[DeTomaso] Brake vacuum tube and hose

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/26/09 20 11 43, claywillmott at hotmail.com writes:


> 
> Can the gates green stripe rubber hose be used for the hose to the master 
> brake cylinder from the metal tube under the car? 
> 
> The original hose I have is rubber but has some nylon style braided layer on 
> the outside.  This original hose looks very old, possibly original.  Is 
> rubber with stainless braid better as I assume if you get a hole in the tubing 
> the brakes either fail or are weak as hell?
> 

You can NOT use water hose or heater hose as a substitute for vacuum hose.   
They are totally different animals, with different missions, and different 
construction.

It is actually rather difficult to find the appropriate vacuum hose for a 
Pantera, apparently.   I know none of my local auto parts shops stock hose that 
is that large.   I think it's OEM on front-engined Porsches etc. but don't know 
for sure.   After trying and failing to get some from the local auto parts 
stores, I just ordered some from a Pantera vendor, as it was reasonably cheap 
and I was ordering other things at the same time anyway.

Braided stainless line will protect the vacuum line from external insults, 
but that will be harder to find still.   And yes, when the vacuum line is 
compromised, the brakes still work fine but the pedal effort goes up enormously.

Mike


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