Hello guys;

I've just received a very handsome set of Goodridge stainless steel brake lines for my coupe. They are Goodridge part number 38101, which is listed as the correct fitment for 1997 - 2006 XK8s on several websites. Other sites list them only for the Silverstone edition.

In any case, all four of the new brake lines I received have banjo fittings on the caliper end. In JTIS, it appears that only the rear brake lines on my car have banjo fittings at the caliper.

Is that correct? (I'm not near the car at the moment)

Can I use the new lines with banjo fittings at the front calipers, if the old front lines did not originally have banjo fittings?

Thanks very much for your help!

 

Do you have Brembo Brakes? All of the Silverstones have Brembo's. I'm not at the garage right now but I'll look when I get home tonight. I think they do have this fitting ! I think you can buy a adapter that screws into the caliper so you can install a banjo fitting on it.

 

No, I've got the standard XK8 brakes. But several of the resellers for this particular set of brake lines - Goodridge 38101 - say that they will fit on all model years of the XK8.

I'm not near the car now, so I can't take a look - several knowledgeable folks have told me that I'll probably be fine installing the Goodridge banjo fitting where the straight fitting used to be on the front calipers. But none of them own XK8s or Rs.

So I await further wisdom from my forum brethren...

 

I could not see without taking off the rear wheel, but my kids car has Brembos and they are off the car right now and both the front and rear have the banjo fitting. I have seen adapters if your caliper has a screw in fitting. Maybe somebody with regular brakes can chime in.

 

I took a look at the old brake lines last night - haven't taken the old ones out yet. A couple of thoughts.

First, it looks like the banjo fittings will be fine for the front calipers, as long as the bolt is the correct size / thread design (which it appears to be).

However, and this may or may not be a problem, the Goodridge 38101 stainless lines are about 3 inches longer than the stock rubber lines, both in the front and in the rear. That considerably more hose, longer bends, more hose to possibly interfere with something else, etc.

Any opinions from you guys on that? Is an extra three inches of length OK, or should I send the Goodrich lines back?

 

So did you fit the longer Goodridge SS brake lines? Is 38101 the correct part number? Mine is a 1997 Sherwood green / coffee convertable. It went off the assembly line in March of 1997 and has about 50,000 miles.

thanks

 

No, I sent the 38101 hoses back, after a closer look at how they would fit in both the front and back. I think they would be fine in the rear, a bit longer than stock but no real problems.

The fronts are another story. The combination of the banjo fitting from hose to caliper, combined with the 3 inches of additional length, doesn't allow the Goodridge 38101 to be routed the same as the stock brake line. The only route this longer hose can take creates two rub points against suspension parts every time the steering wheel is turned.

I asked our British forum mate Tony Murton, the owner of Paragon Design UK (and known as XKRacer on this forum), what he uses. He said that he does these swaps all the time, using Goodridge part number SJA1050-4C. A call to Goodridge USA confirmed that SJA1050-4C is a European part number, not available in the US. Tony is sourcing a set for me in England, and I hope to receive them in the next couple of weeks.

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Keep us posted. It'll be interesting to see if switching to stainless changes the pedal feel.

 

Thank you very much for your answer. I will order them in red (black an blue are also available) from Motorsport Tools UK, SJA1050-4C-CF. They are available in zinc and SS. They are very helpful. You can talk to Rhys. Here's the link:
Search Results Sealey Tools | Beta Tools | Goodridge Brake Lines & Hoses | Rally & Race Parts | Wilwood Brakes

ciao

 

I got them a week ago. Here's a picture. I got the zinc in red and looks like they will fit nicely.

 

Thanks to Tony Murton at Paragon Design UK, I received my Euro-only Goodridge lines a couple of weeks ago, and installed them this past weekend. They are a much better fit than the 38101 American-only version supplied for our cars. The SJA1050-4C-CF lines have the proper straight caliper fittings in the front, and they are the proper length.

Here's a look;




Tony did advise me of one minor adjustment that is sometimes needed for the installation of the REAR lines. There is a bracket welded to the car that holds the end of the flexible brake line where it connects with the hard brake line in the car. This bracket has a D-shaped hole to accept the end of the Goodridge line, and the Goodridge connection has a corresponding flat spot filed into it, so the connection can fit into the D-shaped hole in the bracket and be held secure. Here's a look at the flat area filed into the end of the REAR Goodridge lines:




The problem is that for some cars (not all, according to Tony), this flat spot is 180 degrees from where it should be. In short, the rear Goodridge lines have banjo connections at the rear calipers, and these banjo connections must be bolted down with the tube curving away from the caliper, and not towards it. To allow this on my car, in such a way that the hose wasn't twisting on its way to the bracket and hard line connection, I had to file an identical flat spot on the Goodridge line 180 degrees from the flat spot shown in the photograph above. Not a big deal, really. Just secure the connection tightly (and carefully) in a vice, and slowly work it with a metal file until you have a new flat spot that looks like the other one. Took me about five minutes for each of the rear lines. Once that was done, they installed quickly.

Then a brake system flush and bleed, and I was off to the races. I've got a nice, firm brake pedal now. Much better than before. Very pleased with this upgrade.


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Good info, it will be a wile before I do the job, cat is in the freezer for now...

 

I installed them last week. Perfect fit and very easy job. The feel is much better, like much sharper not spungy like before. Pumping the front calipers is a walk in the park but the rear ones don't seem to be getting much juice. I tried engine on and off. The vacuum tool is practically useless apart from collecting the old fluid making for a very clean job. I went back to the old pumping way and situation is improving. I would recommend the change any time! But of all my cars the cat is really a pain when it comes to bleeding...

 

Agreed! The bleeding for my car was a pain as well. But I've had the Goodridge lines installed for about five months now...still feeling great, and no leaks.


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I noticed the part number is for 2003 onwards but you have an earlier year. I have a 1999 xk8 will these work?

 

It certainly should...if you get the specific part number listed below.



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Per above, the correct PN for my ’04 is SJA1050 and I can confirm through much time-wasting experience that Goodridge USA does not carry that PN. Tony at Paragon in the UK knows what's what.

The rears are the most difficult to replace – the springs make access to the upper connections difficult – so you may as well do them first and get them over with. 1/4" i.d. vinyl hose from Home Depot fits pretty snugly over the hard line when it's disconnected - plug the other end with a bolt and fluid drip will be minimized.

If your stock front hoses have protective coils, suggest you unwind them from the stock lines, wind them into the replacements (to protect from chafing), position them with some space on each end and secure them to the line with cable ties (nip off the cable tie excess after they’re cinched up).

The front lines came with copper gaskets installed on the end that screws into the caliper, but that is a taper fitting that bottoms out in the caliper and that’s what makes the seal. Either ignore the gaskets completely or snip them off – do not try to tighten the fitting far enough to clamp the gaskets. The gasket is superfluous/inappropriate and you’ll break the fitting off if you try to tighten it enough to clamp the gasket.

I was shocked at how much better the pedal feels after the upgrade and standard two-person pump and hold bleeding.

I made the mistake of getting Red Stuff pads – the pedal pressure requirement was high, they didn’t feel very responsive and I wasn’t happy with them. Switched to Akebonos and they are great - pedal pressure feels like stock pads, response is very positive, stopping power is very strong and I don’t see any dust at all. Also installed slotted and drilled rotors. I suspect the drilling is overkill, but am a big fan of the slots as they provide a lot of bite. They make a bit of a whooshing noise that some may not like, but for me it adds to the overall perception of a fine set of brakes at work and I like it. All in all, the brakes are crazy-good now.

 

Agree w/ Volbrewer (above) on all points. Go to the UK for these lines... anybody that stocks them in the US probably has XKR / Brembo lines.

One more thing about bleeding the brakes. Brake fluid absorbs moisture and over time fluid unchanged will rust the system internals. So I wouldn't try too hard to keep the old fluid from dripping out, except obviously to avoid a mess. I let all my lines gravity drip w/ the master cylinder cap off. Then close up three closest calipers are begin to add new fluid to the MC watching until it begins to flow out the caliper port. Lock it down and go onto the next., etc. My brake fluids are changed at least every three years, even on cars w/ light use.

Finally for you guys having problems bleeding the brakes, I suggest you give Speedbleeders a try. They've been around for years, work off a simple check valve built into the bleeder valve. I have them on all my cars now, even the hydraulic clutch line in the Z car.

 

There are too many cool things that I don't know about. Thanks for making it one less, Gordo, I'll be odering a couple of sets of Speed Bleeders. The fluid that came out of the Jag looked a bit rough. We ran about a liter of Pentosin Super Dot 4 through the system to freshen it up.

 

Hi guys. I’m in tne process of this conversion on my 2002 XKR and the Goodridge lines that I have are part number SJA1000. I see people referring to part SJA1050 as the correct number. What is the difference between the two? Mine did come from tne UK and I believe from Tony although it was about a year ago and I can’t be sure. Thanks for the assistance and for the thread. Great information.

Rob