Stainless steel brake lines

[Tony H]

Has anyone put Stainless steel Flex lines on their 'X'?

Ever since I bought my '91, I feel the brakes are a bit spongy. I bled them when i first got it and just recently I replaced the Master cylinder ( it failed). the brakes are fine but to me they feel a bit soft like the rubber hoses are giving. Maybe it's time to replace Stock rubber with new rubber.

 

[Creager]

your probably right, you might be able to 'feel' them expanding if you think its them. but usually yeah that can cause it

it could be your RABS?

 

[Tony H]

I don't feel the typical ABS chatter, just a little squishy.
Just wondering if anyone did the Stainless thing and if they noticed a worth while difference. Part #'s and where they purchased if they worked out.

Thanks

 

[jimbo74]

i have a toyota, but have experience with the SS lines.... i noticed a difference

the difference was that it returned my braking power back to stock after doing my lift and upsizing tires 6" !!!

had i put the lines on with stock tires it would have been a total night and day difference.....

i did a spindle lift on my yota, and the stock lines were way to short to even come close to reaching even with the suspension compressed

 

[CDW6212R]

I think someone still makes the 1st gen. stainless steel lines. I had my 99 lines remade locally with SS. Check out the pictures in this thread:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138278

If you are in a large enough city, you may find a local hydraulic hose company who can make them for you. Mine were about $43 for the front two. Good luck,

 

[Infragate]

Well first of all, how do your lines look? Are there any bulges or signs of small leaks or anything not normal? When you replaced the master cylinder did you bleed it correctly? Air in the lines will make it feel like that so you must make sure it is all out before you spend money replacing good parts only to realize the problem is still there. Check the rear too, maybe the problem lies there.
I put SS brake lines on my 91 XL when i did the lift but i didn't notice a huge difference in the feel of the pedal, but my brakes were not spongy when i took the stock ones off. I was able to get mine from 4wheel parts but they are for the 6" lift i put on my truck so i am not sure you will find them there. You must also make sure that they are DOT 3 rated otherwise you may have issues with the law. Brake lines must be DOT 3 rated in alot of provinces/states, so make sure they are and your golden. Good luck with the search.
Dan

 

[Tony H]

Another question. The drivers side looks easy. The passenger side looks like a real knuckle scraper with the wheel well. For those of you who did the Job ( stock or stainless), is it easier to pull the the air box out of the way and attack from the top?

 

[Infragate]

I just attempted it from the wheel well as i could not get at it from under the hood and i don't have the airbox on anymore either. It was tight but it worked out, and i didn't scrape up my hands either . The plastic shroud is a PITA but with the line wrench it is possible to do from the wheel well.

 

[Tony H]

Attemping from the top isn't going to cut it...Thanks. I've been spraying Kroil on the lines so I hope they go easy when I try to loosen them up with the Flare nut wrench.

 

[CDW6212R]

Do use two wrenches, one to hold the base still. Good luck,

 

[Infragate]

Being the age it is may make it feel like they are very tight when loosening them off. Mine were but it was normal. When turning the fitting i didn't need to use 2 wrenched because i wasn't concerned about the base, i was worried that the fitting was going to turn the line and break it. Since i was throwing that old line away i didn't really cut it any slack

 

[j602]

Skyjacker makes SS lines for the 1st gen. I got mine at stylinconcepts.com. The driver's side was a lot harder than the passenger, since it has a 3 way connection. It's a little difficult to line everything up and get it started. The passenger side line came off and went on relatively easy.

 

[rino351]

4wheelparts has procomp lines for 1st gens. that's where I got mine

 

[aldive]

Any suggestions as to where to find ss brake flex lines for a '99?

Thanks ....

 

[CDW6212R]

Al, have you checked locally for a good sized hydraulic hose maker. My Royal Brass and Hose here has made four pairs of SS lines. One was stock for my 99 chassis, and the others are custom for my big brake set of parts. I'm almost done with the brake set, the first will be 12.90" rotors.

If you get to Knoxville, you could likely get them to make them while you wait. Regards,

 

[Maniak]

A good speed shop will have SS brake lines. Take your with you as you may have to add a fitting to the end of the line to make it connect to your lines.

The speed shops out here use Earls brake lines (thats made by holley).. I brought in my old line, told them how long I wanted it.. they got me the line and the correct fittings..

~Mark

 

[CDW6212R]

The place I have here can build SS lines, from scratch, on site, while I watch. Those 99 lines I had made they reused the caliper end. They can reuse odd fittings which they do not stock. Regards,

 

[H.A.L.O.]

I have ordered steel braided lines for $125.00 let you know how they feel

 

[Josh]

My brakes were spongy for the longest time until I read the trick to adjusting them manualy(Rear drums). U simply go to some open space and backup fast then hit the brakes kinda hard. I believe you should warm your brakes to operating temperature before trying this. After each backup drive a little and test them while driving normal. Of course maybe I got spongy mixed up with pedal travel. This realy helped me. Be careful not to do it to much, because you can do it to much and the brakes will get tight and drag.