braided lines issues - advice please

[The Green Goblin]

Hey gents,

long story short, i ended up purchasing & having installed a set of braided brake lines for my 02 NB from a forum sponsor, I have since found that the right rear line is leaking at a mounting point (does not sit right) & both fronts rub against the tyres on full lock (both stock rims + aftermarket). i specifically asked the shop prior to installing if these rubbed & the answer was ofcourse 'no'.

i spoke to another reputable work shop about the issues, & they were not sure what make these lines were (they are BF goodridge) & also mentioned that braided lines for my specific model (perhaps mx5's in general) would need to be a custom make - which is what that particular workshop usually does for this particular product/vehicle. whereas with mine, they were straight out of a box.

so now i am in contact with the workshop who originally installed them around resolving both issues (although it has taken me weeks to get to this point), of which i am not sure how they will go about doing so. for the fronts i was told they can be 'adjusted' so that they do not come into contact with tyres. As for the leak in the rear, the mount itself looks as though it is not made to sit correctly, the nuts/bolts have been fastened pretty tight & these are not the issue, the mount itself does not sit straight.

My questions to you are:
1. does the adjusting fix for the fronts as noted above sound right? i.e. will it come back & haunt me?
2. should braided lines for an nb8b be custom made in order to fit correctly/have no issues?
3. should i bother with taking it back to the shop & fixing? OR am i better off purchasing the correct set of lines purposely made for my car elsewhere?


just after some opinions/facts please, im the kind of person that would rather do it once & properly rather than stuff around. i have also found this experience/service pretty average.

cheers,
Jas.

[MX593]

I'm not sure if Goodridge brake lines are ADR compliant. I fitted braided lines that I also got from a sponsor on my NB8C and have no issues. You may have to tweek the angles of the body side ends a little so the run is OK.

[Jeo]

1. If done correctly I can't see any reason why not. I'd potentially question why this wasn't done in the first place, but you know.
2. Never tried myself but surely any reputable brand that sell a kit to fit 'model x' should fit 'model x' at least as well as any other aftermarket part.
3. Depends. Are these actually the right ones and the second shop just wants to make you some so they can charge for it, or are these actually wrong/dodgy? Where did you buy them from in the first place?

[Mr Morlock]

Someone like tbro might comment on brake lines and magpie on consumer law. PersoNally i suspect that too many products are of unknown quality including processes. Consumer law in aust is very good but can you enforce a claim? The product should be fit for purpose. If you spend money getting them fitted will the parts supplier cover consequential damages? Names of products dont mean much if there is nothing behind the name ie a reputable company. Its patently obvious things should fot and lines should not leak. Hold off and get some more advice.

[Steampunk]

i spoke to another reputable work shop about the issues, & they were not sure what make these lines were (they are BF goodridge)

This is strange, if they are Goodridge lines then they will have yellow sleeves with "Goodridge" on them as well as on the plastic protective sleeve over the braid themselves.

If they don't have the branding then there's your answer; fake lines, poor quality control

[greenMachine]

1. Without seeing the lines in situ, it is difficult to say what is needed to stop the rubbing. It could be that there is a little twist in the line that can be adjusted out which will mean it is positioned differently, I have also seen brake lines with a little spring to keep them away from the tyres/wheels.

2. No.

3. I would get the original shop to fix it - they have your money, right? It is called warranty work. It is not rocket science, this is pretty basic stuff, they should be able to do it with their eyes shut if they are sponsors. (It is possible that a box has come from a supplier with the wrong bits in it, and the apprentice who did the job couldn't tell the difference ... or something similar.)

It sounds like the shop that did it is willing to do the rectification, so I would give them that opportunity. If there has been rubbing, I would want those lines replaced, on principle.

[Cus]

1) The car end of the lines can be adjusted a little bit, but not a huge amount, basically you're pre-loading the roll in the lines so it forms a logical path both at rest and extension (ie; wheels straight or turned). The caliper end of the line should have little locating nodes. Hopefully they're located. =)

2) kits from known-kit-people should fit up and work.
2.5) not all kits are created equal, ask everyone what they use, and what they'd rather use.

3) Definitely take it back; even if it was done on a friday afternoon by an apprentice with the wrong lines on his third knock-off drink - it's the safety item on a car, it should work correctly and *someone* in the shop should be checking these things before they roll out the door.

[rascal]

I used a cable tie on the wishbone as a guide on mine (goodridge) to make sure they wouldn't rub.

They dont rub at rest through the full range of motion but it's close so I wanted to be 100% confident it was ok when in use. Rubbing a brake line through isn't something you want to happen..

6 years on and had no rubbing whatsoever. An easy 3c insurance policy.....

[Mr Morlock]

Goodridge seems to be a top class manufacturer supplying to OEM and with a proper Quality system. If you have purchased the product from an Australian source then you should be covered by Au consumer law. One would expect that the distributor/ manufacturer stand by their product eg replacement.
You have the parts supplier and the installer to deal with. It's essential to inform the parts supplier of what has happened and get their response. One would expect that the parts supplied ie the kit is the right one for your vehicle- you would not expect that it needs modification to fit correctly to perform as intended. If a component is faulty then it should be replaced by the parts supplier. The installer should also have a warranty on their work and rectify any installation not done correctly and if a component is faulty the parts supplier should replace the item.
PS rascals fix seems so simple for rubbing.

[taminga16]

The correct lines will have a locating pin at the caliper end and the trunnion at the body end is held in place by a locating tab that will only install one way, when these two locating devices are in place the lines should not rub on anything. Take the car back to your installer, something is not right. Brakes are not the sort of thing to be mucked about with on a chat page!
Greg.

[Magpie]

previous post

[The Green Goblin]

Thanks gents & quite informative.

Agree with the fact that i dont want to muck around with something so serious like brakes.. In terms of it being a safety issue. I dont reach full lock at speeds but still, on the track anything can happen.

Im dissapointed though at the workshop..in particular the fact that i specifically asked a question that was assured. I will do some more product specific investigation before i go back to them to rectify/replace.

Jas.

[sailaholic]

I have the HEL branded lines. They work out of the pack but I don't remember any specific locator on the banjo bolt.

Depending on which way you face the banjo fitting changes where the line runs. Some care and going from lock to lock is needed make sure the right angle is used to prevent them being tight on one lock or rubbing on the other.

If it's just the other plastic sheath that's rubbed I would not worry about replacement. If the braid itself is damaged then yeah replacement required.

By the way good ridge are ADR approved. The ADR rules now recognise non AS for brake lines. I found this out when I bought ADR approved lines to replace some goodridge ones only to find the same approval numbers on both sets.


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[madjak]

I'm pretty sure my Goodridge SS brake line packaging had ADR approved written on it.

I use a zip tie to loosely hold the rear line to the suspension arm. It's just there in case I'm pulling massive G's under brakes and the line moves and hits the tyre.

On the front's I'm running custom lines from a local brake place. They make them to length and will certify them suitable for road use... ie ADR compliant.

[Mr Morlock]

I think folks are not quite seeing the issue. It's two fold a supplier of the parts and a fitter. A supplier can blame the fitter and the fitter can blame the supplier. The parts should be suitable and the fitter should be capable of installing the product and you would think that any faulty product should be identified by the fitter.
GG already recognised it as an important issue hence the post. There are a number of matters that we don't know and arguably don't need to such as the costs and what the warranties are what responses have been from the supplier and the fitter.