In the rush to add go-faster parts to any project car, the brake system is often forgotten as an important upgrade candidate. In practice, it should be the first thing that gets upgraded - in reality, it's often left until the end, if not forgotten altogether.
Today's project involves two relatively easy upgrades which should provide a more reliable and easier to work on brake system. In short, we will be replacing the rubber flexible brake lines with braided stainless steel lines, and upgrading the stock brake fluid bleeder valves with a new product called Speed Bleeders.
The final link between the hard lines of the brake system and the caliper is accomplished by a flexible rubber hose at each wheel. Over time, this hose ages and tends to swell when pressure is applied during braking. If left unchecked, an old hose could burst while braking, resulting in a catastrophic failure of the brake system (Have I got your attention now?).
Rather than just install a new set of stock rubber hoses, I naturally looked for a performance upgrade - namely, a set of stainless steel braided lines like the type found on most race cars. The idea with stainless steel lines is to virtually eliminate any expansion of the brake line, thus providing a firmer pedal feel. After sending an old set of lines to SMC Products (818) 355-3763, they were able to manufacture a set of stainless steel lines to fit the Alfa 164 perfectly. (subsequent orders can be now be placed by simply using the part# 46200-AR164; as this article goes to press, development is underway for a replacement clutch line as well). Worth noting is the fact that SMC puts a red PVC sheathing around the braiding to protect the lines from the elements - a common problem of street cars shod with unprotected stainless steel lines.
Installation of the new brake lines (factory or SMC is virtually the same), is a relatively straight-forward (albeit messy) process of unbolting the old and bolting in the new. One corner at a time is jacked up and blocked, and a thorough scrubbing/rinsing of the existing hose connections makes the bolts, well, visible. To remove the old hose, use two wrenches (one to hold the hard line, and the other on the hose head), to save the hard lines from bending/breakage. On the rear lines (only), it is important to un-bolt the upper connection first since the lower (caliper) connection does not swivel. Upon removal of the old lines, brake fluid will leak from the open system, but not at an alarming rate. Nonetheless, you will need to have the new lines ready to install so as to limit brake fluid loss (which can damage the paint finish). When tightening the new lines (20 lb/ft), be certain to tighten the rear caliper connection first.
It should be noted that because the SMC brake lines use Goodridge reusable hose ends, they are not D.O.T. certified and, technically, are for off-road use only (SMC does make DOT approved hose sets as well). However, the Goodridge reusable connectors are the same components used on most of the F1, Indy, and NASCAR race cars, so, in my opinion, the D.O.T. specification is somewhat dated and does not take into account recent advances in brake line technologies.
Assuming you have just completed the aforementioned upgrade, before driving the car you will need to have the brake system bled of any air which has undoubtedly entered the system. Brake bleeding has always been one of those projects which requires two people - one to pump the pedal, and one to operate the bleeder screw. This is no longer a requirement.
The Speed Bleeder [(630) 739-4620 ], is a replacement bleeder screw which incorporates a check valve built into the bleeder screw. This allows brake fluid and air to be pumped out of the valve on the down stroke of the brake pedal (with the screw turned open a half turn), without sucking air back into the system on the up-stroke of the pedal. The 164 requires 8mm x 1.25 bleeder screws on the front calipers, and 7mm x 1.0 screws on the rears. You can also install a Speed Bleeder on the clutch master cylinder; here you'll need a tiny 6mm x 1.0 bleeder screw.
Do they work, you ask? I found they work exactly as advertised. I was able to bleed all four corners and the clutch within about 30 minutes, all by myself! You do need to be careful however, that you don't over-torque the bleeder screws in too tight. Only about 5 ft/lbs of torque is needed to keep the screws in place - any more, and you risk shearing the screws in half. Don't ask how I know about this ...it was time to replace the clutch master cylinder any way.
A couple of specific notes regarding Alfa 164 brake bleeding are in order. Bleeding operations should be carried out simultaneously on front and rear calipers of the same side of the vehicle (passenger side first). Also, the suspension needs to be compressed (wheels on the ground) so that the proportioning valve is actuated. The Speed Bleeders help enormously with both of these requirements. When pumping the brake (or clutch) pedal, pause for at least 10 seconds between each stroke to allow the pressure in the master cylinder to normalize. Finally, use a good quality DOT 4 brake fluid; do NOT use DOT 5 silicon fluid.