Front brake flexi pipe MOT problem

[dansimpson]

Well heres a one!

Last MOT my van failed on 3 flexi brake pipes, a front one and both rear. I bought a complete set from BW, and it passed the MOT
Today, it failed MOT on a couple of bits, AND the tester reckons the front flexi pipes are too long and will catch/rub. But they are they correct pipes, so if I replace them they'll be with ones of the same size. Are these supposed to be clipped up or something, or has Mr Tester got a burr up his A*SS??

Cheers

Dan

[Oldiebut goodie]

Did you remember to give them a twist before securing so that they move away from rubbing? I did one front one but twisted it the wrong way so that it moved towards the suspension instead of away.

[dansimpson]

Bugger!! Didnt think of that, so undo, twist should do it?

[Oldiebut goodie]

I reckon that is all that is needed - trouble is I can't remember which way it is that you have to twist! If you have both wheels off the ground it is easy to test by twisting the steering and see which way it goes. Or someone who has a better memory at this time of night can say.

[Ian Hulley]

Once you've got them on it's obvious which way to twist, also have the re-enforced sleeve at the bottom near the caliper ... it sops the hose kinking towards the tyre.

Ian.

[Hacksawbob]

Here's a picture with the twist that I put in initially, It required a few attempts before I got it right. I am going replace with the Goodrich ones which don't need twisting and 'buffer grommets'

[California Dreamin]

I had my van on the ramp around 5 times twisting the pipes in varying degrees....I just could not get mine to stop touching the tyres on full lock (standard 14inch Carats with everyday 185R14C tyres)...In the end the buffers (the two chassis grommets that are used as buffers) had worn flat and some of the plastic coating had rubbed through to the overbraiding....MOT failure for sure (I should know, I was an MOT tester for several years).
I was pulling my hair out in frustration, this really shouldn't have been this difficult....many emails backwards and forwards to Brickwerks..... I followed every suggestion and recommendation to the letter but still NO JOY.....so even though they were under 8 months old I ended up ditching them (the fronts) for genuine VW for my own sanity.
Now....they are absolutely perfect, the genuine pipes are much more flexible and move to clear the tyres, missing by several inches ...without any twist.
The irony is I fitted the BW ones because I thought they would be better than standard VW..and however many times I was assured that my experience was a one off and they had never had any problems with the dozens of sets they had both fitted and sold, no amount of re-assurances were resolving my problem ....all I had was days of frustration, worry and a lighter wallet.
All that hassel and frustration was quickly forgotten after fitting genuine pipes...I was just so glad to have finally got it sorted.
To his credit, Simon the owner of Brickwerks, offered to take a look at my van in his workshop but I didn't really want to spend another fifty quid on petrol and half a day driving up and back from his place on something I had just lost all faith in and besides..by this time the pipes had worn through the plastic sleaving so I just wanted them changed knowing that they were likely to fail an MOT anyway.

This is what I ended up with....note* I added extra buffers using split tap washers but that still didn't stop the pipes wearing through the plastic coating.




Some good buffers on the genuines.



And just in case anybody wondered....the Brickwerks pipes are exactly the same length to the millimeter, compaired to genuine VW items.

Martin

[dansimpson]

This does seem to be a major issue, surely the pipes should be fit and go????

[California Dreamin]

They obviously work for the vast majority of people out there but a quick check for those that have these fitted might be advised.....
Been there, seen the video and got T shirt....I was told that there aren't any issues with these pipes and it must be something I was doing. I have agenda and most will have seen many threads where I have both recommended and sung BW's praises...in this particular case I had a problem that I was unable to resolve. I've told it how it was for me, I haven't seen the postee's so really don't know it he has the same problem although there are obvious similarities.

Martin

[jamesc76]

This does seem to be a major issue, surely the pipes should be fit and go????

Not all things are just a fit and go solution! Welcome to the world of mechanics!!!!! If there the same length then it is a matter of fitting them correctly!

[Ian Hulley]

Martin

I slid the longer of the protective sleeves down to the bottom and with a slight twist it stops the hose kinking across to the tyre.

Ian

[California Dreamin]

This does seem to be a major issue, surely the pipes should be fit and go????

Not all things are just a fit and go solution! Welcome to the world of mechanics!!!!! If there the same length then it is a matter of fitting them correctly!

I wish it had been that simple James...yes the same length but they behave quite differently to the traditional flexible brake pipes.... that don't return straight once released either.

Martin

[kit]

I thought earlier vans had shorter hose?

[California Dreamin]

I just saw Hacksawbobs picture and assumed we were taking about late brakes with sliding single pot calipers?....as you say, 85 is pretty change over thought and yes earlies are different length.

Martin

[Hacksawbob]

I'll take the hit in 'good faith' as I think you did Martin. The poor experience we have had is certainly outside the usual good fitting the BW parts have on the whole. But to be honest the Brickwerks site could be more forthcoming about the necessary fitting requirements to save hassle and money for customers. I fitted one side and and a local mechanic (very experienced ) fitted the other side. A quote from him was "That hose wasn't right for the van" and noted the catching issue and noted rubbing on the other side in the past, he mentioned he adjusted the lower bracket to compensate for rubbing the tyre (covering his own a*** as I supplied the brake hose) and suggested I would be better off with an original part.