Bob,
an old brake hose desintegrates from the inside, and often times, it will
swell up on the inside. Then, when you apply the brakes, the fluid
pressure due to your incredible leg muscles is enough to force fluid
through the constriction, but it is trapped and will cause the brake to
drag. The brake will release slowly over time. In your case, the leak
would have been able to release the pressure so that the brake wasn't
locked up when you checked.
I have installed the braided lines. I don't know if anybody is really sure
that they will result in a stiffer pedal, because getting rid of old
spongy lines will always improve the feel, braided lines or not.
I can't complain, other that they seem to be a little longer than stock
and occasionly touch the tire when I turn the steering to full lock.
Ulix
On Fri, 31 May 1996, Bob Grant wrote:
> right side front. When I reached around the back
> of the wheel to feel for the bleed nipple I realized
> that the entire wheel was incredibly HOT. It was
> too hot to hold my hand on the road wheel for more
> than a couple of seconds. I noticed at that time
> that the flexible brake line to that wheel was leaking
> when the brake pedal was pushed. The leak must have
> been very new because I did not notice any significant
> loss from the master cylinder.
>
> This means I have two problems. First, I obviously need
> to replace the flexible hose. Since all the hoses are
> probably original I will be replacing them all. I
> noticed in the VB catqlog that they have two kinds,
> the standard ones and stainless steel braided ones
> that are listed as high performance racing parts.
> Does anyone on have any experience with these stainless
> steel hoses? They are sold as a set (presumably 4) for
> $70, about the same price as the standard hoses.
>
> My second problem is the overheating wheel, which may
> have destroyed the brake hose. My first thought was
> that the wheel bearings were shot and that excessive
> friction was heating the wheel. I took off the two
> front wheels to compare the feel of the bearings and
> saw no difference. Both sides seem OK with no obvious
> slop or excessive noise from the bearings. The other
> possiblity is that the brake calipers are rubbing the
> disk even when the brakes aren't being applied. The
> resistance on both sides of the car seem about the same.
> The overheating disk seems a little warped, but I don't
> think its too bad since the wheel doesn't shake on hard
> braking (at least it didn't on my short drive before I
> discovered the problem). Any insights into this problem
> would be appreciated.
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'67 Sprite '66 Caddy
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