I replaced my brake lines last weekend. Got mine from the korman group buy that went on here. I had a lot of apprehension about the center lines, and I noticed a lot of other people do too. But I did it, and took some pictures on the way, so I figured I'll try my hand at a little writeup.
First I did the passenger rear line. Easy.
Then I moved on to the passenger center line. I shot PB blaster onto the ends of the lines just to insure they went quietly and didn't strip. Everything looked pretty good on my car so I didn't worry, but apparently these pieces are prone to corrosion.
If you end up stripping something in one of those hard-to-reach places be aware that dropping the subframe will almost certainly be required. You've been warned.
Edit: An 11mm flare wrench can be substituted for the 11mm open-ended wrench for more security against stripping.
#1 Remove exhaust shielding plate.
I'm not sure if that's what it's called, but you can see it there right above my very rusty exhaust. There's 4 11mm bolts holding it up. Take those out and it'll drop right off.
#2 Unbolt one end of the brake line
Hold a 14mm open-ended wrench on the big bolt and loosen the little bolt with an 11mm wrench. The loose end will drip about half a jar of brake fluid over about an hour. I just took a break and waited for it to stop.
#3 Slide a 14mm box wrench onto the line
There's room so you can push it all the way back and it will fit around the bolt snuggly, but will have almost no room to rotate. This will hold the line in place while you loosen the other side.
#4 Loosen other bolt with an 11mm open-ended
With the exhaust shielding gone there's room to fit an 11mm open-ended up there to loosen it.
#5 Thread the new line.
Still holding the 11mm thread in place, take the new line and thread it in there by hand.
#6 Slide a 15mm box wrench onto the line, tighten with an 11mm
Though I suspect Korman's lines use an SAE wrench size I had no problems using a 15mm box wrench. Slide it up there like you did the old line, take an 11mm wrench and tighten it up. I ended up at a point where I couldn't tighten the bolt anymore with my normal wrench because of how close the bolt is to the fuel tank, the relative bulk of my long wrenches and the interference of the drivetrain. I had to go to sears and get a set of wrenches like these:
Very small, slim, and versatile. Got my new line good and tight.
#7 Bolt up the other end of the new line, bleed the passenger rear
And now you're done with that side.
#8 Repeat on the driver center line.
The only difficult part about this job was having the right wrenches, I had to go to the store twice during this project to get the correct sized/shaped tools. Once you have the correct wrenches it's a snap. I did the second line in 10 minutes (not including time for the brake fluid to drain). So, if you were a waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles and just did the corners get back under there! It's not hard! Or if you're planning on doing this go ahead and do it all the way, done right.
Oh yea, and my new stopping power is undoubtably equal or greater than a full brembo 4pot BBK.
First I did the passenger rear line. Easy.
Then I moved on to the passenger center line. I shot PB blaster onto the ends of the lines just to insure they went quietly and didn't strip. Everything looked pretty good on my car so I didn't worry, but apparently these pieces are prone to corrosion.
If you end up stripping something in one of those hard-to-reach places be aware that dropping the subframe will almost certainly be required. You've been warned.
Edit: An 11mm flare wrench can be substituted for the 11mm open-ended wrench for more security against stripping.
#1 Remove exhaust shielding plate.
I'm not sure if that's what it's called, but you can see it there right above my very rusty exhaust. There's 4 11mm bolts holding it up. Take those out and it'll drop right off.
#2 Unbolt one end of the brake line
Hold a 14mm open-ended wrench on the big bolt and loosen the little bolt with an 11mm wrench. The loose end will drip about half a jar of brake fluid over about an hour. I just took a break and waited for it to stop.
#3 Slide a 14mm box wrench onto the line
There's room so you can push it all the way back and it will fit around the bolt snuggly, but will have almost no room to rotate. This will hold the line in place while you loosen the other side.
#4 Loosen other bolt with an 11mm open-ended
With the exhaust shielding gone there's room to fit an 11mm open-ended up there to loosen it.
#5 Thread the new line.
Still holding the 11mm thread in place, take the new line and thread it in there by hand.
#6 Slide a 15mm box wrench onto the line, tighten with an 11mm
Though I suspect Korman's lines use an SAE wrench size I had no problems using a 15mm box wrench. Slide it up there like you did the old line, take an 11mm wrench and tighten it up. I ended up at a point where I couldn't tighten the bolt anymore with my normal wrench because of how close the bolt is to the fuel tank, the relative bulk of my long wrenches and the interference of the drivetrain. I had to go to sears and get a set of wrenches like these:
Very small, slim, and versatile. Got my new line good and tight.
#7 Bolt up the other end of the new line, bleed the passenger rear
And now you're done with that side.
#8 Repeat on the driver center line.
The only difficult part about this job was having the right wrenches, I had to go to the store twice during this project to get the correct sized/shaped tools. Once you have the correct wrenches it's a snap. I did the second line in 10 minutes (not including time for the brake fluid to drain). So, if you were a waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles and just did the corners get back under there! It's not hard! Or if you're planning on doing this go ahead and do it all the way, done right.
Oh yea, and my new stopping power is undoubtably equal or greater than a full brembo 4pot BBK.
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