Clamping brake hoses

[daverclasper]

Hi

 

Some car maintenance books say you can do this, other opinions, are that it will damage them?.

 

Also, if ok to do this, would a G clamp and 2 shortish, round bars (say 5mm dia) running along the length of hose, between the clamping areas of G clamp and hose, be an ok DIY tool method?.

 

Any help great please.

 

Cheers, Dave 

[Colin Lindsay]

Personal opinion, but I don't do it at all, no matter what the books say - I was always worried about collapsing the tube and causing damage at a later date.

To be honest, if I WAS going to do it, I'd get a proper tool for the job.... again I'd be worried about damage.

[rogerguzzi]

NO!!!! just put cling film under filler cap or find a plug for the end and if done right only one cylinder will need bleeding (do not let air into master cylinder ie let fluid get low)

 

Roger

[daverclasper]

Hi and thanks

 

It's to try and isolate where there may be air in system.

 

Cheers, Dave

[Pete Lewis]

Its a bad idea to collapse any hose to blank it off it will struggle to recover you are crushing the rubber and canvass reinforcing ,

metal braided would be disaster,

 

just because its done and there tools to do it doesnt make it good.

 

pete

[daverclasper]

Thanks.

 

Will not do then.

 

On the subject of brake hoses. Can they collapse internally and create a bit of a spongy pedal please.

 

Still have this issue, after replacing rear wheel cylinders that seemed a bit weepy.

 

Cheers, Dave

[Guest]

Dave.

 

Collapsed hoses tend to limit the amount of fluid being transferred to their area of requirement; as you highlight this is internal collapse. It is also possible for the hose, in really serious cases, to bulge due to too much pressure.

 

I had collapsed hose on the Vitesse and the car pulled to one side during progressive braking - in effect the braking became unbalanced. This was down to the age of the hoses and I had no idea how long they had been on there via the PO. I swapped all the hoses for Goodridge units, an excellent upgrade.

 

Spongy feeling in most cases comes down to tiny air bubbles left in the system. When you bled the lines, did you have the brake shoes locked fully out, as this prevents unnecessary wheel cylinder movement.

 

A tip I have flagged on here several times is that on completing the bleeding operation keep the brake pedal firmly down overnight / 12hrs with a piece of wood or something similar. This continued pressure will assist in getting rid of any tiny bubbles in the system. Does not take many bubbles to have a spongy feel.

 

Hope the above helps ??

 

Good luck.

 

Richard. 

[PyroJim]

I have also had an issue with a collapsed hose twice in the past, once on an A35 and once on my Dolomite. The collapse in the hose acted as a one way valve so that when the brakes were applied one wheel (or both the back ones with the Dolomite) would bind on. The next day they were free again. In both situations I assumed a sticking cylinder or caliper but both times it was a rubber hose :-)

[JohnD]

NO!!!! just put cling film under filler cap or find a plug for the end and if done right only one cylinder will need bleeding (do not let air into master cylinder ie let fluid get low)

 

Roger

Plus one for Roger.

 

And a Plug for the end?   Some rubber/plastic tubing that will fit snugly.     A short length, doubled over so that it kinks and seals itself, held so by a twist of wire.    Either end can be the plug.

 

John

[Pete Lewis]

Double it over and a twist of wire

 

Dont tell my doctor

 

pete

[Colin Lindsay]

Plastic golf tees pushed into the end of the hose can seal it very well, it's worked for me in the past.

[DanMi]

I have never understood clamping the pipe. By the time you have worked on the wheel cylinder / caliper and then reattach the thread will not fit exactly the same so you need to undo the end attached to the pipe to realign the flexible hose, rendering clamping pointless. Cling film under the master cylinder cap prevents major loss.