Hi guys, long time member but first time posting outside of buying in the for sale sale section. I use the search button religiously but anyway I need some advice. The other day I took the car to the shop to get aligned after putting konis and c5 front brakes on. The technican got in the car and when he went to put it in gear the brake pedal went to the floor. When the car was on the lift you could see the whole back side of the caliper and rim on the passenger side were soaked in brake fluid. I started to drive it home but still had no pedal pressure. We crawled back under the car and sure enough any time the brake pedal was pressed fluid would squirt out of the line where the bolt goes into the caliper on the backside of the bolt. These were brand new earls brake lines, I don't think I twisted the line in anyway during install. I had plenty of brake pressure but could the line have failed after just 20 miles?! Or am I not getting a good seal around the crush washers and bolt where they meet the line?!

 

did you get the crush washers nice and tight? they don't take as much torque as a regular bolt, but they take more than some people want to put to them...
also, is there a crush washer on both sides of the fitting on the line? i've seen people leave one of them out and wonder why their brake pedal goes to the floor and the fluid goes all over the ground..

sometimes you have to "seat" the washers but going thru a cycle of tightening and loosening the bolt a few times- snug it down, back it off, repeat that a few times.. you will notice that the bolt turns a little farther each time.. sometimes you have to do it 10 or more times, but things will eventually seat together as long as there isn't a rock in there or you didn't try to reuse the washers..

 

I've had to use 2 washers on some of those, because the "block" thing on the end of the line interfered with a feature of the caliper casting, specifically had a corner that stuck out past the machined area, and wouldn't go all the way down flat.

 

I have a washer on both sides. I will try to re tighten everything. What doesn't make sense is why it would start leaking like that when prior i had a very firm pressure and the driver side has no problems and its the same type of line

 

You need to figure out where its leaking before you go changing stuff. Do you have enough slack in the line for suspension droop and turning the wheel lock to lock?

 

i have plenty of slack and know exactly where its leaking. Its leaking where the line goes to the caliper. Its leaking on the backside

 

Right where the bolt head and crush washer meet the flex line

 

If it is leaking at the seam, then why are you blaming the line?

What kind of crush washers are you using, aluminum or copper?

What tightening torque did you apply to the banjo bolt?

 

Use 2 washers between the fitting on the line, and the surface of the caliper.

Almost certainly it's leaking at that spot, because the block that the fitting is machined out of, can't sit flat up against the caliper. Very common.

And of course use one washer between the bolt head and the fitting.

Doesn't too much matter what the washers are made out of, or how tight the bolt is, if the one part hits the other part before it even gets to the washer.

The bolt should be NO TIGHTER THAN about 20 ft-lbs.

 

That is true. However it would be the first I have heard of it from the Earls lines. If so, the installer should have noticed.

 

Well I just took off the wheel to re-align the brake line and try what you guys suggested. When i pulled the wheel off right in the center of the line the braiding had indeed blown out! I wasn't able to see that with the wheel on. I took a pic but can't seem to find my usb cable to upload the pic for you guys to see, but I will as soon as I find it. Looks like i will be putting the stock rubber lines on for a little while. Thank you guys very much for the help