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Going to fill her today at Costco with the top tier premium which has gotten a bit pricey. Will likely book the worst mpgs since I got the car, since my wife drove it 3X this past week (she sees 13-14 mpg). Then again to be fair, I track the avg mph. I get 19.x when the avg mph is around 24. She is even more stop and go and when she drives it, the avg mph is likely around 17.
Hello Y'all, just did this upgrade, Stoptech Stainless steel brake lines on my 2005 ML, the upgrade went well and pressure bled all 4 calipers, the SS line solved my soft / low pedal issue, now I have confident, better modulation on every press on the brake pedal, I can feel the pads bite as soon as I press on it, it's much better feel now, the spongy feel is not there anymore and I don't need to gauge the distance to make sure car stop at a safe distance. I should have done this 2 years ago when I first bought the LS, also...the aftermarket banjo bolts have a much bigger hole than the OEM one, same issue as the OEM rubber lines too, take a look below pictures.
Today I touched up a few spots with duplicolor spray can (202 black). The duplicolor seems to have a bit more metal flake in the paint. It’s not too noticeable, though. I didn’t think black had any metal flake, it may have a tiny bit. Unless my eyes are deceiving me, that’s quite possible.
Hello Y'all, just did this upgrade, Stoptech Stainless steel brake lines on my 2005 ML, the upgrade went well and pressure bled all 4 calipers, the SS line solved my soft / low pedal issue, now I have confident, better modulation on every press on the brake pedal, I can feel the pads bite as soon as I press on it, it's much better feel now, the spongy feel is not there anymore and I don't need to gauge the distance to make sure car stop at a safe distance. I should have done this 2 years ago when I first bought the LS, also...the aftermarket banjo bolts have a much bigger hole than the OEM one, same issue as the OEM rubber lines too, take a look below pictures.
Never had a spongy feel on my brakes. I would guess that you actually got rid of yours when you bled the brakes after the new install of lines.
Hello Y'all, just did this upgrade, Stoptech Stainless steel brake lines on my 2005 ML, the upgrade went well and pressure bled all 4 calipers, the SS line solved my soft / low pedal issue, now I have confident, better modulation on every press on the brake pedal, I can feel the pads bite as soon as I press on it, it's much better feel now, the spongy feel is not there anymore and I don't need to gauge the distance to make sure car stop at a safe distance. I should have done this 2 years ago when I first bought the LS, also...the aftermarket banjo bolts have a much bigger hole than the OEM one, same issue as the OEM rubber lines too, take a look below pictures.
Very sweet, indeed! On my Maxima, the right front brake was grabbing, so I replaced the caliper myself. Guess what, no difference. Through my online research, the conclusion was that brake lines deteriorate, so when applying the brakes, fluid is forced in, but due to the deterioration, it could not flow back out. One time it was like I had to overpower the caliper with the engine and it was smoking as the pads/rotor was so hot. I can envision the opposite happening if the walls weakened...
above where the line clips in (opposite the caliper side), is it simple to turn the nut to remove the old line? I took my Maxima to the shop for fear of breaking it, and the owner said you change your own brake calipers, you certainly can replace your own lines....
Very sweet, indeed! On my Maxima, the right front brake was grabbing, so I replaced the caliper myself. Guess what, no difference. Through my online research, the conclusion was that brake lines deteriorate, so when applying the brakes, fluid is forced in, but due to the deterioration, it could not flow back out. One time it was like I had to overpower the caliper with the engine and it was smoking as the pads/rotor was so hot. I can envision the opposite happening if the walls weakened...
above where the line clips in (opposite the caliper side), is it simple to turn the nut to remove the old line? I took my Maxima to the shop for fear of breaking it, and the owner said you change your own brake calipers, you certainly can replace your own lines....
The line does not have the center support / clip, only a spring " C " style clip on the hose end connect to the hard line, the caliper side just the banjo bolt attached that's it. The replacement went well with all 3 corners except the front driver side flare nut...it's so tight and hard to turn, it was over tighten from the factory...otherwise everything went straight forward. I flushed out the brake fluids again with my motive pressure pump but did not use Techstream to do the "air bleeding" function, so far the brake now feel more like late models Lexus / Toyota performance.
I suggest LS owner should change out the brake lines, it will improved the brake performance, the pedal travel reduced tremendously, brake feel much much more control and comfortably stopping at a safe distance, changing the SS line doesn't harden up the brake pedal instead it will provide a quicker, firmer, more consistent pedal response by maintaining consistent brake pressure. Additionally, stainless steel lines provide precision brake modulation reduce the effort of gauging the stopping distance that makes driving the LS enjoyable, I should change the brake lines 2 years ago!!!
I would invest $100+ on the SS lines and if you know how to do it yourself, you will notice the big improvement immediately. Hope this will help out the LS owners wants to improve / upgrade the brake system.
The previous owner traded in this LS because of brakes and front LCA issue, the selling dealer sold the LS as is and they didn't do anything.
07-19-18, 04:48 AM
