Rear caliper problems LC

[marshyc]

I've been getting my braided hoses fitted today and have come across a problem. The fronts went on fine and all the connections were the same. The rears are a different story though.

The hoses look like this

But the caliper with hose attached looks like this

As you can see the hose has a banjo and it seems to be all part of the pipe. The only place it is threaded is above the rear beam so it seems like the whole pipe and hose comes as one assembly.

I'm guessing you can't change the rear hoses to braided unless I've missed anything. Although I know the rears don't matter so much.

 

[ADAM_84]

Pretty sure you can get that type braided hose that you need, are the fronts not the same fitment then? Been a while since I changed my fronts to brembo's so can't remember what fitment the standard hoses are, thought they were benjo ones too.

 

[marshyc]

The fronts are banjos and the ones that came in the Goodridge kit fit fine. It's the rears that are nothing like although it's the kit listed for the Cupra. They do 3 for the mk1 non-Cupra, Cupra and Cupra R.

Probably won't bother with rears to be honest as they do the minimum amount of braking.

 

[Phoenix27]

I think i remember Bill from Badger5 saying they were solid...

rear lines on several models are crimped to the hardlines and not removable.. fronts and small link hoses to rear beam are what I can do.

Hope this helps...

 

[rs-tuner]

The rear pipes replace the rubber hoses where the rear beam connects to the body shell

 

[marshyc]

I was looking but couldn't see how the rear hoses I have could fit. The original one is attached to the main pipe by a threaded coupling on the rear beam. Then it's still a solid pipe until a rubber one is crimped to the solid one. This then runs to the caliper where a banjo coupling attaches it to the caliper via the banjo bolt.

The hoses I have would not replace the rubber OE ones which is the whole point of getting braided hoses in the first place.

 

[Nautilus]

There are 6 hoses in a LC:

A. 2 x front bodywork to front caliper
B. 2 x rear bodywork to rear beam axle
C. 2 x rear axle to rear caliper

"C" hoses are crimped to metal brake line and they are not detachable. The line with hose changes as an unit.

"A" hoses are replaceable.
"B" hoses are what you have in the first picture - they are the hose from rear bodywork to rear beam axle.

All manufacturers make "4-line kits" - "A" and "B" only.

Only USP Motorsport makes a braided hose which replaces altogether "B" hose, metal brake line alongside rear beam and "C" hose, in a continuous line.

There is little reason to change the "C" hose anyway, once all 4 hoses have been fitted, then 99% of the brake line length is either metal line or braided hose, and the small 10cm hose makes little difference.

However, there might still be a DIY solution after all 4 braided A and B hoses had been fit: strengthen yourself the small C-hose by wrapping with small plastic zip ties, spaced a few millimeters apart.

I've tried similar thing on my rubber IC to throttle body hose before the Forge silicone hose had been delivered - I feared the hose might break, it bulged like a balloon under throttle even under puny 0.3-0.5 bar of boost. It was not as strong as silicone, but it held.

~Nautilus

 

[marshyc]

Now that makes sense. I'll have to have a look and see about changing them now I know where they are.

How daft do I feel now!?

I knew I'd get the answer on here though. Cheers

 

[Nautilus]

I've changed my front brake lines today for HEL braided lines and tried to do the same to the rear lines.

Rear lines from HEL look exactly like marshyc's Goodridge lines pictured above, also for rear axle: male connectors covered with nuts at both ends.

The mechanic was rather suspicious of the rear lines, because:

- Stock lines have female connectors at both ends, to fit the male connectors of the metal line;
- HEL lines have male connectors covered with a large nut.

Male connectors from the metallic lines screw tightly inside the nuts of the HEL (or Goodridge) lines. But once screwed, there are 2 male connectors inside the nut, touching each other on a thin lip, obviously less safe compared to a classic male/female connection.

As we could not find a satisfactory reason for which the connection was so different from stock, we decided to not fit the rear lines yet.

Other members who fit rear braided brake lines coped better with this strange connection system?

Thank you,

~Nautilus

 

[marshyc]

I've not fitted my rears yet and after having a look to find where they are (further behind rear beam tucked into body slightly) and the rust on the connections plus the relatively small length of them I'm not gonna bother either. You're still left with rubber anyway because you can't replace the very last hose or not cheaply anyway. Considering the minimal amount of braking the rears do it's probably not worth the hassle.

 

[Nautilus]

The C-hose, crimped to metal line and going into caliper, is wire-braided from factory, a fellow member found out while cutting the outer rubber cover.

The sole non-braided hose is the B-hose from rear body to rear axle, but the entire rubber length (excluding metal ends) is 10 to 12 cm at its best.

According to our mechanic, such a small hose was not worth the risk of a leak due to improper sealing.

~Nautilus