Replacing Hard Brake Lines

[Irish Pride]

I need to replace the hard brake lines running to the rear of the car. My plan is to buy the pre-bent lines from SHOnut but I dont have any idea how difficult this is going to be. This is on my 90 so it has ABS. The lines that I need to replace are the two running from the ABS pump down the drivers side of the car to the Bias Valve. Can anybody give me some pointers before i start into this job. Will i be able to do it in my driveway with jacks and jack stands or will i need to have it on a lift?

Thanks,
-Chad

 

[sperold]

My best advice is to research all the posts started by "beaudeen" as a lot of them pertain to the ABS brake system.

See this one in particular :
http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=99487&highlight=abs+brake+line+bundle and have a look at posts 15, 16 and 24. The pictures are gone, but the written information is very valuable.

Everything is easier on a hoist as you get less dirt and rust in your eyes, but a driveway attempt is just as valid if you figure the correct height; and remember there is such as thing as too high on the jack stands for your arms and neck.

There can be problems in replacing a line, as that can affect another in the same area, so be prepared for additional work, even if you are extra careful.

This is one of the most undesirable tasks, so brace yourself, and of course, take a look at this post which you are probably familiar with:
https://shoforum.com/index.php?thre...ho-have-ever-dreaded-doing-brake-lines.93524/

 

[SHOVNST]

How rusty is your car’s underside? That is going to be a huge factor as to how difficult the work will be.

.

 

[black92]

I installed SHOnut lines on our 95 a few months ago.
It was pretty stright forward. I removed the two lines together along with the plastic clips.
Lay out the new lines (two peices each) to replicate the originals. Leave all the fittings loose until its all installed.
I did the entire kit. The hardest line is the passenger front. The new one is also 2pc.
I did not have to bleed the ABS pump. I bleed the lines as usual and all was good.

 

[Irish Pride]

@sperold, the last post by SHOnut in the first link you posted helped me alot. I never realized the lines joined/seperated at the black box on the fender wall. I was thinking that I needed to go from the pump all the way back and that's where I was over thinking it.

@SHOVNST, this car has very little rust. The hard lines at the master cylinder running to the abs pump and then running to the wheels all look great. The only spot of rot is on the brake lines above the rear drivers side jack point. Those are the only lines I need to tackle.

@black92, that's what I was wanting to hear. So if I disconnect the lines at the black box on the fender wall and all the retainers holding them under the car, will they just kind of lower down and away? Anything obstructive in the way preventing me from doing this on the ground?

I bought this car with a blown engine. I've never really driven it. Once I got the replacement engine in and got it running that's when I discovered the leak. There was no fluid in the system other than the front lines. I went ahead and bought a Thexton ABS bleeder just in case. I'm gonna use it regardless.

 

[sperold]

Happy to help. If your car is clean and virtually rust free, it will not be a terrible job.

I believe there is a new material that has copper or bronze alloyed in the steel, and these lines are reported to last longer that the old all steel model. Just keep your fittings and be prepared to do the flair or bubble flair or whatever is appropriate at your joint. You can buy the lines with the ends attached, and in that case you can use the second referenced thread as a guide.

Your lines are long, almost straight sections, and will not be hard to hand fabricate.

If the line with a leak is good everywhere but the leaking section, you may be able to "graft-in" a section of line, if you have the flare tool and some time and the unions. If you screw it up, you can go back to the original plan of replacing the whole line.

Not trying to talk you out of the ShoNut lines, simply pointing out yours are the easiest lines to fabricate.

The beauty of the ShoNut kit is you get the tortured short lines around the ABS unit that would require a professional bending tool to make the short bends, and they seem almost impossible to hand fabricate.

I ran into brake problems when the whole line system was changed and the inserts that the line screws-into backed out of the master cylinder when we unscrewed it. The thing looked like a factory installed helicoil that no one told me about. So it is crazy things that trip you up on these jobs.

 

[Irish Pride]

I'm just gonna buy the lines from SHOnut prebent with the fittings all ready on them.

My 91+ has some cruddy looking lines under the hood so I'll replace those while I have the engine out. The rear lines on the 91 look good so I'll buy a full set and split them between the two.

 

[luigisho]

Report back when you get these on. Curious how difficult it is.

 

[black92]

I replaced mine while I had the motor out for a clutch, but I have also done this with the motor in.
I did the job on jack stands. Removing the old fittings took some patience, my car is rusty. Applying heat helped.
Are you just replacing the rear lines or the entire fit?
The bulk of lines running to the ABS pump from the factory come bundled as a unit. They can be removed as a unit.
The new lines from SHONut come separate. It took time to lay out. Install one at a time, and they will tuck in nicely.

 

[Irish Pride]

I bought a complete set of lines. I need to replace just the lines running to the rear because that's where the leak is. The rest of the lines on this car look excellent. The lines under the hood don't have any rust on them.

My 91+ is another story though. The car itself is rust free but the brake lines are all rusty. I've already had the same two lines replaced on the this car. Line busted while at the Chicago convention back in 2015. I dropped it off at a shop and rode with others for a couple of days. I've currently got the engine out of the 91 refreshing my 3.3 and while it's out I'm planning to replace all of the other lines.

 

[zak]

Just in case someone is tracking a SHO and needs the extra reliability, be aware that the front to rear line from SHOnut has a junction in the middle that is not present on the factory line. This junction that SHOnut uses helps to significantly reduce shipping costs. Have heard that the 96 to 99 lines will fit, and have heard that you can still get it though the Ford dealer.

 

[black92]

Chad,
Can you check availability gen 3 rear lines?

 

[Irish Pride]

Chad,
Can you check availability gen 3 rear lines?

Just now seeing this. I'll look tomorrow.

 

[TimboSHO]

Just in case someone is tracking a SHO and needs the extra reliability, be aware that the front to rear line from SHOnut has a junction in the middle that is not present on the factory line.

This isn't a problem if the right union is used with fittings flared on both sides (which I assume SHOnut lines would have). Never use compression fittings on a brake line!

 

[Irish Pride]

Gen3 rear hard lines.

Front to rear-
F8DZ-2C287-A
BRTR201

Rear to right side-
F8DZ-2L569-AA

Rear to left side-
F8DZ-2L568-A

They are still available from Ford and from various dealers across the country.

-Chad

 

[tompumped]

I installed SHOnut lines on our 95 a few months ago.
It was pretty stright forward. I removed the two lines together along with the plastic clips.
Lay out the new lines (two peices each) to replicate the originals. Leave all the fittings loose until its all installed.
I did the entire kit. The hardest line is the passenger front. The new one is also 2pc.
I did not have to bleed the ABS pump. I bleed the lines as usual and all was good.

I used to think I didn't have to bleed the abs pump either until I had to make a panic stop or testing the brakes at high speed. The brake pedal felt good.

Is there any truth to the gen 3 lines working?

If you're going to order from shonut i'd order well in advance, but it does seem that calling them out on here gets things sped up. I ended up getting a refund after over a month when I got no replies with an eta. I purchased a hydraulic flaring tool and did them myself.

 

[Irish Pride]

I used to think I didn't have to bleed the abs pump either until I had to make a panic stop or testing the brakes at high speed. The brake pedal felt good.

Is there any truth to the gen 3 lines working?

If you're going to order from shonut i'd order well in advance, but it does seem that calling them out on here gets things sped up. I ended up getting a refund after over a month when I got no replies with an eta. I purchased a hydraulic flaring tool and did them myself.

I ordered the SHOnut lines thru SHOSource. They have them listed on their site. Received them about 2 weeks later. I think Mike and Ryan are pretty good at getting Josh to follow thru.