Brake Lines?

[Chris]

Hey guys, how much work is involved in changing the rear brake lines on an '89 320i?? Rigid and flexible??

Also the handbrake doesnt engage strong enough and has loads of travel, is this something common/easily fixed, or will i need to start tinkering with the handbrake drums?

Thanks for any help, my local mechanic said it will cost £300+ to sort ot these to problems, so i thought i'd try it myself

Cheers
Chris

[ad318i]

hey i need to do this to mine as well for the MOT,

members have said you can use copper pipes and do them around the fuel tank to save time and money (and they dont rust!)

someone will be able to help ya with it..


where are you located anyway?

[Chris]

Sounds good the mechanic says that he'll have to drop the fuel tank and back axle to do the job seems a bit drastic to me.

I'm in clacton, Essex. I keep forgeting to put that in my details

[Brianmoooore]

Sounds good the mechanic says that he'll have to drop the fuel tank and back axle to do the job

You have to drop the rear axle OR the fuel tank. Then it's an easy job.
Do your rear crossmember bushes need renewing? or is the fuel tank rusty around the filler spigot? Good time to do either of these.
You don't use copper pipes. It's a copper nickel alloy that is used, and £10 worth is enough to renew every pipe on the car.
£300+ doesn't sound like the bargain of the year.
No reason why you can't do it yourself, although use of a ramp would be nice.

[tomson]

So your car doesnt have discs on the rear?
My friend has an 89' 320i and his does.....
If you do the hand brake drum is an integral part of the brake disc as on 325i's (and i thought 320i's)

Tom

[Mick01]

Alright chief, the brake lines are a tricky job (if they are routed the same as a 325i) but not ompossible. You don't have to remove the tank or the crossmember but you do have to be very patient with the two T pieces bolted to the underbody. Work them gently and use plenty of release oil long before you try to loosen the unions. If you batter on and round the unions you don't have room to cut the pipe and get a socket on there. Other than that the new pipe bends easily and doesn't tend to kink and bleeding these cars is easy, even if it has ABS.
Hope this is of help.
Mick

[Brianmoooore]

320 saloons have rear drums unless they have ABS or oare tourings or cabs.
It's not impossible to dothe job without removing tank or crossmember, but you'll wish you had.

[DanThe]

bleeding these cars is easy, even if it has ABS.

Thats true, I refilled and bled mine the other day, completely dry system with ABS, didnt take me any longer than 15 minutes but I did have the help of my mates foot

[Brianmoooore]

Get air in the ABS unit (rather than just through it) and it'll take you longer than 15 ninutes.

[tomson]

Yeah, my friends does have ABS so that must be why his has rear discs

[Chris]

Hmmm havent got ramps, but i might give it a try.

Mine does have rear discs, although i was under the impression that the handbake acted on a small drum brake in the rear hub??

I've only just really got this car so i havent really had time to tinker with it

One other question, is the haynes manuel for E30's any good, or should i go for the bentley manuel that i keep hearing about??

Cheers
Chris

[Chris]

Mind you when u say ramps, i take it you mean hydraulic ones that lift the whole car?? Cause i've got a couple of pairs of the little drive on ones.

Proper mechanic i am

[Brianmoooore]

Bentley manual is supposed to be much better than the Haynes, but the Haynes does have its uses. It has torque figures etc in it, and MOST of the stuff in it is accurate. It's just you don't know which parts are'nt.
It's cheap, if nothing else.
Handbrake does act on a small drum machined on the inside of the rear disc bell.
They tend to suffer from muppets adjusting them by tightening the handbrake cables. This results in a handbrake that feels right from the lever, but is almost completely inneffective.

[Mick01]

The Haynes manual is lacking as it tries to cover too many items due to being for 3 and 5 series. The Bently manual is far superior, explaining everything in full detail.

[Chris]

Ok then were the hell can i find a bentley manual for this car?

I've searched everywere and i cant find one.

[Morat]

Here

[Chris]

Do you have one going then? PM me