Jeg, I wish I had gone through them in the first place to buy fittings. Lesson learned. I did buy one of their kits, and despite many discussions on the exact setup of my car, I still had some pipes too short, some too long, and some wrong fittings in the kit. So I ended up making much of my own line and just using the fittings from their kit. lol

On this side of the pond, I buy my coils of pipe and fittings. 

//www.automec.co.uk/

I even bought my flairing tool from them.

I'd vote for rubber flexi lines over braided on a road car every time.
Why ?
You can't crimp a braided line to prevent excessive fluid loss while working on the brakes...

Having had to fit some to Betty for a technical article, I'm not that impressed with them.
You also have a better visual idea of how they are deteriorating - just because the outside of a braided line is still shiny doesn't mean it hasn't rotted internally.

Hey Brett,

Hopefully my email was somewhat helpful. It's a lot harder to type a legitimate response on my phone. haha. But anyway, I'll mirror what was said before on here and I'll add in some more info since I just did my entire brake system.

I will just say that replacing the lines in the engine bay with the motor in is a pain in the ass. It just is. But it’s worth it if you can deal with it. Inspect the line that runs from front to rear subframe and look for corrosion and cracking. If it looks to be in great shape, don’t worry about replacing it. But if it’s questionable… replace it with new. I personally chose PVF tubing because I’ve used it on domestic cars and had awesome results in nasty, salt road type conditions. It’s easy enough to bend and cut and holds a flare without cracking easily which is really important.

First things first... I could not find a single local source that would carry the right brake fittings. They are 3/8x24 UNF and no one would carry it. So I started pricing it out. How expensive would it be to buy multiple individual fittings from an online source? I'll list out all the fittings I remember needing or my particular split front/rear setup.

13 fittings: male 3/8x24 UNF Part #3H4429 - 13 x $1.69 = $21.97

5 fittings: female 3/8x24 UNF Part #11D5050 - 5 x $1.69 = $8.45

1 fitting: 10mm Part #TM110051 - 1 x $3.99 = $3.99

1 fitting: 12mm Part #BPU26 - 1 x $3.99 = $3.99

25 feet of PVF tube – Part # PAC325 = $25

Flaring Tool - $29.99

Cutting Tool - $8.99
Total: $74.38 + shipping

Or you could buy a kit that is supposed to have everything you need… I bought one. It was about $150 + shipping and it was NOT an exact fit for my car. There were some weird fittings that weren’t quite right and needed to be cut and re-flared. So I had to have a tube cutter and flaring tool anyway.

Your best bet is to go ahead and but the individual parts and BUY EXTRAS. You’ll want them later. Count your fittings and measure them if you can. Take pictures of everything and how it’s routed. Then see if bending your own new route might be better for you, the car, and the overall fit (think about how it affects working on the car when they are in the way).


If you want braided lines, I highly recommend getting a front/rear kit like this one below. I have had them on previous setups and it made a significant difference over my old tired rubber lines.

//www.minimania.com/part/C-AJJ4026/Brake-Hose-Kit-4-Braided-Mini--Mini-Cooper-S

I know this was basically a novel, but I’ve got a lot of lessons learned from this rebuild and most of them are still fresh in my head, so feel free to ask or keep sending emails. I’m taking some leave soon to work on the car and just chill (I’m active duty at the depot here at Tinker) so I’ll have time to give you some real responses.

Thanks Norm, I was definitely one who was mixing my terms, I like the SILICONE brake fluid, but id does render hydraulic switched uselees in short order.

Sean

Our host has brake pipes and fittings, some pre-made, some make-your-own.

//www.minimania.com/Search_Inventory.cfm?subtype=SearchText&Search=brake%20pipe

//www.minimania.com/Search_Results/brake%20fitting/All

//www.minimania.com/ss/BRAKES

I am in WR at the depot.  I have had my Mini since 2005 but really haven't done anything with it.  I have always been afraid that if I dig into it it will just sit there and rot. I have enough people around that know how to work on cars now so it is time to start fixing things!

Yesterday we pulled off the leaking brake master cylinder and one of the lines snapped (not a big surprise).  We went to the Advanced Auto Parts and picked up a new line but the size of the male end was just slightly off where it was screwed in to the T fitting.  Is there a remedy for this?  Can you buy an adapter at the local parts store for it or can you get a line at the store?  Anyone know what size the lines actually are?

Again, my car is a 1970 Morris Mini Panel Van from New Zealand and I can't seem to find the actually dimensions of the line to either order it or just make new ones.  Please let me know what I can do to remedy this situation.  I do have buddies that can teach me how to make the lines but I need to get the correct fittings/lines first!

Strokernaut, are you at the Depot at WR?

Anyway, I just got done making all new hard lines and replacing all flex lines on my car. If your lines are all original like what was on my '89, here's what I would recommend based on what I found.

1) At the very least replace the flex lines front and rear. Mine looked fine but if you cut the tubes you can see that they have swollen and constricted inside as well as deteriorating. 

2) if you are replacing the rear flex lines, look at the hard lines that are attached to the swingarms on the rear. They connect the flex lines to the wheel cylinders. You'll have to loosen them anyway to replace the flex lines and I've never seen a set im good shape. Yours may even crumble and break as you're removing them. 

3) as others have mentioned, check the main line that runs to the rear subframe. The curved portion is vulnerable to debris and bumps because of its design. Plus a poorly bent tube can be thin and fail with extended corrosion.

Also, I have some other tips if you'll email me at the email in my profile. Not sure how long you've been in the classic scene.but if you're sort of new i think you'll find it helpful.

Or C-AJJ4026

Caution when installing new front hoses of any kind. Make certain that the pipes are seating correctly in the hoses. I've found hoses with holes drilled too deeply for the particular pipe heads being used.

GBH 173 for the rears (2) and GBH 174 for the disc fronts (2).

Any idea which part on here to order for the flex lines? 

I would replace all four flex lines while you have it apart. They may look OK on the outside but they do deterioate from the inside.

For some reason I can't update my profile.  I am in Warner Robins, Ga.  The humidity here sucks compared to the 0% in Idaho!

Synthetic fluid, 5.1 is basically dinosaur fluid, like 3 & 4, but made from whatchamacallit, so it has nicer properties. All 3 of these, in their modern forms may be safely mixed.

SILICONE fluid, 5 (yes, it seems really stupid that "they" named synthetic something that seems really, really too much like this) is nothing at all like 3, 4 or 5.1 and should never be mixed with those.

3, 4 and 5.1 are all hygroscopic, they absorb water all of the time, so need to be flushed (completely) every two years to clean that out.

5 does not absorb water, however if any moisture did get in it would pool at the cylinders so a system filled with this should at least be bled every two years just to eliminate any that got there.

Each one of these has a distinctive color, which you can look up on the internet, to help you identify what you have. In general, SILICONE, 5, is a dark purple color, meant to look quite a lot different from the other 3.

Norm

I really don't like the feel of the pedal in Minis with synthetic fluid.

If you're not driving you car enough that the alleged long lay-up abilities of synthetic are a major attraction, then perhaps you should get a noew hobby !

I like synthetic fluid, I have used it in a number of cars although I can say that SXSMAN is right, it does render hydraulic switches useless fairly quickly. I gave up and wired a push button switch into my MG1100. I pulled the car out of storage last week after 4 years and the brakes worked just as they always have with no leaks.

Bit of a toss up IMHO.  Synthetic is non hygroscopic but tends to retain air in tiny bubbles.. Allegedly this means the system is very difficult to bleed which results in a squashy (softish) pedal.

However, both cars I've driven using synthetic have felt fine to me.  But then I've never had problems with "ordinary" fluid ..even in the tropics.  Change it every few years if you are concerned.  I'm pretty slack with that but I've had my cylinders lined with stainless so haven't had any isssues.  If you did notice a problem (brake fade would probabaly be the first symptom) its no big deal to run some fresh fluid through.

They say synthetic is good for cars lightly used with long periods of storage but I've left Minis for up to 4 years in storage with ordinary fluid with no adverse effects. 

They say its incompatible with normal fluid but you seem to be replacing everything and my friends who changed haven't had any issues.

One undoubted benefit is that it doesn't eat paint... but then I haven't spilled any fluid on my paint for ages...

While you're replacing everything it probably worth thinking about ..but I'm not sure how/why you would chose either way...  $$$ maybe??

Cheers, Ian

I remember years ago having problems with the hydraulic brake switch on a Pantera because of using synthetic brake fluid. I like the idea of it not being hydroscopic , I'll try it again some day.

Anyone else have issues using synthetic brake fluid ?

I'm a big fan of kunifer brake and clutch pipes; good corrosion resistance, and easy to work with.