:43 am

I’ve seen custom Vanagon hoses get rubbed by the front tires in turning condition. Once your hose are installed, turn the steering full lock both directions to ensure the tires aren’t where they will rub. The fix was adding adel clamps to the upper control arm. In both cases these vans were on the road like this. I noticed during a service.

Fri Nov 28, 2025 7:11 pm

Just order a replacement set from GW. Email them, they will sell you just the brake hoses from their front disc brake kit. There are a number of vendors that sell disc brake kits using the ATE 57 calipers in front and T4's in the rear. The brake hoses to those calipers are going to be basically the same for all vendors. Or order them from Epytec, that's what I did.

Fri Nov 28, 2025 7:44 pm

MarkWard wrote:

Mark, I wish you were in the kit biz.

I’d trust your work more than any of the vendors just moving product (with no offense to them) — partly after all your GT stuff in the past.

I just finished a front brakes rebuild, and those rubber lines are spooky.