SS Brake lines, how long do they last?

[Clark Griswald]

The only complaint I hear about SS brake lines is that you can't visually evaluate their condition. The teflon wears, and is hidden by the SS braid.

The question is, how long do they last?

I suppose you can just drive on them till they fail. I would prefer to replace them periodically as a maintenance item. But how frequently?

Have you ever had one fail? How many miles/years on it?

[This message has been edited by Clark Griswald (edited 07-17-2001).]

[Nickshu]

8 months on mine and they are A-ok. Not that its very long....but at least you got one reply!

Nick.

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_ _ __ _ _
Nick Shumaker
1982 911SC Coupe
nickshu@yahoo.com
PCA -- Rocky Mtn. Region

[Early_S_Man]

Clark,

A single test vehicle and 2 failures out of 4 hoses at 10 and 14 years ... is probably not a good predictor from a statistical sampling standpoint. But, I didn't have 30 vehicles to use in a long-term study.

Vehicle: 1974 Datsun 620 truck ... 1st failure was at a swaged connection at about 80K miles on the hose, 2nd failure was right in the middle of front wheel flex hose at about 120K miles on the hose, so the teflon liner must have reached its' lifetime number of 'flexes' ... limit!

So, if you changed them between 5 and 8 years, it would seem reasonably safe.

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

[89911]

For someone that is not an advocate of working on their car, using SS brake lines may not be advised. Someone that is constantly checking their car for DE or track events several times a year is not an issue. I put them on mine and the brakes have felt much firmer.

[BRAINIAC]

8 years and around 100K miles on the 72 and no problems.

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Tyson Schmidt
72 911 Cabriolet
92 C-2 Cabriolet

[GeorgeK]

The only annoying thing is that when they let go, you are usually right on the brakes, and you end up with a broken line and possibly a crash.
I'm too chicken for these. I love to be able to visually assess the lines every now and then, and not trust a non representative statistic. I've seen the result of broken SS lines, Wow!!
GeorgeK

[Jim T]

I just don't buy that they have any effect on braking or braking feel. I've used them on a few cars in the past, and didn't notice any difference on the street or autocross track.

They certainly seem to be relatively safe, but less reliable than the OE rubber lines, which almost never fail. Bruce Anderson reports seeing a good number of SS lines fail, but has rarely seen the OE lines fail. He (and lots of others, too), recommend the OE lines.

So, while I've used SS lines in the past, my current thinking is to spend the little bit of extra money and stick with OE rubber lines. SS seems to be adding extra risk for no gain.

[Clark Griswald]

I suppose it is high time to replace them on the Sweet Pea. I put on SS lines about 10 years and 80k miles ago. No problems so far.

I think Warrens suggested 5-8 year interval makes sense, depending on mileage.

Thanks for the input.

[Eric Coffey]

If you are going to use S.S. lines, I would recommend the DOT-approved ones made by Brembo. All the others I have seen look to be of inferior quality, compared to the Brembo's.

-Eric

[cmonref]

18 years and 130,000 miles. Never a problem.

[movin]

Just put some on the wife's Corvette, lifetime warranty, from Ecklers.

[movin]

Just put some on the wife's Corvette, lifetime warranty, from Ecklers. I think the current DOT approved lines out there are probably as durable as the OEM rubber.

[Roland Kunz]

Hello

The benefit from the rubber hoses is that they will show signs off breakage far before they fail.

We have one manufactorer for SS lines who mastered the TÜV aprovals but they look as thik as the stock units. they are just SS with a rubber protection sleeve and pressed on fitings for 400 bar leakage and higher burst. To make them look not normal they have ainsunk braided SS mesh over it that will stretch if a bubble comes up.

This material seems to come from the aircraft industrie and used in Jet figthers.

Maybe just to argument the pricesticker that screams for pentagon salerys.

Grüsse

[vesnyder]

Just purchased a set of SS brake lines for my '83 SC. They are just over 1/4" in diameter? They appear to be very small - Is that too small? Did I get what I paid for?

I also noticed that the bolts on the ends are not free. Does that make then difficult to install? Would you recommend the lines with the free spinning end bolts? If I do install these any suggestions?

[Nickshu]

Most SS lines I have seen (including those I put in my car) are the size you describe...you got the right thing.

The "free" end of the fittings to the lines are on the hard lines which your flex lines (SS in this case) attach to. Rubber or other lines would be just the same.

I had no problem installing them. Check them every so often to make sure they are still tight....I have never had problems, but some say they can loosen themselves from their stiffness...esp the front (ie turning the wheels!)

Hope this helps
Nick.