Ch 9.5: Brake Lines

SS Braided or AL Tubing ?
For this step, I'm only running the brake lines from the calipers, up the strut, and through the fwd MLG bulkhead. At that point I'll cap them off and wait until a later chapter to run the lines up to the front where the resevoirs and master cylinders will be.

I chose to use SS braided PFTE lines (purchased from Pegasus Racing) from the calipers and up the strut because of the flexibility and movement of the MLG bow. Once through the Fwd MLG bulkhead, I'll convert to lighter weight AL tubing to run to the nose where I'll probably convert back to SS braided to the resevoirs.

Here are links to what I used..
-3 SS Braided brake line
-3 PTFE Hose End
-3 Brass sleeves (Extra's in case I needed to redo a hose end)

The angle at the caliper end was such that I chose a 45 degree angle NPT/AN fitting and ran the line directly to the connection. With the direct connection I didn't feel I needed to include a service loop in the brake line as I have some slack I can pull from up between the bulkheads if needed. Don't forget to use a bit of pipe sealant seal on the NPT end...NOT on the AN ends. I used Permatex thread sealant that you can get at most local auto supply stores.

1st attempt to run brake line...abandoned because there
was not enough room to secure the line without getting
in the way of the MLG access cover.

Routing Challenges: My challenge was where to run and mount the braided line in the gear-well. It needs to be run in a way so it won't chafe on any structure, and doesn't get in the way of my main gear cover. I first ran it below the gear bow to a connection at the fwd bulkhead, and then planned to convert to AL tubing and complete the run to bulkhead connectors. This would give me easy access to disconnect the lines if I ever needed to remove the MLG bow. This would have worked, but I wasn't comfortable with how the line transitioned from the gear leg to down under the bow...I couldn't find a good way to secure the line without causing fit problems with the MLG cover.

So I rethought the routing and decided to run the lines up over the MLG bow and secure the lines with a few adel clamps. The adel clamps are secured with Clickbond studs floxed to the MLG bow and secured with 2xBID. The lines then go directly to the bulkhead connectors via 90 degree AN-3 hose end connectors. This seemed to work out better and I can still access the bulkhead connections to remove the MLG if needed.