Brake Reservoir Location Question

[Redwein]

We attached the brake reservoir over the pedal box (as opposed to the engine bay) primarily because it seemed like the instructions were pointing in that direction. Now we are having trouble finding a way to run the hoses from the reservoir to the MCs. As you can see from the pics, the T-connection is quite low and there isn't much clearance to get the hoses to come up to the top of the pedal box and connect to the MCs without over bending and hitting the clutch quadrant, etc.


Would it perhaps be better to install in the engine bay? Any other suggestions?

[Redwein]

So we ended up using the elbow instead of the straight fitting coming out of the reservoir and ran that to a T-connection on top of the pedals. We think it came out pretty nice. Anybody see anything wrong about what we did here? Criticism is gladly accepted as we would rather learn than prove anything.

48536

[myjones]

2 comments
I feel better having 2 reservoirs and ditching the Tee so that if one system leaks you don't lose (all) the brakes, redundancy here like the OEM's is a good thing.

I like the reservoirs on the engine side of the firewall as several cars have had leaks into the footbox and a couple have had their fuse boxes drowned out from
that location and the cowl plate it requires. IF you do leave it there at least wrap the edge of the fiberglass opening through the cowl with door edge guard and put the
splice at the high point of the opening. There is too much flex to depend on any kind of gasket so you are building a curb so the water runs around the cover
plate instead of into the opening. HTH Dale Hemi33

[Redwein]

2 comments
I feel better having 2 reservoirs and ditching the Tee so that if one system leaks you don't lose (all) the brakes, redundancy here like the OEM's is a good thing.

I like the reservoirs on the engine side of the firewall as several cars have had leaks into the footbox and a couple have had their fuse boxes drowned out from
that location and the cowl plate it requires. IF you do leave it there at least wrap the edge of the fiberglass opening through the cowl with door edge guard and put the
splice at the high point of the opening. There is too much flex to depend on any kind of gasket so you are building a curb so the water runs around the cover
plate instead of into the opening. HTH Dale Hemi33

Thanks. We wanted to use 2 without the T but the kit only contained one so we figured that was the expected configuration (even though the instructions mentioned you could use 2). As we are obviously new to this, we do find that trying to resolve the instructions, the pictures, the parts received, and our common sense, sometimes leaves a bit of uncertainty like in this case. Anyway, I too think we'll feel safer if we go with the multiple reservoir in the engine bay.

[Niagara Dave]

I hope this helps I put hose clamps to prevent leaking.

48568

[Redwein]

I hope this helps I put hose clamps to prevent leaking.

48568

That does help. We thought of doing that but weren't sure about whether coming up around the outside like that would interfere with something else. Also, it looks like you are building an automatic. The clutch quadrant for the cable clutch would make that one hose not work that way which is why we went the other way. Thanks for the photo though. Makes me feel like we did ok.

Also, wasn't sure about the hose clamps. Since it didn't come with any, I assumed that they weren't required. I'm a little concerned about the fitting screwing into the bottom of the reservoir. It's plastic and was wondering if tightening it so that it lined up the way we wanted combined with pushing the hose on it might cause a leak. Did you feel the same way?

[Niagara Dave]

I used thread sealant that was compatable with dot3 brake fluid. I have not had a drop leak. I can see if you are building a manual car that the hose could be in your way. Good luck and if you have any problems pm me and I am happy to help.

[Redwein]

I used thread sealant that was compatable with dot3 brake fluid. I have not had a drop leak. I can see if you are building a manual car that the hose could be in your way. Good luck and if you have any problems pm me and I am happy to help.

Thanks Niagara Dave. I ordered a second reservoir from FFR and we are going to move them both to the engine bay side of the firewall. We'll use your tip about the thread sealant. That will make me feel a lot better.

[wallace18]

I mounted mine in the engine bay on the firewall.

[JOE A]

I mounted mine in the engine bay on the firewall.
I located twin reservoirs in the engine bay of my coupe but had to ditch the plastic fittings as they both leaked. The 90 degree turn did not permit full tightening for the orientation required. I went two piece brass fittings with sealant.

[BrentM]

I ditched the factory five reservoir in favor of the wilwood ones when I changed to the hydraulic clutch. They were not very expensive and come with the hoses and clamps.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa18/brentmatson/33%20Hot%20Rod/20140531_150735.jpg