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HELP!!, Can't Find Brake Line


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Part of the Modern-Motorsports rear brake upgrade "kit" that utilizes the 300ZX rotor and 240SX caliper is a 20" long piece of steel brake line that has a male, Japanese style, M10x1.0 fitting on each end. According to Ross it is a "$3.00 part available at any auto parts store". That evidently is somewhere other than Texas. I have called no less than ten parts stores and three brake shops and have been unable to find this item. My alternative at this point is to have one built from the pieces - if I can find someone who has the pieces - unless someone in the DFW area has done this upgrade and remembers where they got the steel brakeline piece.

Help - anyone? :oops:

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Dale,

You're right - that's the part.

Pop,

The "hard line" replaces the existing hard line on the drivers side from the 'T' out toward the wheel and then the hose with the "different" end connects to it. On the passenger side the short hard line is removed and the hose with the "regular" ends replaces it and the original hose.

Ross has emailed me like 5 or 6 times trying to help me resolve this. A part number that he used up in Canadian land is a 'Papco' MA320. He has offered to overnight me one and split the price. I'm going to do a quick check agian this AM - I made probably 15 phone calls and spent 1 1/2 hours on the internet trying to track down this part last night. I got absolutely no help from AutoZone or O'Reilly's. AutoZone only carrys the tubing - no fittings, and, when I tried using a Bendix part number off one of the reader conversions on the Modern-Motorports website they tried to sell me a hose - they used the part number as if it was one of their parts. The O'Reilly's guy tried to sell me a piece of 3/8" diameter tubing. Aaargh!

Anyway - this is what makes these conversions interesting!

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Yeah, I tried NAPA but I didn't have either the AGS or Papco part number so the guy at my local store told me he just carried US threads - no metric.

As it turns out, I just called a non-chain auto parts store near where I work, gave him the AGS number (BLJ320) and he has one in stock for $3.69. I'm picking it up at lunch today.

Dale,

Thanks buddy - you're a life saver!

 

Again - thanks to Ross Corrigan for his efforts to help out also.

 

Saw a bumper sticker once that said, "Discover America, Get Lost on a Rally" This is how I learn even more about car parts, sources, etc. Sometimes a little painful but almost always beneficial. :D

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Yeah, I tried NAPA but I didn't have either the AGS or Papco part number so the guy at my local store told me he just carried US threads - no metric.

 

Your NAPA store sucks! The one near me has it all, and can referece part numbers. It has US, metric, and combos - metric on one side US on the other. I used some of these on my car.

Oh well, at least you found your part :-D

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I think the real problem was that I was trying to get the part off a verbal description rather than someone's part number they could cross-reference. Many of the folks working the parts stores have limited experience and so they generally default to a "we don't have it" if it requires them to pull from their own knowledge. One of the problems in a big metropolitan area that has a lot of turn-over and a transient work force.

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Another lovely thing with brake hard lines, it seems all japanese cars use one style of metric fittings, while european cars use another different style of metric fittings. :roll:

 

You guys really need to get with the times and adopt the metric system down there. :D LOL.

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That's the problem - we do have the metric system down here. Ford is famous for their metric/US combo cars. It is fun though when you have the old British system - now known as the US system, European metric - which the Brits use, and Asian metric. It certainly encouages one to be thorough in their research. :D

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Sorry to chime in, but I have to. My little rant belongs in non-tech, but I have to complain a little about this. Autozone does have the part also. At least the one by my house did. However, I had to jump behind the counter and read a few labels to find it. I have built a decent relationship with the guys here and so they let me do stuff like that.

 

COMPUTER MONKEY! :bonk:

 

That is the title that my brother, who is a night manager at an Autozone, gives to the guys that learn how to enter year make and model to find a part. They refuse to use their brains, so if you don't know what it came from, you are out of luck and they don't have it. You can know everything about the part itself, but that doesn't always help. Many guys do not even know how to search for part numbers. :?

 

When I was in D/FW (Cedar Hill) before our move to Harlingen, it was a nightmare. On one visit, where they didn't have that part, "maybe try a dealership," my brother was with me an actually looked up the tie rod end by thread pitch, taper, and length out of their own manual to tell them a car that used it. Then, magically, "oh, here it is, in fact we have 3." My brother- not a computer monkey.

 

Ok, almost done. Here is the kicker, the same guy gets a phone call when we are looking for a part # for him. It went something like this:

 

"OK, what car is it for?"

 

"A'96 Prelude, un huh, what kind of car?"

 

"Yeah, I know it's a Prelude, but what KIND of car?"

 

"Yeah, that's what I mean, who makes it?"

 

"Honda, thank you. Just a second" COMPUTER MONKEY started typing.

 

I kid you not. It was very sad. I just wish the Computer Monkey wasn't so prevalent. I love it when I run into a guy that has cars on the brain, in the blood, and knows enough to help. :2thumbs:

 

Sorry about that. I'm really not a negative guy. Really! :wink:

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If you've ever watched "That 70's Show" you know the father - "Red". He has a term for folks that don't seem to quite up to par - "Dumb ---!"

Anyway, between work and the car I've been having a lot of "Red" moments with people I've encountered. Got it worked though, though. Master Cylinder should go on car today and hopefully it will be running in time for a Z Club car show at a local Hooters.

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I know many people like that at my work and other stores that basically if it isnt in the computer, then we don't get it. After 2 years at Advance i can pretty much remember everything we carry in stock. There is a lot that people do have to get at dealerships for their cheaper cars (Hyudai, Kia, Daewoo) as the aftermarket parts havent really cared about them much yet. But for stuff like brake lines, i could tell you off the top of my head about every size and thread, and almost every price. I think it is more of the difference of people who take pride in their job, and those that just want to get paid for standing there. I like the feeling of surprising the customer and knowing what they are talking about and have it there and can explain how to do it.

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All the parts stores and brake supply houses down in San Antonio don't have the right fittings either. The 10mmX1mm fittings I have been able to buy here definitely don't fit right. I go to the JY and get old fittings and put them on new tubing that I bend and bubble flare myself.

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