This is part of a series of articles describing some work I did on my Honda S2000 in Dec 2004. Since I did several things all at once, the pictures and descriptions may not be exactly what you would see and do if you were to do this job by itself. Use proper tools, safety techniques, parts, and judgement. These descriptions and pictures are (to the best of my ability) accurate representations of what I did, but they do not constitute a recommendation for what you should do. If you are in any doubt about your ability to do this work, have the work done by a professional.
I decided to install Stoptech's stainless steel brake hose kit.
Lots of brake
fluid will come out of your car when you do this! Brake fluid is corrosive to paint. If any of it drips
onto painted surfaces (and it will), wash with water. First gravity (not pressure) bleed as much as will
come out of your lines before you start. Then be ready to catch what spills and to cap the brake line
ASAP.
It is a good idea to have a 10mm flare nut wrench. (This is a 10mm box wrench with a slot cut out to allow it to slip over a brake line.)
Stoptech's stainless
steel brake hose kit (one front, one rear). Or another brake hose replacement kit of your choice. (Note,
actually the brake lines are the solid metal tubes that run through your car, and the brake
hoses are the flexible bits that run out to your calipers. I will try to retain that distinction,
but often the brake hoses are also called "brake lines".)
The front and the rear brakes follow
pretty much the same procedure. The rear brakes are a little more complicated due to the parking brake
mechanism.
A few of these pictures show the calipers removed, but this is not necessary for the brake hose replacement. I was doing other work. In fact, the calipers must be installed in order to install the brake hoses properly.
Follow the removal instructions in the Helm manual. Installation is pretty much the same as removal, so I will show pictures of the installation. Basically, first undo the solid brake line from the brake hose. Cap that end off. Then remove the banjo bolt and brake hose from the caliper. Finally, undo the brake hose brackets and remove the brake hose. (On the rears you will have to first remove the parking brake cover. This can be done before messing around with the brake lines at all, if you choose.)
Now you have no brake
hoses! obviously, you are not yet finished. (On the front you can see one of the support brackets for the
brake hose. Remember, no need to remove the caliper.)
Now it is very important to follow the sequence of reinstallation. You have to
install the brake hose brackets first. See Helm manual for torque specs.
Now install the banjo bolt. You will need to slide the hose through the bracket in
order to get enough freedom of movement to settle the hose end into the right spot. The Stoptech kit comes
with a new banjo bolt with a 9/16" head instead of the OEM metric head. It also comes with two copper
washers which go one on each side of the brake hose end. The notes that came with the kit said to torque
the banjo bolt to "14 ft-lb, same as the original spec". But the Helm manual called for 25 ft-lb! I decided
that I would use 20 ft-lb.
Here's what Stoptech replied to me: For the Banjo bolts and copper washers we provide, approximately 14 lb-ft of torque should do. I highly suggest you not use a torque wrench on the Banjo bolts. They need to be tightened enough to seal the washers, but you don't want to snap the bolt. At 14 lb-ft, it's kind of a small number and if the wrench is off, or there is any fluid on the threads you can get a false reading. It's something we rely on an experienced hand to get tightened properly.
Next take as much slack as you can out of the caliper end of the hose so the other
end will reach the bracket where it is installed. You use a clip to hold the hose in place. I reused the
OEM clip, even though the Helm manual calls for replacing it. (Removing the clip requires pliers, and
replacing it requires a hammer.)
Then reattach the brake line. This is where you use your flare end wrench again.
There is a torque spec, but I don't have a way to measure the torque if I can't get a socket onto it. I
just went by feel on the torque.
You are
finished! Replace the parking brake shield on the rears. Now you will need to do a full brake fluid flush.
Check for any leaks!
Email address:
mikegarrison@alum.mit.edu
This address forwards to both home and work. I get a lot of spam, so if I don't know you, be sure to have a descriptive subject line.