Disc brake swap brake hose routing? Seems wrong

[Superdrag67]

Search turned up no answers for me. Just finishing up a disc brake conversion and steering rebuild. Got the brake kit from gmcpauls.

Is this how the hoses sit? I've got the calipers on the correct side. As you can see in the pic of the other caliper there is a place for the hose to sit. It just doesnt seem right to me. Wouldn't think it should be rubbing on the a-arm/spindle all the time.

So what am i doing wrong? Or is that just how it is supposed to be? Feel like i'm missing something stupid.




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[67 chevelle]

maybe upside down , definatny should not rub
actualy i think they are like 90 degrees out , if you dont get a reply from someone with it fresh ill take a pic tomarrow as ill be working brakes

[Superdrag67]

Thanks. I could swap caliper sides but then the bleeder would be on the bottom.

While i am asking questions...

I'm assuming i just plug one of the front outlets on the new prop. Valve? And what about the switch? My old plug doesn't fit. Is that a standard plug i can pick up at a auto parts store?
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[mgchevyparts]

Not upside down, bleeder is pointing up. The upper a arm and caliper move together but a bracket holding the hose away from the a arm and bolted to the a arm would be good. You can also grind a new notch into the caliper, where the banjo bolt secures the hose so you can then point the hose in a different direction keeping it away from the a arm. Hose looks a little too long also.

[67 chevelle]

your calipers are on the correct sides , the bleeder should point up , its where the banjo fitting ataches to the caliper , it needs to be indexed diferantly , I believe the hose points to the front as it leaves the caliper making the hose kind of like an s

[Tx Firefighter]

It's always going to be a compromise. You'll have to orient it as well as you can that allows you to sleep at night. You've got it routed about as well as possible.

The proper way to route them is forward to in front of the crossmember. This is the way GM did it when they installed disc brakes factory. It allows the suspension to completely cycle and steering to swing to and for without rubbing against anything. Notice in 71 when trucks began to get disc brakes, all of the hard line connections were on the front side of the crossmember as opposed to behind the crossmember like drum brake trucks used.

So, either live with what you have or convert all of your hard lines to run completely differently.
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[mgchevyparts]

Changing the hardline location would be good but you do not have to do that and do not have to live with it. Grind a new notch in the caliper and point the hose in the direction of the arrow, you might need a shorter hose though, this will keep the hose from touching the a arm .

[Classic Bowties]

Originally Posted by Superdrag67

Search turned up no answers for me. Just finishing up a disc brake conversion and steering rebuild. Got the brake kit from gmcpauls.

Is this how the hoses sit? I've got the calipers on the correct side. As you can see in the pic of the other caliper there is a place for the hose to sit. It just doesnt seem right to me. Wouldn't think it should be rubbing on the a-arm/spindle all the time.

So what am i doing wrong? Or is that just how it is supposed to be? Feel like i'm missing something stupid.

The problem you are having is one that was addressed by GM when they changed to a disc front as standard equipment in 71, they fixed this issue by changing/re-routing the front hardlines over the top (see arrows) and then re-mounting the rubber hose on the front side of the x-member. This is another reason why we leave these five lug disc dropouts all together as matched parts, it makes the swap so much easier with less head scratching as GM did all of the R & D years ago. Mel

[Classic Bowties]

Took me a minute to get you some pics to go with my above reply but it pretty much says the same thing as Tx states, the decision is yours to make but if it were my truck I would re-route the lines to the front. Were there no instructions or line/hose diagrams included with this kit from GMC Pauls? Mel

[Superdrag67]

Thanks everyone! I'm a total newb to these trucks.

I dont know if they just got left out or if that is normal but there were no instructions whatsoever with the kit i got. Luckily i've worked on enough cars everything I was looking at made sense so i didnt need them.

I really don't want to reroute or make new brake lines just because this has already taken longer than planned (it's only been 2 weeks ) and i just want to get driving! But i like doing things right the first time too. Not sure what i'll do at this point.
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[Superdrag67]

In taking another look at it even if i rerouted the hoses to the front i would still have to grind out a new index notch on the caliper. Think i might just grind out a new notch and try to track down a little bit shorter hoses.

Sightly disappointing but it's not like this is a $2k brake kit. I just dont feel comfortable leaving it the way it is. There were a few other little issues but that's not uncommon when working on vehicles.

So when i need replacement parts like pads, rotors, bearings, etc what am i supposed to ask for at the auto parts house?
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[Special-Ed]

shorter hose.... re index the brake line.

and when that brake line busts a hole you will wish you did something abpout it! it cannot rub up agains that control arm... it will rupture... just a matter of time

[mgchevyparts]

Just re-position it first, the length might work, if not let me know how long it is and I can tell you which hose to get that is shorter, if you need it.

[Superdrag67]

Thanks, will do! Going to wait til my shocks get here on monday before i do anything. Want to make sure i'm not interfering with them when i reposition.
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[67 chevelle]

my truck is a 68 , it has 6 lug rotars , i will post a pic later , I converted it from drums to discs , changing the spindles with the kit I bought , of coarse it did not come with instructions , but Haveing a few old chevys I have converted all to front discs that did not have them , a necessary upgrade where I live and drive

when you have drums up front and apply the brakes you are asking your truck to stop
convert to discs and applying the brakes tells the truck to stop

[Andy4639]

Here is my factory 71 with S/S hoses I installed.
U may can swap hoses also to get the right angle on the caliper. I know I checked mine first and had to swap them.

[treveiger]

You could make a custom hose mount on your a arm to keep them from rubbing. Just a idea
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[Superdrag67]

Thanks for all the suggestions. My shocks wont sctually be here til tuesday but will update this thread with whatever i decide to do.
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[RichardJ]

Is that picture with A-arm up close to normal ride height position? Do you have enough clearance to turn wheel left and right with a little extra for when the spindle rises more during cornering roll, dips and braking.

[Superdrag67]

Good call! I checked when it was up in the air and the suspension was relaxed. I will see what it looks like with the wheels on the ground.

Its just short term and i suspect the aluminum would bend before anything bad happened but no reason to stress anything.

Didnt cross my mind, thank you.
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[Superdrag67]

Just threw a jack under the a-arm and checked it out. Now i feel like an idiot! Looks like reclocking the hose was all i needed. At full lock it rubs the spindle just a hair. I'll keep an eye on it. No bracket needed!

Thanks again! Getting all worked up over nothing.
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[70CHEVYBB]

why not just move the hose to the front of the x member like the way it should be. I did a conversion from drum to disc, I just bolted in new hose mounts in the front and used braided lines. I then bent new steel lines and looks awesome.

[Superdrag67]

Eventually i will do that. I just don't want to keep adding on projects and have this thing sitting in the garage for months and months. I want to drive it! So far its already been much longer than i had planned.

It's fine the way it is now. Hopefully in a few years i can do more of a full body off resto and do things a bit differently.
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[eagleuh1]

See this ad for a pic. It helped me with mine today. Good luck. Jim
http://jonesboro.craigslist.org/pts/3990843833.html