Just had my car in for her yearly checkup, and she failed on brake pipes. The whole lot need changing... What do you do? Where do you go? How much? Help? The MOT garage didn't seem keen on doing it.. didn't really want to give me a price, but eventually said about 150 for copper pipes. They said it's a job you can do yourself if you get them made or can get a set off the shelf. Don't really fancy it though, so any ideas? I haven't got a clue - never come across this problem before.. (5/01)
Quite easy to do, you'll need pipe (kunifer is a good make), a flaring tool (to finish the ends), new nipples (ooerr!) and a bending tool is handy. Its really a case of removing the old pipes and making new ones to match, the hard part is getting the bends to look ok. I think if you buy a set (dunno where from) it would be a set of pipes with the ends made but all rolled up so again you would have to bend them. I've re-plumbed 2 minis and a beetle ok and a 5 shouldnt be any different - its all hydraulics!! Biggest bit is bleeding the air out - can be quite hard. (5/01)
I have replaced all the existing brake pipes on my 1974 Chrome bumper MGB GT V8 and it was not a difficult job with copper tube. You will need a pipe flaring tool if you are going to do this yourself but you can buy lengths of tube in various sizes already end-formed. Don't be tempted to use Silicone replacement fluid however as this will not swell the existing SBR brake seals and leaks will result. To use Silicone fluid you will need to change all the fluid seals in the servo, master cyclinder, and all possibly all four calipers. (5/01)
Query about silicone brake fluid - if its so good why don't BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar etc use it as standard (5/01)
Cause it ain't good for the rubber seals in a braking system. (5/01)

Re: Silicone brake fluid: Some people do use it as standard - Harley-Davidson, the US Military, etc It has advantages and disadvantages - it's supposed to be more compressible than normal brake fluid - (although how a fluid can be compressible at all escapes me), so it makes the brakes feel softer.

It doesn't absorb water, so in theory it never needs changing. But if water does get into the brake system, it stays as a glob, rather than being absorbed. And if this is in a caliper (say through a porous seal) result is instant boiling = no brakes.

I would steer clear of Dot 5 (Silicone) fluid (NB Dot 5.1 is different and is OK) - just use Dot 4 or 5.1 (glycol fluids) and change it every two years. Definitely don't use it if you have ABS.

For some further info, read this: http://www.jags.org/2000/01Jan00/silicone/silicone.htm This one's short and succinct: http://www.dnd-automotive.com/chassis/brake-fluid.htm Here's another: http://www.su.ic.ac.uk/motor/brfluid.htm (5/01)
Ok what is the score re STAINLESS STEEL braided brake hoses. Some are telling me they are NOT road legal and others imply they are. Ones who have said they are not legal mention about metal reactions and corrison so only suitable for offroad and track use. Zinc plated however are fine. Fact/Fiction/myth/mystery (5/01)
Contrary to popular opinion stainless steel does rust. In what used to be my business it is known as CRS, corrosion resistant steel. (5/01)

They are road legal - at least the ones with TUV approval are legal in Germany, so they must be OK everywhere in Europe. Goodrich (apparently made by EBC) sent out a whole batch which were TUV approved but it didn't say so on the packaging - however the packaging says that if it doesn't say TUV approved then they're not.

The lines are Teflon, with a braided stainless steel cover and (as standard) zinc plated end fittings. Apparently Chrome and Stainless steel end fittings are available - I don't know if these are TUV approved - possibly not. Whether they are a good idea for road use is a bit of an open question. They are designed with Teflon so that hot brake fluid doesn't cause softening of the line. You don't get significantly hot brake fluid in road use.

It is claimed that they give better brake feel, because the hose doesn't expand under pressure. Hmm. Maybe.

They need frequent inspection for damage, and to check that the stainless covering isn't damaging anything else - it is much harder than the metal brake line and can wear it away if it touches. The Teflon line itself is much more fragile than rubber hose - that's why it needs the braided stainless cover.

Probably a race item - if you maintain your car like a racing car, there'll be no problem. If you don't (and not many people can spare the time or cost), there might be. (5/01)

Contrary to popular opinion stainless steel does rust. In what used to be my business it is known as CRS, corrosion resistant steel.

Aren't there three types of stainless, ferritic, austenitic and martensitic. I think the latter is best in salty environments, but don't know that much about it. I've made some stuff at home out of type 304 austenitic, and it's jolly hard to cut! (5/01)

I bought the brake line kit from Moss, including the block. My car is a non-ABS mk2. When I came to fit the offside rear, I needed to use the ditribution block in the kit as the oem hose has the distribution block integrated as part of one end and is not removable. I guess this just adds to the confusion. (5/01)
do they make any difference? (5/01)
They made a huge difference on my last car ('67 cooper S) so I would expect the 5 to be the same. (5/01)