I was told by my shop today that my bake lines need replacing. they said that the outer layer of rubber was braking and that it needs to be done soon. So I have two questions. first I would like to go up skiing tomorrow (about 200 mi round trip) do you think its a good idea as long as I an gentle on the brakes and secondly how long do you think I have on these lines I am shooting for a month since that is when i will have money to do this.

Thanks for any answers

 

You prolly have at least that long.. Though if you quote me, I'll deny it

Seriously, w/o looking at it, I have no real idea.. however, the rubber is not what holds the pressure, it just protects what does.. like a CV Boot does for the CV joint.. so just having that cracked is not a guaranteed leak, but a sign its time to swap them out.

Go Skiing...

 

thank you!!!! needed to hear that and of course i would never quote you. haha. you think upgrading to ss lines is a good idea or waste of money?

 

I like SS lines.. Whether they give you a better 'feel' is debatable, and depends on the quality of the lines, but the protection and longevity are much better. Especially in snow/mountains/country roads/etc...

 

4 rubber lines at Arizona Autohaus (2 front + 2 back) are about $ 46 ($ 11.31 front; $ 11.35 rear).

How much does it cost your skiing fee? The gas for 200 miles is around $ 23-24 on a C4...

 

that's cheep. are those lines or these http://www.autoanything.com/brakes/6...0A2653514.aspx as good as OEM? either way they would save my money on the overall cost of the repair.

Thanks.

 

If you go the stainless braiding route, you can still save a buck over that $ 130 from autoanything (free shipping) by getting the ECS Tuning ones, which are suppose to be as good as OEM, if not purportedly better. $ 89.90 + shipping, which may be around $ 12-13.
You can also check all the other stores that carry Audi parts (very time consuming ) and see if you can find real stainless lines - as Jim was saying in a diff thread.

If you decide to get rubber ones, I see that Blaufergnugen have them even cheaper: $ 10.95/front; and $ 8.95/rear. Since lots of folks trust Blau, it is solely your decision.

 

thank you both so much for the help. i really appreciate it.

 

Driving in the mountains with four bad brake hoses is rather dangerous. You should at least have the front brake hoses replaced, so you won't loose all of your brakes. Also, be sure to down shift when going downhill, so your brakes won't overheat from continous braking.

 

o defiantly. been driving up there for the past few season. would rather not touch my brake if at all possible. thanks for the advice.