AOW162435

I just finished my suspension install and wanted to replace the stock circa-1994 rubber lines with a bit o' stainless flash. Well, it has turned into one hell of a headache.....

Step 1: I ordered a set of lines from Paragon. The front lines would have required some careful work on the bench grinder to achieve the 'D-shaped' profile necessary to fit the brackets. The rear lines featured a basic female end that made no provisions for the factory spring clip mounting at the body bracket. But, the lines were very well made and featured a nice clear cover to retain that necessary undercarriage flash/bling/ice. I placed a call to Paragon and was told that a new set from a different manufacturer would be shipped promptly. I received the set, and lo & behold, the female ends for the rear lines were the same. Not only that, but the new front lines now featured one female end and one male end! So, a no-go there.

Step 2: I ordered a set of Goodridge lines from Tire Rack. The salesperson assured me that the lines featured a clear cover. When I received the lines, I was frustrated to find no clear cover and the rear lines far too long for my application. Oh, and no way of securing the lines to the body bracket. Away they went.

Step 3: I ordered a set of lines from Stop Tech. At double the price of the other lines, these were guaranteed to work, right? Well not in my book. The front lines actually have the required 'D-shaped' female ends - so I know these would work great. But the rear lines feature the same generic end as the others. Stop Tech provides a little baggie with rubber grommets, a few washers, and zip-ties. After quite a bit of head scratching, the best I could deduce is that Stop Tech wants you to somehow zip-tie the rear lines to the bracket. No thanks. I'll leave such engineering to the street-racer crowd

Step 4: Assemble all of the lines that I have purchased, take a picture, and turn to Rennlist for a bit of help. If someone can recommend a brake line manufacturer that sells a set of D.O.T.-spec stainless lines with a clear cover - please speak up. I am not willing to monkey around with a bench grinder, Dremel, zip-ties, and bailing wire to make a simple product like this work. It should not be necessary. It's a 911 - not a Bugatti FFS!

I welcome your thoughts, but hope that this does not become another rubber vs. stainless line debate. I know the factory lines are pretty much fail-proof. If a source for a set of correctly-sized stainless lines simply does not exist, I'll replace my 13-year-old hoses with factory ones.

Picture showing rear lines only:





Andreas

Marc Shaw

I bought my DOT-approved Weltmeister s.s. brake lines from AJ-USA (for a 964) and they fit perfectly first time.

They are a site sponsor too which does not matter to some people - but it should .

Marc

Mark in Baltimore

I'm a big fan of the faux Goodridge lines myself but prefer the silhouette version.

Seriously, why not just use the stock rubber ones and call it a day?

AOW162435

Marc,
Thank you.

Mark,
Just because.

Andreas

Mark in Baltimore

There are easier ways to impress the nanny, ya know...

AOW162435

We just found out that she's pregnant.....

Andreas

jnor10

That makes for a "lasting impression". Congrats!

Jeff N.

mr_bock

What a bummer, even with all the manufacturers that you tried. I used StopTech lines on my 1996 and the fit fine. There are too many variations I guess.

Will you be able to make it to my P-car BBQ at my house July 8th???? For details.... check out the Events/Gatherings.

Hope to see you!!!

AOW162435

George,
I will certainly try. I hope to get the car aligned and balanced this week. May prove difficult though.... Right now it drives like a slightly-inebriated Cup car

Andreas

faster

Andreas, if you are stuck with the lines I would chuck the lines in a steel lathe with the long end placed in the spindle and cut a groove for the clip, either into the nut or barrel which ever has the most girth, actually the steel lines look to have a smaller barrell o.d. and wont take much of a cut. just a thought. good luck!

Cy

Andreas,

DPS Porsche Parts has a couple of sets of stainless brake lines on eBay that they state are specific to the 993 . . . know nothing else about them or if they'll meet your spec. Item #120002451043.

Best of luck.

AOW162435

Faster,
I've thought about doing that, but then the barrel end is still too small to be captured at the bracket. If these companies simply attached the same style female end as is used on the front lines, there would be no issue. The bracket opening for the rear line (at the body end) accepts one of the front lines perfectly.

I question whether these companies actually use factory lines to template from, or simply take a handful of brake line ends, toss them in the air, and then assemble lines from whatever lands at their feet. Frustrating to say the least.

Cy,
Those appear to be Goodridge lines (which I have already purchased and returned). Looking closely at the photo, the female ends for the rear lines have the same issue I've been griping about. The plastic plugs for the line openings look identical to the Goodridge ones I received. Thank you though!

Andreas

AOW162435

A bit of an update:

After speaking with Stop Tech and Paragon about this, both companies seemed perplexed with my findings. To their credit, both companies agreed to take the lines back and would dig into the issue.

In the meantime, I sniffed around the internet and found Techna-Fit, one of the manufacturers used by Paragon. After emailing my findings and a picture, the owner of the company called me to figure this out. It seems that most every '95 - '98 993 on the planet uses the smaller diameter female barrel ends for the rear lines, but that I have one of those early cars with more quirks than the others.

Techna-Fit is building a set that will fit my weirdo car and that should be the last of it.

Interesting animals, these 993s.....

Andreas

faster

Good deal Andreas!!, post a pic to this thread when you recieve them, for all to see.