I have a leak in one ss brake line--its on the passenger rear. I have tried 2 different ss lines--so I know the line itself is good. There is no leak with the oem brakeline.
the leak is at the hard line connection. I do understand that the hardline sometimes has a more difficult time sealing with the harder metal present in the ss line? I gently emory papered the flange--to make sure it was smooth--no blurs etc. I cannot feel any.
I have tigned it, loosed it, retighened it----REALLY tightened it and still I have a small leak. the leak is very small but it is there. I have tried to the best I can do to make sure the line is lined up properly etc.
It is mounted on the oem points. No leak at the caliper. No leak at any other wheel.
At this point I am lost. I dont want to cut the hard line and reflange it.
Has anyone else experienced this?
At this point I may just run new oem lines on the rear and the SS up front. After doing MUCH reading on the subject it seems that there is only a VERY small difference between them anyway. I never knew that some ss lines are NOT DOT approved and their life expectancy can be short.

 

Are you bottoming out the threads before it seals against the flange?

 

no. still plenty of thread left. but it does go in as far as the drivers side one does. It tightens normally.

 

Hmm. That was really all I could think of is that the hard line fitting wasn't screwing in far enough into the line. Maybe the flare at the end of the hardline is out of round, uneven, or smashed a bit allowing fluid past? (grabbing at straws with this guess)

I just put new stainless lines on mine and had more thread showing than stock which worried me until i bled them and had no leaks.

 

the more I read about SS lines the more I wonder if I really want them on my car.

 

"The SAE stuff was designed to go together once on the assembly line, and then be "immortal", as defined by Detroit. It's pretty good at it, too! The AN stuff is designed for field serviceability, long fatigue life, and a level of bulletproofness the SAE never considered."

AN = Army/Navy = aircraft. The AN has a 37 deg flare vs. the SAE 45 deg with a different "stretch" vs "compression" mode of sealing. I don't know where the metric ends fall, but likely more SAE than AN because of cost.

Multiple disconnections of standard fittings will require more and more torque with each cycle in order to get a seal, until it's impossible to do so. While it will bolt up, never try to mate 37 and 45 degree flare components.

http://www.dimebank.com/BrakePlumbing.html

A little "bible" on the subject of hydraulic lines for the OCD types.

http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/a...83-30_Ch07.pdf

Personally, I'm very reluctant to pull apart automotive hydraulic lines more than a time or two, without replacing the hose (and attached fittings) with a new one.

 

good info--thanks
Well--i was able to get mine to seal. I used a little 1k grit sandpaper used to make sure it was smooth all around, including the top part of the flange, I lubricated everything and when I connected it I let the hose hang straight down to help insure proper line up. It is NOW not leaking. I did notice that it seem to tighten easier and it seemed to go in a little bit further---my imagination?
Maybe....?
I do know I have learned a lot about something that i was thinking that was plug and play and dont worry about it. Not so--not so at all. Actually SS hoses requir MORE looking after than the oems.
OD