Brake line replacement on magnum chassis

[Brett Willis]

Does anyone have advice on replacing hydraulic brake lines on a magnum chassis,  in the front it goes to the frame rail with no access to the other side, and in the rear they go about 3 feet up out of reach.  I have been having an ongoing problem with the brakes sticking and not releasing from the rotors. On a 2000 30’ Monterey. Thanks

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Brett,
If you do a search on "brake lines" you will find a wealth of info on magnum chassis brake lines.
Steve

[Vince Bunting]

Brett,
  I have a 2001 Monterey Trinidad - if you can have the lines removed, you can send the sample lines in to C. H. Topping & Co. at 520 W. Esther St., in Long Beach, CA 90813  (562) 432-0901  He can use the steel ends from your lines and replace the rubber with AN-3 Aeroquip stainless steel braided lines with Teflon inside the lines and a black plastic coating over the stainless steel.  You will never have to replace them again.  It gives a nice, firm pedal.  The brake lines are pressure checked and DOT approved. 
Vince

[Eric Maclean]

Vince
The steel lines aren't your problem.if the calipers are sticking it's either a caliper problem or a bad flex line .
As the rubber flex lines get old they will delaminated internally and create problems when this happens they tend to work as check valves and maintain pressure down steam of the flex line which will cause the caliper to drag or stick.
The easiest way to check this is to first figure out which calipers are sticking and then after operating the brakes several times loosen the bleeder screw on the effected caliper if the brake fluid squirts out instead of just slowly running out you have found a bad flex line
There are 7 flex lines in total on an non tag axle Magnum chassis.

If however you have rusty steel brake lines this is a lot of work but may of us have completely replaced them.
As Steve pointed out there are a few prior posts about the replacement here on line.

This link will take you to a forum post where I included some part numbers for you

https://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,11378.msg76739.html#msg76739

Hope this helps
Eric

[Vince Bunting]

Eric,  You're right.  I read brake line thought flex line. Oops
Vince

[Brett Willis]

Hi it is the flex Line am trying to replace. The very first one I am trying to remove are the  ones in the front attached to the calipers. They go straight to the frame rail and the other fittings are on the other side next to the fuel tank,  my only idea so far is cutting a window into the frame to get access to the fittings.  Or I read that some else ran new hard lines to get around the fitting that are not accessible.  Then after all that I can see that the ones in the rear are not reachable.  I haven’t even found the other ones that are mentioned that are in between.  If I find a way to get the front ones off I post that.

[Eric Maclean]

Bret
I to have replaced the front steel lines which run from a tee fitting on the cross member in front of the fuel tank and run down the frame rails beside the fuel tank.
I simply ran new steel lines from that tee across that cross member and along the outside of the frame rails the a standoff brackets where the flex lines connect and carry on out to the calipers.

The main rear steel line is tougher but it can be fished through the frame rail beside the fuel tank or you could run it along the bottom of the frame rail to get past the tank .the real fun is getting a new line through the holding tank bay and out the rear bulkhead to the rear flex line above the differential on the driver's side . It long reach but it can be done ( I've done it)

[Carl Boger]

Bret,

As Eric has stated, you can fish new brake lines through but it is not for the  faint of heart.  I used a fish tape attached to a few strings to pull the line  through along the frame rail around the fuel tank.  Once I got the line through I  cut and abandoned the old lines.  They will ride up there as long as I own the coach.  After that it is pretty easy to hook up new lines and add as many supports or clamps as you can get to. 

This is certainly a doable job, but not one I really ever want to do again.

[Brett Willis]

Thanks for the help,  I was able to get the brake hose detached in the front, by clamping vise grips to the middle of a flare wrench and holding the back fitting with it. I should have the front brakes done soon,  not sure yet how to get the rear brake hoses off yet. I hope that replacing the hoses that I can get my hands on. And the calipers that my brake problems will be resolved, if not I’ll have to do the hard lines.  It is a good thing that I retired last month and have time for this.

[Daniel McShane]

Brett,
I have the same coach and the same problem. I have been fighting brake problems for about 10 years now and it's time to do like you, rebuild the system. Have you any updates? Any and all suggestions welcome. Thank you.

[Brett Willis]

Hi. I finished changing the pads,rotors and brake hoses,  and so far so good, but only time will tell if the problem with the pads sticking is gone for good.  The hardest part was changing the brake hoses,  they were not accessible (no consideration for them to be replaced from the manufacturer). I got the rotors and pads from a place that supply’s brake parts for trucks, but they could not match the hoses,  so I had them made at a hydraulic hose company,  if you are in western Washington. The place is called commercial brake and clutch in Tacoma