more ballooning. Compound this with thousands of cycles and this is in part why rubber hoses eventually fail when subjected to constant aggressive braking. In addition to a firmer, more consistent brake pedal, you'll also realize a higher brake pedal. Simply put, less pedal travel is required to generate a desired brake pressure. When the rubber hose expands, the internal area of the brake system is increased. That is why extra pedal travel is required to bring the system up to a given pressure. All these benefits usually parlay themselves into more confidence in your brakes, resulting in quicker times at the auto-cross.
The following installation procedure was performed on a new C-5, howeverthe steps shown here apply to C4 Corvettes as well. There is no significantdifference to the C-4 and C-5's brake hoses and connections. The disassemblysteps are shown at the rear, while the assembly is at the front.
1.It is irrelevant which end of the brake hose you remove first. We chooseto start at the frame mount where the hard line terminates. Before we blindlystart disassembling things, let's look at what makes up this junction point.There is an L-bracket bolted to the chassis and in turn is what the hoseend mounts too. The bracket plays a dual role by restraining both the verticaland rotational movements of the hose end. Not only do you not need to unboltthe L-bracket from the chassis, your task will become tougher if you do.Additionally, by leaving the clip in place while disconnecting the hardline, the bracket will act as a hands-free wrench. The exception to usingthe bracket as a wrench is if your junction is rusty.The bracket may notbe
strongenough to counteract the torque input required to loosen the hard linefitting. You will want to use a 16mm wrench on the hose end to offset thetorque input at the line nut. Also, and in addition to a penetrating spray,you should use a line * wrench insteadof a standard open-end wrench on the line fitting.*A line wrench is designed to grab as much of the fitting aspossible. Its cutout is just large enough to fit around the hard line.If your fittings are rusty use a line. You do not want to ruin the hardline nut. This job gets a little messy right from the start, so to preventa puddle of brake fluid on the ground, lay down some newspaper or a drainpan. Use a 13mm wrench to completely remove the hard line from the hoseend. As the beneficiaries of working on a new C-5, we where able to usethe L-bracket as our second wrench.
