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ATE Brake Pipe questions

chrisg

Member
Afternoon all !

Holidays which equals = car fiddling time.

I'm in the middle of a long job with the front right wing off, replacing brake pipes and sorting caliper lift etc.

WRT Porsche 'orginal' ATE pipes, I've seen a previous post on making up pipes from this material so as to have an authentic under bonnet look.

Two questions spring to mind though:

1. How easy is this pipe to work with, not just the bending but more the end formation to allow a good seal (I only have Clarkes 'amateur' brake kit) ? In the past I've tried to no avail to form ends and failed with steel pipes

2. Is it possible to buy the black & light grey(maybe started white) protective covering sheath material ?

Yours

Chris
 
Chris,

Answer to Q1: It's easy. Well, if the pipe is the same as the 'Kunifer' stuff then it is. I have the same kit and have made many brake pipes with it, for the 944 as well as several old VW Golfs, and never had a problem with any of them. The 'amateur' kits (they are all largely the same) do as good a quality job as the 'pro' ones, but are much more of a fiddle to use, meaning a single pipe end takes 3-4 minutes to do; the pro kits work in seconds (literally.)

Answer to Q2: I've never bothered with it and just made up new pipes without it. I expect it is to protect the pipes from stone damage, but given that I seem to be underneath my car several times a year then I'd spot any such damage quite quickly.


Oli.
 
I've just replaced the original steel lines (I believe the ATE lines are all steel) with Cunifer. It does not rust and is easy to work. It's flexible enough to avoid dropping the torsion bar carrier. If your car is anything like mine you will end up replacing all of the hard lines at the back including the three way splitter.

After having done the job, I would not want to attempt it with steel. Much harder to bend and I would want to get a pro flaring tool (not one of those 20 quid wingnut jobbies). My cheapo tool was borderline on Cunifer which is harder than pure copper.


 

ORIGINAL: chrisg

... In the past I've tried to no avail to form ends and failed with steel pipes

...

Chris

Steel pipes can be tricky. I've found that you need to take particular care to ensure your cuts are straight (tubing cutter is best) and deburred. The amount of tube you allow to protrude from the flaring block is critical also - too much and the end is likely to crack - too little and you don't have enough for a seal when the nut is tightened up. Get a short piece of tubing and practice a few - you'll find what works with your particular tool.
 
So I think my questions have been answered.....

Just for the record, I've no problem forming pipes in Cunifer - done everything from the ABS unit backwards at the rear end already.

I was just looking at options for the front end and in particular under the bonnet to prevent the 'cunifer' look and without having spend ~ £50 on replacements from OPC.

Guess the ATE steel (with rust inhibitor) will be too hard to work with and my Machine Mart - Clarkes special flaring tool !
 
I replaced mine with original parts,
There are only 2 expensive pipes at around £40. All the other we're very reasonable about £15 each
 

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