Rotten Brake Hoses

[poleonpom]

The pedal on my '96 RR went soggy. When I went to look I found a big puddle of brake fluid and a burst front brake hose. In hindsight I should have replaced them a couple of years ago:angel:, so if anyone else is in the same boat, it maybe a good idea to change them.

Btw, anyone know of a good, quick and cheap source of brake hoses? I'd like to go for an increase in length of +40mm and braided

Jonathan

[PeterH]

I replaced mine on my classic rangie when I noticed the softer brake pedal due to old hoses.
Made a big difference in pedal feel, much more solid.
I'll be checking mine on my P38 after hearing yours burst though!
Cheers, Pete.

[poleonpom]

There was no sign that they were worn, from the outside they looked fine. I'm replacing them with e set of braided +40mm from Britpart via Island 4x4 for 45gbp.

Peter, did you get your overheating sorted? fwiw I had the same issue and it was an airlock, tricky system to refill

Jonathan

[PeterH]

Fingers crossed I have solved the overheating issue!
I've had the system open before and never encountered an airlock like that in the past.
After doing the proper bleed proceedure, I took it for a short drive yesterday, all good so far, so a longer drive today to see how she goes.
Hopefully no head gasket dramas.
Cheers, Pete.

[poleonpom]

Update.

Thought I'd ring round and get some prices from Aus for the brake hoses, that way I could get my car back on the road more quickly and support the local economy - $110 a side or $220 for the front set :eek:

Island 4x4 in the UK are selling Britpart extended brake and metal braided pipes for 45gbp - and that's for a set of 4.

The Aus sourced parts were from a manufacturer and made up, so they weren't Rangie specific - I just can't quite get over the price difference for car parts in Australia and I am sick to death of being price gouged.

Recently I was looking at a Royal Enfield Bullet, drive away price here $9,000, same bike same spec in California $5,650 drive away - why? A friend of mine from the States recently came over and couldn't believe the cost to live out here, he reckoned on it costing twice what it cost him in the US, the flipside was that his income was lower, but his lifestyle is better and his buying power greater.

[Hoges]

Update.

Thought I'd ring round and get some prices from Aus for the brake hoses, that way I could get my car back on the road more quickly and support the local economy - $110 a side or $220 for the front set :eek:

Island 4x4 in the UK are selling Britpart extended brake and metal braided pipes for 45gbp - and that's for a set of 4.

The Aus sourced parts were from a manufacturer and made up, so they weren't Rangie specific - I just can't quite get over the price difference for car parts in Australia and I am sick to death of being price gouged.

Recently I was looking at a Royal Enfield Bullet, drive away price here $9,000, same bike same spec in California $5,650 drive away - why? A friend of mine from the States recently came over and couldn't believe the cost to live out here, he reckoned on it costing twice what it cost him in the US, the flipside was that his income was lower, but his lifestyle is better and his buying power greater.

My daughter recently made the same comment re. cost of living in London vs Sydney... even on a lower salary in London, she was shocked at (high) Aussi prices for everyday stuff

[poleonpom]

The brake hoses and an assortment of other goodies arrived on Monday, only 4 days after ordering them from the UK, so not at all bad.

The Britpart set comprised of 6 really well-made braided hoses for the calipers and the rear axle.

I immediately dived under the Rangie and got to work...

Getting off the hoses was a doddle, I quickly realised that I didn't have to remove the inner guard and that everything was easily accessible - a joy to behold that British engineering can plan to make the mechanic's life easier!

I took my time and really went through changing the hoses over carefully, and then came time to bleed the system...

Wow :eek: I could never have done it without the Workshop Manual. If the instructions had included chanting I would have thought I was going through some sort of initiation ceremony - bleeding the brakes is not straightforward.

The upside is that the brakes have never felt better (I also recently replaced the accumulator) and I can't wait to try the brakes 'off-road'

For the $100 or so it cost for the Britpart metal-braided brake hoses, I feel I have real peace of mind

[Keithy P38]

Good to hear mate! I haven't bled the system yet, but from what I've read it involves pumping the pedal 30 odd times, sticking your tongue to the left and holding your right arm in a 90 degree position!

[poleonpom]

Good to hear mate! I haven't bled the system yet, but from what I've read it involves pumping the pedal 30 odd times, sticking your tongue to the left and holding your right arm in a 90 degree position!

Yeah, don't forget the velvet cape and antlers ;)

Seriously though, don't even think about bleeding the brakes until you've read the Workshop Manual...

[PeterH]

Hi Poleonpom, how did you go with the brake bleeding proceedure after you replaced the brake hoses?
I started bleeding mine the other day as a matter of maintainece, was a much bigger job than I expected.
I found the back two bleed screws on the master cylinder were really hard to get at with the expansion tank in the way.
Much more involved job than my '89 classic rangie!

[clubagreenie]

You'll need to really consider rebuilding the callipers as well. What happens is the inner of the rubber hose breaks down and ends up behind the pistons. From there it fornms a sludge and the pistons are slow to return because of the higher viscosity of the old fluid. Even if you change the fluid, any hard bits, as I found out one day, can block the very small inlet hole behind the piston jamming on one side of the brakes (usually front).

The upside of which is if it happens on the freeway and you just touch the brakes because of traffic you may find yourself turning hard left (in my case) or right and running through the chainlink fence and into suburbia.

[poleonpom]

Yeah, it was bigger than Ben Hur. Moving the expansion tank ( a quick yank upwards and it,s off its clips) made a huge difference at accessing the bleed screws. The brakes hzve never felt better...:)

Sent from my WM8850-mid using Tapatalk 2

[PeterH]

Good tip, I did try to move the tank forwards, maybe I was being a bit too careful, will have to try that again!
Cheers, Pete.

[clubagreenie]

Also Pirtek can make hoses to approved specs. They have the (well should, I gave them a set of hoses incl the jump hose) lengths and ends. For about $75- ea.

[benji]

Bugger and bugger again. I've got a box of stuff from island4x4 in New Delli on it's way here, and I discovered just a few minutes ago i've a split RH front hose.

Talking about prices; a set of koni raids for my classic were $1100 through Pedders Bendigo, or $740 mailed to my door from Atlantic British; or a Tee piece restrictor for a Hotwire disco, $56 in Geelong, or $8 ish from island4x4.

Will be a pawn no longer thank you!

Incidentally, Myer in Bendigo were the first retail store in the world to put on a mark-up of 1000%.