Stainless Steel Brake Lines
After having occasional problems with “spongy brakes” & bleeding them several times, I tried Stainless Steel Brake Lines.
Going to the stainless brake lines cured my spongy brake problem. My ’02 had hoses that were apparently expanding & giving inconsistent pressure to the brakes & the pedal. I understand this is a pretty common problem on older vehicles. The difference between our Miatas & other cars is we often drive them harder and therefore notice little things like changing brake response sooner.
It cost me about $160 for my stainless line set from TIRE RACK though I’ve seen them advertised in several places. There are even some vendors that sell the brake lines with a plastic coating. This is to lessen the chance of rub issues wearing other componets out.
When I put my set on, they fit just fine & had all new fittings, even the equalizing block. While installing my new lines, I used a suction pump to empty my master cylinder. I replaced my old brake fluid in the master cylinder with synthetic brake fluid. Then I purged all the old fluid out of the lines & bled the whole brake system. I was amazed at the results!
If you don’t want the hassle of a complete fluid replacement & purge, you can just make sure you keep your master cylinder full throughout the job & then bleed your brakes. In my case, since I keep Rupert in the garage all winter, I thought this was the ideal time to convert to synthetic brake fluid. Now I don’t have to worry about getting water in my system from condensation over the winter. Water in your brake system will cause all kinds of problems if you keep your car very long!
If you have brake issues, you might want to consider going the stainless steel brake line route. If so, consider the change to synthetic fluid at the same time. It isn’t that much extra hassle and will have meaningful long term results. I’m glad I did!
ONE WARNING! My new brake lines were slightly longer than the stock hoses so I had to carefully position them. When you install your new brake lines be very careful that they aren’t left in a position where they will rub against any other part of your car! Move the steering wheel to full lock in each direction & recheck your clearence each time.
When your springs compress you will probably get even more slack in the new brake lines. Be sure to repeat the whole clearence checking procedure after you put your car down with all four wheels on the ground. Always remember, STANLESS BRAKE LINES WILL CUT YOUR TIRES ETC. IF THEY RUB AGAINST THEM.