Front Brake Lines and Clutch Pedal Stop

[Pete&Scott]

MK5 with the FFR front brakes. The flexible line from the caliper to the hard lines appears to be longer than needed, causing it to hang down at or below the frame. Wonder if that is a concern of others and if so did you come up with alternate break line routing, and or zip tie the line to the lower A Arm
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The manual mentions adjusting the clutch pedal stop, but provides no instructions for creating one. I found a couple of older pictures of Mk4's that ran an adjustable bolt through the front panel with a bumper on the end of the bolt. Wondering what other options might be available for the MK5

Thanks

[edwardb]

That flex line is probably OK. I'd be interested to see what it looks like at full lock the other direction. It may need that length. You will rarely be at full lock like that in real world driving anyway. Do not tie wrap it to the lower A frame. What you're describing for a clutch stop is about right. If one is required. Depends on your setup.

[rich grsc]

Looks to me like you installed the line too low on the frame. They are usually mount at or above the upper A-arm.

[Pete&Scott]

Mounted in the exact location that FFR showed in the manual. In retrospect, I wish I had mounted it in a different location, especially to be able to avoid having to cut the splash guard to accomodate the the line.

Picture for Paul with the wheel turned full lock to the left.

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I talked to Dan at FFR this morning. He recommended zip-tying the line to the upper A arm after final alignment.

Regarding the clutch pedal stop. Dan stated that a pedal stop is not needed with a Hydraulic clutch.


Looks to me like you installed the line too low on the frame. They are usually mounted at or above the upper A-arm.

[edwardb]

I mounted the front brake line on my Mk5 is nearly the same location. Just checked and I have 18" flex lines. They don't droop nearly as much. Maybe slightly different with Wilwood calipers and the inlet is slightly higher. What length are yours? Could you maybe re-orient the banjo fitting to raise things a bit? I personally wouldn't attach a flex line to a moving suspension component and have never found it necessary.

[StangRacer]

Regarding the clutch pedal stop. Dan stated that a pedal stop is not needed with a Hydraulic clutch.

I would double check that advice... with that said, I don't have any experience with a hydraulic clutch that uses a slave cylinder so that may be the case with that application. However, if you are using a HRB you definitely need a stop so the HRB is not over extended.

[edwardb]

Regarding the clutch pedal stop. Dan stated that a pedal stop is not needed with a Hydraulic clutch.

As we used to say in the consulting world, "that depends." Either an external hydraulic slave setup or an internal hydraulic throwout bearing (aka HRB) can be pushed past the max and bad things happen. Tilton, in their instructions, is very specific to limit the pedal if necessary. But every installation is potentially different. I've done a couple Forte external setups. One required a stop the other didn't. I'm on my second Tilton HRB (internal) and neither required a stop. That's because with the MC size I used (13/16") the pedal is hard against the back wall of the footbox, the clutch completely released, and the maximum throw is not exceeded. So a stop in those cases isn't required. Back wall does the job. However, if your setup reaches the max throw before that, then definitely a stop is required.

Back in the day, a local good buddy didn't heed this advice. His Forte slave piston blew out of the bore and sprayed fluid everywhere. What a mess. He needed a stop. :p

[cv2065]

Agree with Paul. I used one in the last build and created one for this one, but after I adjusted everything, it wasn't needed.

[AC Bill]

You can purchase shorter brake lines.

[PMD24]

Like Paul said, try rotating the banjo up. Try up to the front and up to the rear, checking clearances with the wheel mounted and turning the steering lock to lock. If you don't like the excess in those trials, go to Inline Tube, download their Street Rod catalog, and order different length hoses. Relatively inexpensive.

Pat

[Jeff Kleiner]

Inn the front I install the tabs so that the fixed end of the line is oriented vertically rather than horizontally like yours is. This allows the hose is a "U" which when the wheels are turned gets either wider or smaller, rather than having to make an "S" with two bends that both have to flex and spring. If you'd like to make a change to yours you can get 90 degree male/female AN fittings which would allow you do do so without having to reconfigure the hard lines or move the chassis tab.

Jeff

[Pete&Scott]

I just saw Jeff's post. Will look at the 90-degree fittings, but worry that it will just make the lines even longer. They currently measure 21 inches tip to tip. Wondering if that is the standard length for non-willwood brakes. Earlier today, before bleeding the brakes, I came across an FFR Build video when they were introducing the MK5. It showed the banjo pointing up, with the line having a slight twist, which is what Edwardb also suggested. We gave that a try and will go with that for now. It is much better to be up than hanging down.

Pictures with the reoriented banjo and a slight twist of the fixed end of the fitting.
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Inn the front I install the tabs so that the fixed end of the line is oriented vertically rather than horizontally like yours is. This allows the hose is a "U" which when the wheels are turned gets either wider or smaller, rather than having to make an "S" with two bends that both have to flex and spring. If you'd like to make a change to yours you can get 90 degree male/female AN fittings which would allow you do do so without having to reconfigure the hard lines or move the chassis tab.

Jeff