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DIY: Installing SS Brake Lines

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79K views 95 replies 68 participants last post by  Varhsi  
#1 · (Edited)
Installing stainless steel brake lines and high temp brake fluid can greatly increase your braking performance on the street and track. Here's a step by step how to on change the lines out.

Here's 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.
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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.
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Next remove the 12mm bolt that holes the bracket on the middle of the brake line to the strut body.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Now onto the rear. First unbolt the banjo bolt from the caliper. This is also a 14mm.
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Next the bracket that hold the line to the rear suspension. It is a 12mm
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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.
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Here are the new brackets the give you with the kit.
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Just bolt them up in place of the factory bracket with the factory 12mm bolt.
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Now match up the rear lines the same way you did the fronts. This is what the rears look like.
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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.
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Now its time to bleed. Make sure all of you connection are tight. Heres the fluid we are using.
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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!
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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.
 
#6 ·
Man.. the owner needs to clean that ugly train wreck of a car :hiding: Thanks again for the awesome job dave.


edit: look at all those skunk2 goodies though :lildevil:
 
#20 ·
I didn't notice a difference during regular driving, but when you really start pushing it there is much less brake fade, which we all know is a common problem with the SI. If you coupled this mod with heat wrap on the hard lines near the manifold you should be able to eliminate most, if not all, of the brake fade.
 
#32 ·
Very nice tutorial man. I never understood why rubber lines are used for brakes, all they do is expand instead of directing all the applied pressure to the rotors. I can understand back in the day when ABS wasn't around it served as a sort of buffer if too much pressure was applied but other wise cost aside this should be standard on all vehicles, the cost per line is next to nothing, furthermore this same principle has been applied to street bikes, I changed out the lines on my bike and it made a HUGE difference.
 
T
#38 ·
Good writeup. Stuff is almost entirely unchanged down to the nut and bolt sizes from my '93 del Sol to your 8th gen civics. Pretty cool. I joined just to make this post, so don't bother calling me a n00b and telling me to check the date last replied and whatnot -- I won't be back.

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but you guys might be so used to working on your shiny new cars that you've forgotten how to git 'ir done when things don't work out perfect-like. Here's a couple things I noticed that hopefully will help out anyone else who checks this DIY thread for advice.

I used a line wrench for the nut with the hard line and I managed to strip it. Also, the wrench would just get stuck. Seems like I doing it right? Now I have to somehow replace this!
Click to expand...

If you don't feel like replacing your hard lines just get out the vice grips. The bolt will be stripped but as long as it doesn't leak you're fine. It may be a pain to try and get them off again later, but I can't imagine why you'd ever need to do that.


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.
Click to expand...
Couldn't you use a zip tie (or something similarly ghetto) to secure the new lines to the old brackets? It may not look pretty but no one will know but you.
 
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