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Running brake pipe through bodywork

Jeffers_S13 - 31/3/08 at 12:33 PM

I need to run some brake pipe through bodywork.

Two options :

One continuous piece of pipe through a hole in the bodywork, with a rubber grommet
Terminate pipe at each side with a joiner of some sort

Both have pros and cons, I want to do No.2

Number 1 - is hard to fabricate, but not impossible. It is also difficult to fit with engine in situ. It has the mininmum number of connections though so leak potential is reduced.

Number 2 - This method sounds better to me despite the increased number of joins. It will look neater and is much easier to achieve and install.

But, where can I get a connector I can clamp to the bodywork/skin ? I can find everything but what I really need, which is a joiner with a longer part on one side so that I can use an M10x1 slim nut to clamp it onto the bodywork. If I use the more commonly available connectors there wont be enough thread left to get a connector on to seal the join.

The best brake specialist in the country ! seems to have closed, I was hoping he could sort me out

The other way to do it would be to use a single long make nut adn clamp this to the bodywork, but this would mean clamping two flared copper ends, is this acceptable practice ?

Anyone have any suggestions or comments ?

Thanks

James

[Edited on 31/3/08 by Jeffers_S13]

Bluemoon - 31/3/08 at 12:44 PM

Most people use the long threaded part of the flexy, with a half nut on it as a bulkhead connector... You can only use the body as a bulkhead if it's metal, and not GRP, this because in an accident the GRP could breakup riping out brake lines (an SVA fail at some stations) .. So you may need to use a bracket on the chassis with the bulkhead fitting, and a grommet for the flexy to pass though the GRP..

Dan

Jeffers_S13 - 31/3/08 at 12:56 PM

Its a steel bulkhead and its hard pipe both sides Ive just spoken to Braided Steel Aerotek and they have a male to male connector, buts it 3/8" one side and M10x1 the other, but the M10 side is quite long so hopefully I can do what I want to do

Fingers crossed...

02GF74 - 31/3/08 at 01:21 PM

Like you I would go with 2.

With a grommet it won't be held as rigidly as with a bulkhead fitting.

A bulkhead fitting means replacing pipe will be eaiser rather than feeding one long piece.

Ofcourse as you say the downside is one more fitting has more potential of leaks but in my experience I have never had any problems with properly made brake fittings leaking, the probabilty if leaks is so low so if multiplied by 2 or 3 or 4 is still very low even though it may be higher than that for 1 join less, it is still low.

stuart_g - 31/3/08 at 01:56 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Bluemoon
Most people use the long threaded part of the flexy, with a half nut on it as a bulkhead connector... You can only use the body as a bulkhead if it's metal, and not GRP, this because in an accident the GRP could breakup riping out brake lines (an SVA fail at some stations) .. So you may need to use a bracket on the chassis with the bulkhead fitting, and a grommet for the flexy to pass though the GRP..

Is this true? All of my brake pipes are through the fiberglass and I've seen lots done this way also. Is this a potential failure point?

Bluemoon - 31/3/08 at 01:56 PM
Humm, sorry got hold of the wrong end of the stick...

I would go with 1 under the KISS principle.. After all how often will you need to change the hard line? If you r using copper nickel pipe it should outlast the chassis...I would leave plenty of pipe though before each connector in case you needed to re-flare the ends at some point (this is good practice as you can stop stress on the connections by putting a small loop/coil in the pipe)..

Dan

Bluemoon - 31/3/08 at 01:57 PM
Stuart.. Yes, need to check with your SVA station, I think it probably depends on the inspector, as it's not in the manual...

Dan

MikeR - 31/3/08 at 03:02 PM
now the daft question (to thread hijack) how do you know if you want a single (female?) or double (male?) flare?

(i'm about to do mine & intend welding tabs onto the chassis as a) i don't have the GRP / Ali & b) want to do the brakes now)

Fred W B - 31/3/08 at 03:07 PM
If you want to break the pipe, google "bulkhead fittings brake"

Cheers

Fred W B

[Edited on 31/3/08 by Fred W B]

Jeffers_S13 - 31/3/08 at 03:14 PM
Can you be more specific !?

I tried various permutations of those words earlier today and drew a blank. Demon thieves do bulkhead fittings but they are for 'flexi-hard' joins, I need 'hard-hard'.

Jeffers_S13 - 31/3/08 at 03:39 PM
Rally Design seem to do them ! woohoo !

NS Dev - 31/3/08 at 09:19 PM
I can't believe that JEM have closed

I get all my brake stuff there and they just know-everything!!! No manuals etc, all off the top of his head, and any fitting you could imagine, on the shelf, and only 4 miles away from mine........arrggghhhh

MikeR - 31/3/08 at 10:40 PM
defo closed or perhaps (hopefully) just moved?

its got to be a bad business to be in, more and more cars don't need bits doing to them / people are taking them to garages + the internet must be stealing business.

Now where can i get m10 fine half sized nuts from for my bulkhead fittings?

Macbeast - 1/4/08 at 07:28 PM
Here's mine - hope they're gonig to be ok

Brake pipes 3 red

Brake pipes 4 red

Jeffers_S13 - 2/4/08 at 10:12 AM
Yes, what a bummer about JEM, the guy from the garage nearby said they havent seen or heard from them for about 8 weeks

Possibly an ebay casualty ??

Just to complete this thread and the topic.

Here are the bulkhead unions I got from Rally Design, they threw the M10x1 nuts in for free Took me ages to find a place that did these, not sure why I didnt try them earlier...

Fitted with washers

Plumbed in

[Edited on 2/4/08 by Jeffers_S13]

[Edited on 3/4/08 by Jeffers_S13]