Austin519

Man I hope no one actually pays to have these things installed. I could do it myself now after having done it with the help of systek and jyang411. I'll go ahead a post a DIY right here...

Comptech Stainless Steel Brake Lines Install:

-Parts: 1 set of Comptech Stainless Steel Brake Lines (4 lines total), 0.5L of DOT4 Brake Fluid, Bleeder Hose (or similar hose from aquarium store)
-Total cost: $120

-Summary of Process:
1) Jack up car, place on jackstands, and remove all 4 wheels.
2) Place bleeder hose onto nipple of caliper valve, turn valve 1/4 turn to open.
3) With short strokes, pump brake pedal to pump brake fluid into container to be disposed of later. Continue to pump pedal until no more fluid flows out of bleeder hose
4) Remove stock rubber lines:
a. Pry off metal clips at top of stock lines with fingers or back of hammer
b. Unscrew stock feeder hoses from stock brake lines
c. Unscrew bolt holding stock lines to bracket behind rotors
d. Unscrew bolt at bottom of stock lines from caliper and remove stock lines
5) Install SS lines (reverse of #4):
a. Screw replacement bolt through washers and SS lines eyehole into caliper
b. Screw bolt through rubber bracket on SS lines into metal bracket behind rotors
c. Screw stock feeder hoses into SS lines
d. Push on metal clips to hold SS lines in place on metal brackets
6) Bleed brakes (repeat for all 4 calipers:
a. Position friend by brake fluid reservoir (right rear of engine bay) to refill reservoir, or do it periodically yourself
b. Place bleeder hose over nipple on caliper and open valve. Make sure all other valves are closed.
c. Have friend pump brake with very short strokes, while you watch the bleeder hose for air bubbles. When no more air/air bubbles emerge from the valve, stop pumping brake and close valve with 1/4 turn twist WITHOUT REMOVING bleeder hose!
d. Repeat for all 4 calipers
6) Test out brakes and you're done!

So below you see what comes in the Comptech Stainless Steel Brake Line Kit. A little background on what these things are and what they do. The stainless steel lines replace the stock rubber brake lines and offer a stiffer brake feeling. No more spongy slow reacting brakes. They do this because the stock rubber lines will flex under hydraulic pressure (think of a balloon). These lines, which are actually Teflon lines, have to be braided with steel because Teflon is highly resistant to flexibility...but that lends to it being brittle, so if hit with a rock in the wheel well, it will shatter. So because the stainless steel braid covers the Teflon to protect it, most Teflon lines are now just called stainless steel lines.

This kit came with relatively little. It had the 4 lines, the 4 screws that screw into the calipers, and 8 crush washers.

Austin519

Now dealing with you own brake lines sounds really scary right? If you screw up, yes your brakes could not work, and you could die. Honestly though, if you can't do this modification in under an hour with a friend, you should turn in your driver's license anyway...because you're too stupid to drive! With that said here's the step by step. You see here I got a cheap little plastic container from my grocery store, and an $8 bleeder hose from my local NAPA Auto Parts, pictured below. While I was at it, I made sure to pick up a jug of DOT4 brake fluid, about 0.5L of it. I'll need all three to properly bleed the brakes.

Austin519

First thing's first, I jacked up the car, put it up on jack stands, and removed all 4 wheels. Once that was done I attached the bleeder hose to the nipple on the valve of one of the rear calipers of the car, and turned the valve 1/4 turn to open it. You see the valve and the nipple clearly here. I had a friend pump the brake pedal (but NOT to the floor!!!) to pump out the brake fluid in the master cylinder (under the hood). Do not push the pedal all the way down when pumping, as you'll ruin the master cylinder. So we pumped all the fluid out into that plastic container, then we were ready to remove the old lines and install the new ones!

Austin519

All of the work was down in the wheel wells...so luckily we were provided with seats!

Austin519

Here's a good picture of the stock rubber lines. Removing the old lines and installing the new ones was an extremely easy process. The brake line is held in 3 places. First, it is attached to that top bracket sticking out in the wheel well by a small metal clip, which you may not be able to see. By pulling the clip out with your fingers, or if it's on tight with the back of a hammer, the line is free of the bracket. Then it just needs to be unscrewed from the stock line feeding it.

The second place that the line is held, is in a bracket close to the rear of the rotors, and it's held in by one bolt.

Finally, the line is screwed into the caliper where the line terminates into an eyering. The screw has holes in it to allow the brake fluid to flow into the caliper (you may just have to see this one, it's difficult to explain).

In the picture below you see the stock line dangling after having removed the screw holding it in behind the rotor.

Austin519

Another picture of the stock rubber lines.

Austin519

To help orient you, the picture was taken in the left rear wheel well, by pointing the camera toward the axle from the left side of the wheel well (if you're facing the wheel well). On the far right you'll see the already rusting stock rotors (after only 5000 miles!). I have already installed the stainless steel brake lines with the new screws and crush washers, and you can see where the lines (which have a rubber bracket that's attached to them) screw into the metal bracket behind the rotor.

Austin519

Another picture with the new brake lines installed. You can clearly see the top of the brake line is held in by a metal clip in the metal bracket. Just above the brake line is the stock feeder line that will be screwed into the stainless steel line. A good tip, screw in the stock feeder line before clipping in the stainless steel lines.

Austin519

Once you replace all 4 lines, you have to bleed the lines to get rid of any air in them. The easiest way to do this is with 3 people, which I had. You attach your bleeder hose to the nipple on the valve of the caliper, and open the valve. Make sure the other 3 valves are closed. You then have a friend watch the fluid level of the reservoir under the hood, while another friend pumps the brakes in short strokes. The friend watching the fluid level has to keep it constantly filled so that you don't introduce more air into the lines. As your other friend pumps the brakes, you watch the bleeder hose for air bubbles, and when no more air comes from the valve, close the valve WITH the bleeder hose still connected, then remove the bleeder hose. Do this for all 4 calipers, test out your brakes, and you're done!

I want to thank systek for showing me how to do this. I said a lot of this in first person, when in fact him and jyang411 were the ones doing it. I appreciate it guys!

Austin519

fahoumh

very informative.....this should most definitely make it into the FAQ, or made a Sticky at the very least. Great work!

Bay Area TL

Wow! This board has great technical information! Time to get a set and try it out myself!

Bitium

Thank god I didn't help you!!! Looks really good. Thanks for the installation pictures and procedures, not like I didn't know how to do it

BDI

What do SS break lines do besides look better??

fahoumh

read

daverman

This looks like an easy mod if you have a couple of friends over. Thanks for posting!

evolaerok

Thank you Austin! I guess this is my next purchase!

Austin519

fahoumh:
Ha hey thanks

Bay Area TL:
Good luck...if ya need any help let me know.

Bitium:
Heh heh yeah thanks for all the help and the Q&A session before I went out and did this.

daverman:
It REALLY really is. If you only have two people, it's possible to just stop every once in a while and check the fluid under the hood. And if you have one person, you can press on the brakes and then go check the tube...but I would suggest two people at least.

evolaerok:
It really should be. My brakes now feel like racing brakes, I mean that. Systek and I re-bled them today and I went and drove around. They feel SO solid, like I'm actually pressing my own foot against the rotor (ouch).

Austin519

oblio98

What an EXCELLENT post! THANKS!

Now that's what this place should be about!

:-jon

snook789

Nice job Austin, I will add this to the FAQ page

Austin519

snook789:
Thanks bud. If you would like bigger pictures I have MUCH bigger pictures...I just had to follow the 100k rule in this one. Let me know if any of it needs rewriting...and hopefully I'll have more of these .

Austin519

systek

thanks in no small part to.............................me..!!!

to think, i was almost kicked out of this forum a few mths back...bah

anyway..austin, dont suggest anyone to do this by themself unless they have the self bleeder kit...even then, i would strongly suggest two ppl. reason being there is no way to get that pedal travel adjusted properly the way we did last night w/only one person...think about what we did and how that would be possible w/one person...

Austin519

systek:
Well yeah...self bleeder kit is necessary for 1 person...that's why I said it's not a good idea...but it's possible

Austin519

850EX

Stainless SS Brakelines (DOT approved) along with new brake pads (Endless, Porterfield...etc) and brake fluid are the most economical breaking upgrade for our cars besides new tires.

Just keep our stock rotors and make sure they are not warped and you will feel a big difference.

Outstanding installation instrutions.

Austin519

850EX:
Agreed, and thanks

Austin519

Mr Hyde

This is now in the FAQ

fdsonn

Do you know the sequence for bleeding the brakes on a TL? The sequence varies form manufacture to manufacture.

rmarin2

As a rule of thumb, you should always bleed from the farthest point to the closest point to the master cylinder. So I suggest, and this is how I did it and haven't had any issues, is start from passenger side rear wheel, then driver side rear wheel, then passenger side front wheel, then drivers side front wheel. Hope that helps!!

RAdams

This is how I've always done it in the past. Haven't killed anyone yet... :p

fdsonn

I have seen on some of the newer cars with ABS that the bleeding squence is different. Some are LF,RR,RF,LF and others LF,RF,RR,LR. I was wondering if anybody knew for sure what Acura recommended.

songoku

Dang~~~ Nice post!! Great job Austin.

fdsonn

Check this link out


http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Performance/brakelines.htm

fshrman

More kudos for this post. This may be my first mod.


---------------------------------
03 TLS, NH Black on Parch, no mods.....yet

R Man

Thanks for resurrecting this post fdsonn, I missed it the first time around. New job, new house, new city. I can't keep up.

I've been thinking a lot about the brakes in this car. I've always felt that they were weak in comparison to the power, especially with headers, exhaust and high-flow air filter. They are just too spongy. At first I considered new pads, but that would mean replacing pads a good 20 or 30k miles ahead of schedule (I have only 7,700 miles after 9 months of ownership, 950 miles of which were on the first day). The SS brake lines sound like the best fix.

Austin519, please help reinforce the benefits of this mod. Do you actually stop quicker, or does it just feel that way? From the magazine articles I've read, the car does 60 to 0 in about 127 feet (Motor Trend), 60-0 in 136 feet (Road and Track, they suck) and 70-0 in 186 feet (Car and Driver, I guess that 10 mph really makes a difference). The fact that the lines don't flex is a good sign that they react faster and manage the pressure better. It’s something to get used to, but definitely more communicative. I like the comment that “it feels like my foot is pressing directly against the rotors.

Rick414

Bitium

Any mechanic would tell you to start from farthest one to the shortest one.

Acura does recomend from the shortest one to the longest one. LF,RF,RR,LR. You are correct that is because the car has ABS.

I have done it both ways on the TL, to me it does not make a difference.

CasperTL

*********:

Just to let you know, if you're not busy, DuckBlue and I are in town for Fri and Sat. We'd love to see your ride. I PM'ed you on the CL forums and I sent you my phone number. Gimme a call if you can.

CasperTL

fdsonn

I got my Helms shop manual today. The brake bleeding sequence is left front, right front, right rear and left rear.

NighthawkBlack

I see the same thing in the Helm Don't know how much difference it will make but I will do it that way. maybe you start with closest to push the air as far away from master cylinder as possible. Either way this is the sequence the helm manual shows.



2 Front Right . . 3 Right Rear


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1 Front Left . 4 Right Rear