I got my brake packe this week that had the Russel SS brake lines included and I tried to install them last Tuesday. I tried instaling the rear ones first and when I tried to bleed them it was leaking as if they weren't sealed correctly. The package came with 4 circular washers and 5 snap rings. I didn't use any of these because I wasn't sure where exactly they were for. I just installed the new lines the exact same way the stock ones were. Also the inside of the end of the new lines taper all the way down to the bottom of the cone shape, but the stock ones raise up a slight bit in a cup like shape at the bottom. Why are they different and does it matter? What am I doing wrong? Where do I use the 4 washers, and where do I use the snap rings? I'm hoping to get these on this coming week and want to get it right this time. Any tips you guys can help me with?
Also in the front what kind and size head do I use for the 2 caliper bolts? I've never been down behind it until this week, and when I looked back behind the calipers the bolts look like an alan head, but it looks like it used to be a for a torx and was stripped and now looks like an alan. I tried a few alan heads but none of them would fit in there. They were either slightly too big, and slightly too small. What size do I need to fit in there so I can get the calipers out. I got the hawk brake pads and powerslot rotors and going to put them in the same day I put on the brake lines. Can someone please help me out here? lol
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seeing as you're having some trouble, i first suggest that you TAKE YOUR TIME doing this. if you do this wrong, you could have serious brake failure which could lead to your death and death of others.
the four washers are for the front calipers. one goes on each side of the caliper fitting. these are crush washers, they are meant to crush between calipers so you get a tight seal on the caliper. never reuse crush washers. you'll see the old ones when you remove the front lines. take em off and throw them away.
you dont need any crush washers for the hard line sides of the brakes. the 6 c clips are to hold in the fittings on the brackets (like stock) when they mate into hard lines. this happens twice per side at the rear, and once in the front per side.
as for the shape, they should be matching. the hard line end should be a downwards conical shape (called a bubble flare), and the new ss line fitting should have the same conical shape to match.
the front caliper screws are 3/8" allen key (or so), but you dont need to remove the caliper to do this, you just need a 10mm socket to take off the brake line.
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Viper98912 wrote:seeing as you're having some trouble, i first suggest that you TAKE YOUR TIME doing this. if you do this wrong, you could have serious brake failure which could lead to your death and death of others.
the four washers are for the front calipers. one goes on each side of the caliper fitting. these are crush washers, they are meant to crush between calipers so you get a tight seal on the caliper. never reuse crush washers. you'll see the old ones when you remove the front lines. take em off and throw them away.
you dont need any crush washers for the hard line sides of the brakes. the 6 c clips are to hold in the fittings on the brackets (like stock) when they mate into hard lines. this happens twice per side at the rear, and once in the front per side.
as for the shape, they should be matching. the hard line end should be a downwards conical shape (called a bubble flare), and the new ss line fitting should have the same conical shape to match.
the front caliper screws are 3/8" allen key (or so), but you dont need to remove the caliper to do this, you just need a 10mm socket to take off the brake line.
I ordered these from Gravana. The package only came with 5 of those C-shaped clips. And the shape of the inside of the SS line ends is a completely tapered cone with no kind of flare or cup shape at the bottom. The stock ones have it though. The rear SS line I recieved is also longer than the stock ones by about an inch. I can take pictures with my cell phone cam and post them but I'm not sure how clear they will be. I'm in Pittsburg, PA for a wedding this weekend on Saturday and won't be back home to Lewistown, PA until I Monday. When I get home I can take pictures with a digicam for beter pictures.
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yea, take some pix and show us.
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
ok, they taper down. thats how its supposed to be. what did you think it was supposed to be like? also, looks like you got jipped a clip (probably just a mistake at the factory), its not super important but you should be able to just use one of the stock clips.
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Viper98912 wrote:ok, they taper down. thats how its supposed to be. what did you think it was supposed to be like? also, looks like you got jipped a clip (probably just a mistake at the factory), its not super important but you should be able to just use one of the stock clips.
I wasn't sure if they were wrong because the stock one I took off didn't just taper down like these. At the bottom of the cone on the stock ones, there is a cup like shape that comes up fron the bottom. So I'm assuming that the difference doesn't matter? I won't worry about that then. But how come they were leaking when I tried to bleed them? We didn't use the clips that came with the set, but we used the stock clips on the rear, but the leaked whenever I pumped the brakes. My friend said they felt tight as he could get them but didn't understand why they were leaking. And you said the ring washers aren't for the back at all right?
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Do you know what size socket I need for the hex hole in the caliper bolts?
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Jason C. wrote:Do you know what size socket I need for the hex hole in the caliper bolts?
Nevermind on this one I found it in search. =) I'm still kinda confused as to why the lines were leaking though.
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well, im confused as what you're saying, because when i looked at my stock lines, they had the same basic shape as the new ones i put on (i put something different than russell though). as for the leaking, is odd, because if you do have different shapes it will cause leaking, but if you have the same shapes, it should be put pretty tight on there and then shouldn't leak. are you sure that you got a cavalier/sunfire kit?
if so, then you've got to try to describe this shape as good as possible, perhaps draw out a profile in ms paint and post it.
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
This is what the stock one looks like inside. The bottom of the cone has a raised area around the hole. It's not as tall as how I drew it, but you get the idea, lol. The SS lines don't have that. I looked up the item # that was on the box of the SS lines, and checked it to see if it was the same # on other websites and they were. Only thing I can think could of happened is that the wrong lines got packaged as Sunfire/Cavalier lines accidentally, but as for the item number it's supposed to be the right lines.
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wow, i definitely didn't see that when i took off my stock lines. at least, i dont remember seeing that. u sure u saw that?
like i said, tighten down the lines as good as you can (sometimes there's a little extra you can give it) without destroying the bolt and then see if they leak.
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
Viper98912 wrote:wow, i definitely didn't see that when i took off my stock lines. at least, i dont remember seeing that. u sure u saw that?
like i said, tighten down the lines as good as you can (sometimes there's a little extra you can give it) without destroying the bolt and then see if they leak.
lol Yep, that's what the stock ones look like inside. I don't understand why they would be different but they are. I cleaned out the stock ones real good with brake cleaner so I could see more clearly. That's definitely what they look like. My car is finally going into to shop tommorrow to repair some damage my friend's mom did to my car when she accidentally backed into it with her jeep and prob won't get it back until Weds. Soon as I get it back I'm going to try to give these another shot and pray that they work.
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u know what, now that i think of it, i dont remember exactly. the important thing is, does the metal line bubble cone shape match the bubble cone shape in the new ss line?
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
