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Master Cylinder Question


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I apologize if this may be a stupid question, but I want to be sure I do this correctly. I am currently in the process of converting my 280z to bc “coilovers”. I am trying to figure out the best method of removing the brake lines for an extended period of time. I want to avoid clamping the lines because i’m not sure how long it is going to take me to get everything back together. Is there a way to plug the master cylinder itself? Originally for the front i thought about just removing the calipers and leaving the lines attached to the strut housing, but looking at it some more I don’t think that is going to be viable. Thanks for any input.

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Use a pedal depressor and slightly depress the pedal. It only needs to be pressed enough to cover the reservoir ports. You'll lose a few drops plus whatever's in your caliper. Disconnect your battery so your brake lights don't drain it.

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8 hours ago, Leon said:

Use a pedal depressor and slightly depress the pedal. It only needs to be pressed enough to cover the reservoir ports. You'll lose a few drops plus whatever's in your caliper. Disconnect your battery so your brake lights don't drain it.

I’ve never even heard of this thank you so much for the recommendation I will be looking into this. 

8 hours ago, Leon said:

Also, why do you need to disconnect brake lines? Why not disconnect the calipers and hang them on bungee cords?

So I thought about that originally and when I went to go do this it looks like the soft line is attached to the strut housing (i’ll post a picture when I get home). So unless i’m looking at this wrong I don’t think I would be able to disconnect the caliper without losing brake fluid. I guess I could just grind off the part that is connected to the strut housing because i’ll be cutting the strut tube below that point. @Leon

Edited by PatD
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You are correct about the soft lines being attached to the strut housings, I wouldn't grind them off, just disconnect and replace if they're old.

Pedal depressor works. Done it many times. Can just cut a stick to fit between the seat and pedal with the pedal depressed a bit. Will squirt a tiny bit when you crack the lines initially.

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9 minutes ago, JMortensen said:

You are correct about the soft lines being attached to the strut housings, I wouldn't grind them off, just disconnect and replace if they're old.

Pedal depressor works. Done it many times. Can just cut a stick to fit between the seat and pedal with the pedal depressed a bit. Will squirt a tiny bit when you crack the lines initially.

The only reason I thought to grind the medal piece off that connects the soft line to the housing is because i’m going to be cutting below it anyways to weld on the new coilovers. With the pedal depressor I don’t think I will have to worry about that.

 

 Thank you both @JMortensen and @Leon so simple, but it didn’t even cross my mind.

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You're going to want to bleed the system afterwards, so it's really not worth worrying about trying not to lose brake fluid during the conversion to coilovers.  (Unless you leave the entire system intact, and hanging on hangers during the conversion, as Leon suggested.). Also a good time to replace your soft lines, if necessary, as Jon Mortensen suggested....consider replacing the stock rubber soft lines with steel braided lines, as well.

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54 minutes ago, jhm said:

You're going to want to bleed the system afterwards, so it's really not worth worrying about trying not to lose brake fluid during the conversion to coilovers.  (Unless you leave the entire system intact, and hanging on hangers during the conversion, as Leon suggested.). Also a good time to replace your soft lines, if necessary, as Jon Mortensen suggested....consider replacing the stock rubber soft lines with steel braided lines, as well.

Thank you @jhm i’m looking into braided lines as well. Any you would recommend?

Edited by PatD
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It's still worth doing the pedal depressor. If you just let the fluid drain out you'll have to get air out of a lot more places. Masters will run dry, etc. Much easier to bleed if you limit the amount of fluid loss. 

Edited by JMortensen
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9 minutes ago, JMortensen said:

It's still worth doing the pedal depressor. If you just let the fluid drain out you'll have to get air out of a lot more places. Masters will run dry, etc. Much easier to bleed if you limit the amount of fluid loss. 

@JMortensen I will definitely be using the pedal depressor. Makes the most sense in my mind. Especially for what like brake fluid i’m going to lose. Now to just get the inner bearing out of my steering rack and we will be good to go....

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Regarding braided lines, there's a few vendors that carry them; but I've been using some made by a company called "Apex" (not Apex Engineering).  They've lasted well for the three years I've been using them, and they will gladly make custom lengths upon request.  I'll dig up their contact info and PM it to you.

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My previous struts had the brake line bracket cut so it could be bent out of the way and the brake line could be extracted without disconnecting it. I don't recall exactly but I think my lines are just hanging now that I've sectioned the struts, perhaps I should revisit that...

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On 7/18/2019 at 11:11 PM, Leon said:

Use a pedal depressor and slightly depress the pedal. It only needs to be pressed enough to cover the reservoir ports. You'll lose a few drops plus whatever's in your caliper. Disconnect your battery so your brake lights don't drain it.

@Leon is there anyway to tell when the reservoir ports are covered? 

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9 hours ago, PatD said:

@Leon is there anyway to tell when the reservoir ports are covered? 

 

Just take the free-play out of the pedal and give it a bit more. It doesn't take much. You'll know you did it right when you pop the line and it doesn't start dripping.

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