rubber brake lines, time to replace?
 

Hi
I've had the car for 4 years. I never replaced the rubber brake lines and by the look of them they have not been replaced for a few years.
I am not one to replace things that are not broken but these are a safety item that i assume can give out at any moment.

I was going to use the armored ones carried by our host....


Opinions?

thanks

Unless you are racing I would stick with the OEM lines. With the OEM lines you can see if the rubber is cracking. You can't with the braided lines.

The issue with old rubber lines is they swell on the inside and gradually close down the flow of fluid. Either OEM or braided are fine I am sure. If they are old, you should change them out as a regular maintenance item.

thanks
 

Is there a time range for the lines? Might be good to recommend to fellow pelicans if so.

“Is there a time range for the lines? Might be good to recommend to fellow pelicans if so.”
Aah if it were so easy. Some are driving around on 20+ year old hoses with no problems – yet. If it were my neck I would probably opt for a 5-year interval depending on use, climate, maintenance, etc. For my track car, they are new every year.

I use the OEM rubber hoses.

Generally when you replace the hoses after 10-20-30+ years, you should also replace the master cylinder. It is common for the seals in the cylinder to fail after the bleeding necessary when replacing the hoses.

What else?

This is the appropriate time to exercise the pistons in the calipers. At the same time make sure the dust seals are good and in place. The pads need to be free to float in the calipers, only held with the pins and spring clips. It is useful to disassemble, clean, lube and adjust the parking brakes. You can easily remove the pedal assembly when you replace the master cylinder. This is the time to clean and replace the pedal bushings with new plastic ones.

Just because a system still functions isn’t an excuse to ignore periodic maintenance and replacement.

Best,
Grady

grady

thanks

i replaced the pads and did the parking brake stuff but not the mc or the pedal bushings....hmmm
another project