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MG MGB Technical - Braided stainless brake hoses

I fitted s/s brake hoses to my roadster several years ago and now am thinking it might not have been good idea as it’s not possible to see if the rubber is cracking. They did firm up the pedal a little. Wondered what the life recommendation is for these.
I have a hose clamp that I have used on the rubber hoses is it wise to use on the S/S braided ones.
Trevor Harvey

Trevor, a lot of people fit s/s braided hoses on road cars, which in my opinion is not what they were designed for. They were developed for racing and rallying, where cars were inspected and rebuilt on a regular basis.
the actual hose is semi rigid ptfe, and you should not use a clamp to close the pipe, as it may crack or not recover, thus partially blocking it.
There are alloy plugs and caps that are used to block off the end of the pipe.
Many of these kits use s/s hose but only m/s fittings, which rust for fun, can be difficult to undo, and look a mess.

I am surprised that they will even pass an MOT.

You pays your money............!

Colin
Colin Parkinson

Thanks for your reply Colin.
Most of the suppliers sell these and are sold as a improvement to the original ones, they certainly give a better pedal. My main reason for choosing them was my dissatisfaction for most rubber items made nowadays, I did not know they were ptfe cored and not to be clamped so that’s useful info.
Mine have been on the car for 5/6 years without problems and as the rubber ones also have m/s ends they rust just the same. Having said that I will probably change them back to the original type shortly as I like to be able to see the condition of the hose. Trev
Trevor Harvey

Trevor,
if you have the Goodridge PTFE hoses then why change from a working, very long lasting set to what may still be piss-poor rubbish rubber set?

No you can't squeeze them off but you can get round that, that's if you ever need to.

The Goodridge PTFE sets don't seem to have a restricted life, they say "Lifetime Warranty for as long as you own the vehicle", so inspection for damage or leaks and replace, or after however long you feel will stop you worrying. I'm sure any part with rubber in it that you've bought in the last 12+ years will stop fully functioning or fall apart years before the Goodridge brake hoses.

If you have any s/s braided covered RUBBER hoses from the last 12+ years that's a different matter, be they brakes or bling for the engine bay. Those I wouldn't trust, the rubber can fall apart hidden under the bling.

Unless someone offers me lots of very good evidence that the rubber parts (or in parts) has improved vastly recently I'd avoid fitting rubber as much as possible. Have a look at recent, and past threads, the stock of piss-poor rubbish rubber still seems to be with us.

https://www.goodridge.co.uk/collections/types?q=car+brake+kit
Nigel Atkins

I did fit braided to the V8 last time when I was changing calipers and for various reasons they were the only ones I could get, I wouldn't have fitted them by choice.

As long as they are significantly narrower than standard rubber (and not like braided fuel hose i.e. the same size i.e. covered rubber which I would never fit) then they are PTFE and shouldn't suffer from deterioration. I know many rubber parts can be described as 'piss poor' these days, but I haven't heard any complaints about rubber brake hoses - yet! Maybe with our single-circuit systems any failures result in a fatal accident so we never hear ...
paulh4

From my years in lab science I know that PTFE (Teflon) is one of the most inert substances ever made. It is completely unaffected by all commonly used liquids and solvents, including petrol, ethanol, brake fluid, and even strong acids and alkalis. It is also semi-rigid so will withstand considerable pressure whilst remaining flexible. If that's what is in the Goodridge braided hoses, then I reckon they should be good for a long time.
Mike Howlett

Said to be PTFE in Goodridge and EBC. Tested to 4000psi according to EBC, apparently about double 'maximum effort' on car.
paulh4

By coincidence there was a TV program on last night about Du Pont (the Teflon PTFE lot), I didn't watch it as it seemed to be about Du Pont doing a Ford and tobacco companies thing of putting profits over people's lives and it would seem "the markets" were happy as Du Pont got away with paying out less than expected after decades of trying to get away with it.

Nigel Atkins

I am sure the ones I fitted 5/6years ago were Goodbridge brand, they are about 2/3rd the diameter of the old rubber ones. I have had no problems with them. I have to disconnect them to remove the callipers for a rebuild and to save loosing the fluid I would normally clamp off the hose but this is a no no. So recommendations please. Trev
Trevor Harvey

You would still have to bleed it if clamped, so with these hoses put a piece of cling-film or similar under the master cap which should minimise draining. Also when removed from the caliper tie the end up in the air, covered of course to stop bits dropping in.

Another possibility is to operate the pedal just enough to start moving the pads and wedge it there. In that position the pressure seal will have closed off the bypass port from the reservoir and so stop draining that way.


paulh4

Trevor,
if you have Goodbridge they're knock-off copies, you want Goodridge (just joking as if I can't comment on spelling and typing).

As Paul has put a bit of cling film type stuff, if you have a metal rather than see-through plastic m/c then I'd put it over the reservoir neck held well with an elastic band or similar so I could keep an eye on the fluid level inside.

I think I'd try the same at the hose end unless I'd got some sort of tight fitting plastic cup or cover.

All needs to be clean of course you don't want debris getting in.

Unless you've changed your brake fluid in the last year or so I'd also suggest you take the opportunity to thoroughly flush and change the brake fluid for the whole system, get a litre for a real good flush, its only just over £5 for a litre of Delphi DOT4 from the likes of Mini Spares.

As I put on another thread - I'm all in favour of the slow, very slow or extremely slow methods of flushing and bleeding the brakes (and clutch), it's not very macho, competitive or much to boast about but sometimes it can be quicker overall. It does require the time and patience of one person but can include as much tea (and pee) breaks as required, a selection of prog-rock albums might help some or Radio 4 or 4 Extra for others, plays and omnibuses - long formats required.

Nigel Atkins

I'm with you Nigel slow and steady wins the bleeding race--
I usually suck the old fluid out of the reservoir and fill with new and let it sit for a few mins.
The remaining old fluid from the reservoir will float to the top of the new fluid and can then be sucked out, refill the reservoir
then put a short hose on each bleeder and let the fluid syphon through till the fresh fluid comes through to each wheel -----done--
Most brake fluids are colour coded by law now but some clear fluids are still available
Usually if I have a car with coded blue for example, I'll run clear through to know it's flushed through then flush again with blue'
It just makes it easy to know when it comes through and a double flush is twice as good isn't it--??
willy
William Revit

Slow and slower has never worked for me in 30 years with the roads, 24 with the V8 and other cars I've done brake jobs on.

Slow to initially fill and bleed an emptied system yes, but at less than 15psi on an EeziBleed. That has always left the pedal long and soft, which pumps up with a few quick strokes, going long and soft again if left a few seconds i.e. still air in there. Second stage is for my beautiful assistant to press down on the pedal as hard as she can then I rapidly open and close each caliper nipple in turn. That always blasts more air out, and after that the pedal is good. The nose of the car needs to be slightly higher than the rear during the process.

But if only flushing new fluid through just the EeziBleed is all that is needed as there shouldn't be any air in there anyway.

Don't like suction especially on wheel cylinders as with a slackened nipple it can suck air in so a) you can't tell when the lines are free of air and b) it leaves a bubble of air behind.
paulh4

I’m with Paul on this, press pedal, open bleed nipple, close bleed nipple, release pedal, repeat. This method has never failed me.

I’ve always been dubious of the likes of EaziBleed since as a lad watching my father use an industrial version that was like a spring loaded bicycle pump with a reservoir cap on the end of a short pipe, having filled it up and attached it to the reservoir he released the spring, the cap came off the reservoir spraying brake fluid everywhere.
R.A Davis

Ha ha, I've done that with my Karcher - once! Not as messy as brake fluid though. Remove pressure before disconnecting fittings.

It is wise to check the EeziBleed by connecting it up and applying pressure BEFORE filling it with fluid. If you hear hissing, find it and fix it first. The rubber gasket under the cap doesn't like brake fluid very much, and after a while when tightening the cap the gasket can pop inside the bottle. But a polite email to the manufacturers will elicit a replacement gasket.
paulh4

It seems different methods work for different people, that at least means there are choices and options should one method stall or fail.

Willy, I do the baster and fill a couple of times to get the dirty fluid to cover the bottom of my jam jar (well curry base jar) but I've not got round to doing all four corners at once because I keep forgetting and recycle the jars and lids so only have the one 'kit'.

As if it were possible my glamorous assistant dislikes working on the car even more than me so unless a mate is about (and I don't have many of those) I have to do the work by myself outside in the elements. I'm a lot more interested in getting the least annoyed and frustrated with the work on the car rather than how long the job takes, I'd sooner do the job just the once - not that the car always plays along with that.

I know I'm at odds with most here but I can't see any fun or sense of achievement in working on the car, I only enjoy driving it, all else I do because I need to rather than want to.

To end on a positive note I've time before next summer service to collect three more curry base jars and find some speedier music, perhaps like a Motorhead LP, then I can emulate Willy and do all four corners at once in record time (pun).
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 20/11/2018 and 22/11/2018

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