Anyone made up rear brake pipes?

[TouringMatt]

When i drop the rear beam to do the bushes im gonna change the brake pipes at the same time. Was having a look today and the bends look really tight, have also been told that the OE pipes are made from steel and will be a bitch to bend

Anyone know the best tools to use? Apparantly BMW can supply the correct lenght lines pre-flared but i'd have to bend them myself

Have seen this kit on eBay - look any good? Slight overkill for what i need!

Linky

[old_skool]

Hey buddy, let me know which ones you need and i'll make 'em up and send them to you. Take a look at my touring restoration on engine swaps thread.

I use the proper tooling to create the right flange pattern so they'll be ok. Best bit is I can prebend them for you as mine are all off and on the bench

[telski789]

what a thouroughly bloody nice bloke!!!

Tel

[TouringMatt]

I've actually been following your restoration thread, fantastic work.

what a thouroughly bloody nice bloke!!!

Tel

Couldnt have said it better myself! PM on its way.....

[jonbuoy]

Do it by hand, i've done it on a motor i was selling to get through an MOT.
They are tight bend's but it'll be alot easier when the rear beam is down that when i did it with the beam up


Get stuck in!!

[alan1272]

i did it by hand using copper pipes without dropping the rear beam. pig of a job though.

[fuzzy]

you can buy e30 specific copper brake pipe kits pre made to correct lengths,fittings etc from www.demon-tweeks.co.uk for under a hundred quid for a full car.they are also easy to make up yourself if you have a pipe flaring tool.

[old_skool]

PM sent. Not a problem, good luck with the job and let me know if I can help out.

[Brianmoooore]

ebay kit looks OK and quite reasonable value for money. Enough materials to change every pipe on an E30. Bender looks exactly like the one I use.
Would prefer it to be copper-nickel alloy pipe, rather than pure copper though, as there can be problems with copper becoming brittle.

[old_skool]

Exactly right, copper nickel is a lot harder too so will produce a tighter radius without collapsing if correctly formed. Problem with the benders on ebay is that they are designed for heating and air con engineers in that they form correct radii in 6mm, 8mm and 10mm. Try using them to form 3/16 brake pipe (4.75mm) and it will likely fold around the former and create a kinked curve.

Hand bending will produce good results if applied carefully.

Just my opinion, don't wish to "preach to the choir"

[gareth]

i copped out on mine and my local specialists did it with the beam on for Ԛ£40

[Chris]

Ԛ£40 you jammy git, my local bloke saaid he'd have to drop the axle and maybe the tank.

What i want to know is, can i poke a new line in from the front and route it different so the splitter isnt above the bloody diff? Cause i think that is knackered aswell, or at least it is as rusty as sin!!

[lukeb]

we did it on a mates e30 on saturday, used copper pipes and was dead easy. we also changed the rear disc and pads and handbreak shoes in a couple of hours.

[gareth]

Ԛ£40 you jammy git, my local bloke saaid he'd have to drop the axle and maybe the tank.

What i want to know is, can i poke a new line in from the front and route it different so the splitter isnt above the bloody diff? Cause i think that is knackered aswell, or at least it is as rusty as sin!!

my local bloke is a ex bmw mechanic (25 years afaik) before setting up his own place (leaders engineering) specialising in bmw's. the speed he works is amazing. he'll do a set of rear subframe bushes for Ԛ£80 - Ԛ£100 inc genuine parts and vat!

he did my brake pipes to the original routing without removing the subframe or anything! i think he must have three wrists on each arm and spanners for fingers!

[Chris]

Aha, problem is i cant drive it over to him cause i've got no MOT

Is it legal to route them different to the original locations? Anything to bear in mind.

[dazleeds]

Aha, problem is i cant drive it over to him cause i've got no MOT

Is it legal to route them different to the original locations? Anything to bear in mind.

ive rerouted mine before

all mot man is bothered about is that theyre not able to rub on anything that may wear them and also you must use any spring type clips that were there before on the flexi,s

he wasnt bothered where they were routed as long as they were secure and safely working

hth

Daz

[Brianmoooore]

Aha, problem is i cant drive it over to him cause i've got no MOT

You don't need a MOT to drive a vehicle to a garage to get it repaired to pass a MOT.

[Chris]

Fair point Brian, but i think i'll give it a go. Wish me luck

[gareth]

get some spare knuckles... you'll need them afterwards!

[Chris]

Okey Dokey,
How many lines are there running from front to back of the car?

[dobbie82]

sorry to hijack but Are these kits you get on eBay any good? I spent a fortune on getting them done on the 318 in may which is getting scrapped now, bought a low miler 320 but it needs new lines all round (passed mot with an advisory)

it would be extremely messy to take the set off the 318 so need another set. (would they fit anyway?)

[old_skool]

Are these kits you get on eBay any good?

The kits are ok, but make sure you specify the correct M10 x 1 nipples and 3/16" brake pipe. Most importantly take your time and double check everything. Good luck!

[Brianmoooore]

All the pipe (copper nickel) and all the ends, is about Ԛ£10 worth for an E30.

[Chris]

Couple of questions for you pro's, where does the rear line meet the master cylinder? (i've got three options)

also do any of you know off the top of your head how many male and female connectors i need for this thing and is it okey to change just the inner locations of the inner flexies? (so i dont have to do that 180 degree bend above a load of (sharp) metal cowling) I was thinking of making a little bracket and pop riveting it to the underside of the body for the flexie to go on one side and rigid on the other (that sort of bracket) Do you reckon that would be fine?

[old_skool]

Can't quite picture what you mean but I would stick to the stock arrangement albeit with slight modifications of bending radius to suit a softer metal tube, i.e. copper/copper nickel. I don't really see the point in changing the routing of the brake pipes from where they are now. Sorry if this desn't help Bud.

[old_skool]

RE:

Male connectors. To replace all the rear lines from the tee piece (I assume that's what you meant) you will need 8 male M10 x 1 connectors. regarding the location to the master cylinder, you should just be able to replace from the teepiece backwards (4 pipes in rear setup x 2 ends for each = or follow the original routing from the front of the car back with another set of male ends and pipe section.

[Chris]

Nah it makes sense really, BMW must have got it right in the first place i suppose, just looks like lots of sharp metal to mutilate my knuckles with

[Chris]

Aha didnt see that last post of yours.

When you say T peice are you meaning the one above the diff or is there another one lurking around somewhere?

I havent had the front of the car up in the air yet so i havnt really investigated that end.

Also any ideas about the lengths of the flexies as i havent measured them but they look different lengths and i'm gonna get new ones.

Oh and one last thing, do the rear calipers use banjo bolts. i didnt think so but i am usually wrong

[old_skool]

No banjos, rear hoses are male female x 2 and female female x 2 all are 170mm long and are M10 x 1 metric threaded. Yes, the tee piece is above the diff.

Get a 11mm spanner for the brake pipe nuts and a 14mm for the hose ends and your knuckles will stay intact with a little bit of patience - I promise.

Just to make sure - the hoses from the rear chassis brackets are female x female and the hises from the trailing arm into the caliper are male x female, Male end goes into the caliper

Hope that helps out.

[Chris]

Cheers, i'll go and buy some hose and conectors in the morning then.

Thanks for your help mate.

Chris

[old_skool]

shh.....it's the only bit I know something about, but don't tell anyone

No problem at all, GSF - hoses are well under Ԛ£20 for all four inc. the VAT.

[Chris]

GSF hoses come to Ԛ£30

Local motor factors is getting them for the same price, plus a bag of ends, clips and connectors.

Now i've just gotta save my pennys for some new tyres

[old_skool]

GSF hoses come to Ԛ£30

Robbin bastids

I paid less than Ԛ£20.00 for mine. If you haven't got them yet then let me know as I'm not using mine now (new - unfitted) as I've got a set of goodies to go on.

[Chris]

Damn, picked them up this afternoon logged on here when i got home

Ah well maybe next time lol