Brake lines....

I have searched and can't find the answer...

How can I tell if the front brake line has been replaced or not?

 

The year it was made is printed on the line, if you can't read it anymore, it's too old for sure, lol!

 

I'll have to go check...they look very new...nice red ink lettering...I looked last night but didn't see anything that looked like a date code. Maybe I just don't know what I am looking for.

 

Thought I was going to get lucky...alas they have not been changed.

In red ink I found...

DOT * 11/80

Them brake lines and pads and shoes gotta go! And probably the caliper and master cylinder need to be rebuilt I'm sure.

 

Yet again I learn something from this great group of XJ enthusiasts. I never knew there was a date on brake lines!

 

Took me a bit to find it...couldn't find anything on the forum (I'm sure it's there I just couldn't find it) about what the date looked like. Then I saw a post about it should look like a date. So I went and checked my lines over again...I found the date on the "backside" of the line. meaning not the easy side to see when you walk up bend down and look.

 

I didn't know before, I learned it here last week while looking for something else!

They must be the right numbers, but don't tear your lines off before one of our gurus chime in and say this is right! I'm not able to confirm with my own bike since it is not even close to me at the moment, lol!

 

The only other thing that looked remotely like a possible date code was 1401...my guess would be that it means the 14th week of 2001. Either way the guru's would say that they need to be replaced.

BUT I would like to know for sure which one is the date code.

 

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... +code.html

In this thread you can see me asking the same question. I probably should have just made it a new thread. Everybody says they have codes, probably because somebody else said they do, but I have yet to see a picture of one. I don't doubt they are there, but a pic would let folks know what they are looking for...

 

Pics coming. Outside markings and inside too. I took a very nice looking original hose and surgically sliced it open so you can see the cracks and crumbling of the inner line. Working on getting good pics of the deterioration.

Those ARE the correct numbers; the DOT 11/80 means the hose was made/certified in November of 1980.

Some hoses have it molded in, some ink printed, and some stamped into the metal "skirt" of the fittings.

 

I'm about to replace my brake lines and rebuild my MC muyself for the first time on my Seca 550. I'm willing to buy a bleeding kit if it makes my job easier. Anyone care to suggest a particular one? There's a Harbor Freight store near me, but all I see there is this: http://www.harborfreight.com/brake-blee ... 92474.html

Thanks for the input!

 

Thanks for verifying that for me! Thanks for being so helpful with all the brake info too!

 

It does. Believe me.

It doesn't cover the master cylinder, but Installing Stainless Steel brake lines should have what you're looking for.

 

Hey! I got those instructions from Chacal when I got my SS line from him. They don't talk much about the bleeding kits in there, though...

 

Shane_Wood and Wirehairs,

I bought a inexpensive bleeder kit from Autozone when I rebuilt my MC and caliper including new s.s. lines. Once you get brake fluid in the line, fill the reservoir, put something like a empty plastic coffee jug under the line and leave it overnight. In the morning refill the reservoir and continue the bleeding process until you are getting fluid through the caliper w/o air bubbles. Adjust the brake handle. Hope this helps.

Gary

 

The bleeder kit just makes it easier to get close.

The problem is the rough machining of the caliper bore traps micro-bubbles that DO NOT want to just bleed out.

The "leave it overnight" part is truly the key. The little bubbles will eventually gather into bigger bubbles that can be bled out; but they aren't about to rushed.

I have a plastic $25 Mity-Vac, it works fine but the brass-bodied one looks hardier.