I’m in the process of replacing my brake lines (after an actual brake failure…) and am having trouble getting off the front flexible brake hose. Is there a trick for getting these things off or maybe I just have to keep fiddling with them a bit more.
'67 s1 2+2
-bill
No trick as far as I’m aware Bill, but it does help to have the correct brake wrenches for the task, it makes it less likely that you’ll round them off. If they are hoses your not going to use (seems unlikely that you’ll reuse them) cut the hose so you can get a box end wrench on the fitting.
Cheers,
LLynn
cutting the brake line makes sense but for some reason the thought of cutting a brake line makes me queasy…
I have a set of flare wrenches that I’ve been using to good effect. The flexy lines just sort of twist on themselves as I try to unscrew them from the connections.
bp
Cut them. If they’re twisting the nut is no longer swiveling at the end
Bill. You need to disconnect the hard line from the flexible line at the frame attachment first and then disconnect the flexible line from the bracket. Then you can unscrew the flex line at the caliper end.
ah ha! That makes sense,
Thank you.
Not a good look , that appears to be too short, if you do any sort of spirited driving that is going to tear after a while. Replace it with one that has enough length to still flex on full drop.
Thanks. I agree. Back to the drawing board.
In a recent thread it was discussed whether the bleed screw was on the inboard side or the outboard side. The contention was that it was originally on the inboard side, which meant the flex hose had to connect to the outboard side. Some owners had swapped it around, trading the crossover pipes from the LH to the RH side of the car to deliberately move the bleed screws to the outboard side where they are easier to get at with the wheel off. I suspect that doing so would change the length of flex hose required. It looks like the hoses you purchased were intended for one setup and you have another.
Are those braided? I’m not a big fan of braided brake lines.
And once installed turn the wheels lock-to-lock to verify you have enough slack and no contact with other parts (esp moving parts).
Now I am thoroughly confused. Called sng and they confirmed that all the hose in stock was indeed 17 1/4" long - both rubber and ss. The rubber hose I removed was 18 1/2" long.
I’m not sure I understand what could have been done to change the needed length of hose and how/why anything would have been done?
The ss hose that is in place is definitely
stretched to the limit when the wheel is turned hard to the right. Too tight for comfort. I’m afraid that I’m going to have to reinstall the old rubber one.Kirbert: can I ask why you aren’t a fan of braided? I was under the assumption that there was less expansion and so were superior… This was the main reason for my undertaking this (not so) little project 
SS braided hoses are fine. They just harden up the pedal a little which is a bonus if using DOT 5 fluid. I used them on my 3.8 for years and when I reverted to DOT 4 they never caused any problem.
at full stop right turn the hose bends at an acute angle as shown. I can’t imagine that this is how it is supposed to be…
It’s not right at all. If those hoses are supposed to be the correct length, something else must be wrong. Aftermarket shocks too long?
Braided does nothing to “harden up the pedal”, as the braid is not what holds pressure. The pressure is held by a hard lining in the center of the hose. The braid is only supposed to provide physical protection against stone hits, etc.
IIRC, some competition venues had banned braided hose because it prevents inspection of the rubber underneath. If the rubber is physically deteriorating it’s time to replace the hose, but how do you tell if the braid is nice 'n shiny?
On the XJ-S, the correct front brake hose is a rubber hose with a plastic or metal coil wrapped around it for protection against rubbing, etc.
Hmmm
They are aftermarket koni shocks…
Hard to believe Koni would make shocks the wrong length.
This is a forum. Somebody else with a similar car please measure your brake hoses and tell us the length.
Mine’s an S2 so measurements may not help - though I got the hoses from SNG. These:
https://www.sngbarratt.com/us/#!/English/parts/6f7f6c63-1f60-4bb8-b393-bb443ce52c1c
They are no where near as tight as what you picture - fit perfectly in fact.
I do believe that the braided hoses resist the slight swelling that rubber experiences - though in each case I have been comparing old rubber with new braided.
I don’t like that they might not be as easy to clamp off in an emergency - for that reason alone I used a rubber line for the rear brakes.
Even rubber hoses can be hard to inspect - I tend to replace based on age rather than relying on visuals.
