DIY: Installing SS Brake Lines

[twistedframe]

Installing stainless steel brake lines and high temp brake fluid can greatly increase your braking performance on the street and track. Heres a step by step how to on change the lines out.

Heres most of the tools you will need. A 12mm socket, a 14mm socket, a 10mm line wrench, and a pair of needle nose pliers. The only other tools you will need are a socket and wrench/impact to remove your wheels.


We will start with the front. There are only two bolts and one brake line nut that you need to remove. First remove the banjo bolt that holds the factory brake line to the caliper. It is a 14mm.


Next remove the 12mm bolt that holes the bracket on the middle of the brake line to the strut body.


Lastly use your 10mm line wrench to loosen and remove the nut holding the factory hard line to the factory rubber line. This is a bad picture but the line is in the upper right corner of this pic. Also there is a metal clip holding the rubber line to the bracket on the car. Just use your needle nose pliers to pull the clip out towards you. Save this for later as it will be re-used.


Now you will be able to remove the factory rubber brake line. To install the new one first match up the factory rubber line to the correct ss line. There are two different types of lines so make sure you match up the right ones. heres what the front ones look like.


Now you can install your new line. Make sure to start with the 14mm banjo bolt that bolts the line to the caliper. With this one it will be easier to line everything else up.

Please make sure to use the new banjo bolt and both washers provided with the brake kit. These are crush washers so if you re-use the old ones it may leak.

After the banjo bolt connect the hard line to the ss line. Don't forget to jam the factory metal clip between the brake line and the bracket on the car to hold it in place. You may need to use a hammer to get it in there. And finally you can bolt up the bracket to the strut body using the factory bolt.

This is what it should look like


Now onto the rear. First unbolt the banjo bolt from the caliper. This is also a 14mm.


Next the bracket that hold the line to the rear suspension. It is a 12mm


Next you must loosen the hard line from the rubber line with the 10mm line wrench. But this time you have to remove the bracket that bolts to the body since it is part of the brake line. It is a 12 mm bolt.


Here are the new brackets the give you with the kit.


Just bolt them up in place of the factory bracket with the factory 12mm bolt.


Now match up the rear lines the same way you did the fronts. This is what the rears look like.


Again install the new line starting with the caliper bolt (remember to use a new bolt and washers) then the hard line connection and finally the middle bracket that bolts to the suspension.

Now for the rear hard line connection you will need to use one of the clips provided with the kit. Just push it in between the ss line and the bracket on the body. Again you may need a hammer to get it in there all the way.


Now its time to bleed. Make sure all of you connection are tight. Heres the fluid we are using.


Now just go ahead and bleed your system with a friend holding the pedal, or be a pimp like me and get a vacuum bleeder!

DISCLAIMERS/NOTES

• Neither 8thcivic.com nor myself take any responsibility if you mess up your car doing this or run your car into a tree if you do this wrong. Brakes are very important so if you don't think you can do this please have a professional do it for you.
• Brake fluid is corrosive and WILL eat through your paint. Be careful not to get any on any painted surface. If you do sill clean the area off immediately.

Thats it guys, its all done. I hope this helps some people. It is currently 1am so I will re-read this in the morning to make sure its perfect.

[chugiboi]

nice DIY, that's one of my future mod too.

[ethlar]

i recognize that floor

[twistedframe]

Originally Posted by ethlar

i recognize that floor

[Duce2k]

Very nice

[ryryninja]

Man.. the owner needs to clean that ugly train wreck of a car Thanks again for the awesome job dave.


edit: look at all those skunk2 goodies though

[Zeuceone]

Nice job.

[jonesthewine]

On my 2007 FA5 the rear bracket is welded to the body, not bolted on...so I have SS lines up front and rubber in the back.

[twistedframe]

Originally Posted by jonesthewine

On my 2007 FA5 the rear bracket is welded to the body, not bolted on...so I have SS lines up front and rubber in the back.

i believe that is why there is a new kit for the 2007's. I think it includes rear lines that fit in the stock brackets. But I'm not 100% sure.

[R4DG]

So from what you did there was install the brake lines before you bled the system?

[twistedframe]

Originally Posted by R4DG

So from what you did there was install the brake lines before you bled the system?

yes. It would be a waste to bleed the brakes and then open up the system since you would just have to bleed them again.

[chunktwo]

im not sure if this was mentioned. but you should use a flare nut wrench to remove the nut between the soft line and hard line. using a regular wrench you can easily strip the nut and have to replace the entire hardline if its that far messed up.

[twistedframe]

Originally Posted by chunktwo

im not sure if this was mentioned. but you should use a flare nut wrench to remove the nut between the soft line and hard line. using a regular wrench you can easily strip the nut and have to replace the entire hardline if its that far messed up.

I called it a line wrench but yes it was mentioned.

[tite681]

Is there an order to which brake gets bled first? Thanks in advance.

[twistedframe]

Originally Posted by tite681

Is there an order to which brake gets bled first? Thanks in advance.

yes, on our cars is Left front, right front, left rear, right rear. Although I didn't know this the 1st time I flushed my brakes and they still worked fine. so....

[tite681]

Originally Posted by jonesthewine

On my 2007 FA5 the rear bracket is welded to the body, not bolted on...so I have SS lines up front and rubber in the back.

Damn. I have a 07 FA5 and I have Goodrich SS brake lines. Will the rears mount?

[jonesthewine]

Originally Posted by tite681

Damn. I have a 07 FA5 and I have Goodrich SS brake lines. Will the rears mount?

Early 2007 FA5s have the welded bracket. I'm fairly sure that at some point later in the model year they switched to a bolted-on bracket. Have a peek in the wheelwell and see for yourself.

[R4DG]

on a scale of 1 to 10

1 being stock

how firm is the pedal with the stainless steel lines installed?

[vetkiller]

^ Yeah, what is the benefit of this mod?