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My truck's going in this week for a complete brake job.
I ordered these through KLM's Performance's website... they custom make them for every application.
Borrowed a brake line clamp from the mechanic who does my brakes at my buddy's shop to put on the passenger front so those piston seals don't leak when I take it there... the stock rubber line looks bad so I'm glad I went with those aftermarket lines.
Ahhh... ok. Gotcha... Made here in the USA so hopefully good to go for at least as long as the rubber OEM brake lines lasted...
Why, what are you thinking?
Cant put my finger on it, but I recall something similar that had a clear covering that came apart over time. I honestly cannot remember what it was or what it was for but it looked like that hose. I think it had something to do with oil or grease that hardened the casing and caused it to become brittle, but thats about all I remember of it. It was long ago and probably not even related.
Cant put my finger on it, but I recall something similar that had a clear covering that came apart over time. I honestly cannot remember what it was or what it was for but it looked like that hose. I think it had something to do with oil or grease that hardened the casing and caused it to become brittle, but thats about all I remember of it. It was long ago and probably not even related.
Okay... fingers crossed... but hopefully they are good to go...
My braided lines for FS2500 are not covered and started rusting soon after the kit was mounted but maybe they are for protection of the oil rated rubber lines for the kit...
Got the truck back yesterday and they didn't install the rears. The second set of shorter lines included with the front lines are for the rear. I guess the rear has two sets of soft lines. It'll have to be when I retire and have the truck as my hobby to install them... on set of the rear lines have to cut and flared, I'm guessing for the set in the center, not the caliper feed lines. My buddy has a Ford tech working part time for him who said not to install and yada yada yada... but I'll do it.
I'll take a pic of the front lines when I install the 18 inch steelies with winter tires coming up.
Did some spot rust proofing today, so crawled under the rear of the truck to take some pics of the brake lines.
Here's the caliper line, that's obviously longer and why they state you have to cut and re-flare the line to fit the longer the KLM line.
The factory caliper lines have the mount welded to the metal fitting of the line, so Dan the Ford tech, said not to use it because the mount has to be removed... then they said the upper lines were too short but it doesn't appear to be. I'll have to tape up the ends to protect the threads and keep dirt out of the lines but they look to be the same length as the OEMs.
The ends of the two upper lines.
The upper line fittings... looks like a joy to do with the fuel tank right there...
So apparently I will have to show the mechanics how a shade tree mechanic does it...
Plus I'll buy the hard lines in case i need them if the lines are too corroded...
Last edited by Overkill2; Oct 27, 2024 at 05:36 PM.
Reason: Correct post
So I pulled my 20s with the Michelin Defender LTX M&Ss, which are shot, but I will drive with them again in spring before I get new meats, and installed my 18 inch factory steels with snows.
Here's a pic of the front KLM line.
I put that piece of old hose on there to protect the line as it was rubbing the factory bracket there.
But I found a surprise waiting for me when i went to the passenger side.
Closer up...
It must have been rubbing when i turned the wheel I believe...
Hit it with Carwell oil first...
Then gobbed it with Woolwax HV... thick grease like stuff... made some adjustments to the line bracket and used two cable ties to pull in the line towards the engine some by going off the bottom of the coil spring mount. Pics tomorrow...
Sourced this left over piece of hose from this box used for just such a function...
In a Summit Racing cardboard box that I once received goodies in for my 96 at my old house...
The piece of hose in place, held together by cable ties and to keep the Woolwax HV inside there to keep rust at bay.
Also hit the top brake line connection and line bracket with Woolwax black spray... forgot to take pics but will tomorrow as i have to change my girl's oil...
FWIW, I had an in-depth discussion with a brake line engineer at Gates Rubber, arranged through a friend that worked there. He said that stainless steel braiding had no effect on braking (which - for context - was the origination of that discussion) but could help some if there was abrasion (like you're seeing). But that's a LOT of abrasion and it should have been secured better by the installer or the vendor should have provided better strain relief.
Was the aftermarket line on the front longer than the OEM line?
FWIW, I had an in-depth discussion with a brake line engineer at Gates Rubber, arranged through a friend that worked there. He said that stainless steel braiding had no effect on braking (which - for context - was the origination of that discussion) but could help some if there was abrasion (like you're seeing). But that's a LOT of abrasion and it should have been secured better by the installer or the vendor should have provided better strain relief.
Was the aftermarket line on the front longer than the OEM line?
Yeah my buddy's shop did the install and hasn't given me a price yet, always discounts his rates for me, but I bent the bracket in to bring line in towards the engine. Now that I am paranoid after it happened, I put cable ties around the line and pulled it in some more... the other side was good to go.
Now that I think about it, i ordered it one inch longer, just in case it happened to be just short... when you order them, they make them to your order, color and length... so I don't think the extra inch had anything to do with it.
Once I retire and have more time, I am going to install the rear lines myself and will let you know about pedal feel....
Once I retire and have more time, I am going to install the rear lines myself and will let you know about pedal feel....
It will be almost impossible to get an apples-to-apples comparison. When you replace a brake line you'll have to bleed the brakes. That right there makes a change to the system that affects pedal feel. You would also likely flush the brake fluid, and that also throws off the comparison. Nonetheless, if you saw a 2x performance change in braking, I would say that your brake fluid was really bad to start with or the engineer I talked to gave me bad information.
One thing for certain, when all rubber lines are replaced with braided, depending upon age of the rubber lines, there will be some improvement in pedal pressure only because the braiding will remove the natural tendency for the expansion of the old rubber lines. How much all depends on how worn the original lines were. New rubber lines are also much stiffer than old ones so when pressure is applied the old lines will tend to move more, which reduces initial pressure as well. The improvement felt between new rubber and braided lines though will be minimal as its the initial push that makes up the difference. Normally what will be felt is the pedal, not getting firmer, but less travel before firming up. Thats the big difference in that the pedal firmness will last much longer with braided lines.
...only because the braiding will remove the natural tendency for the expansion of the old rubber lines...
That was precisely the topic of the conversation I had with the engineer. He, more or less, said that the braiding shouldn't make a difference at all and if it did you have some lousy rubber lines.
