The Ultimate Budget e46/36 Hydro DIY

[Jrcanes55]

So when I was looking for info on how to do this all I found was some dude who had drawn out an overly complicated line setup that was illegible. So here is the easiest, idiot proof DIY ever!

Materials:
ISR handbrake $120? (I got mine for $60 on Black Friday)
Driftworks Stainless lines $116
Two m10x1.0-m12x1.0 adaptor fitting. $7
Two zip ties
Teflon tape

Skills required:
The ability to read
The ability to weld or drill holes and get bolts.
The ability to use tools

Tools:
11mm wrench
12mm wrench
14mm wrench or socket Ratchet
Pressure bleeder (or a friend)
Flashlight

Ok. Let's do this.

Step 1: Remove upper cowl and heat shield for brake master cylinder.

Step 2: remove brake line from master and Dsc control unit. (This is the line labeled H)

Step 3: Install brass m10-m12 adapters on the master and Dsc control unit using Teflon tape.

This is how the fittings will be oriented when installed.



Installation locations






Step 4: Weld hydro in (this requires additional work to cut and fit.)



Step 5: Run hydro lines under dash and in to the dme box through the hole that is already there.



Step 6: run lines out of dme box and to the master and Dsc control unit.

Step 7: secure all lines and make sure to use Teflon tape on all threads and included crush washers everywhere.

Step 8: bleed system with pressure bleeder or friend. Pressure bleeder is highly recommended.

Step 9: rip tater chips.

[protomor]

I bet that was my diagram you're rambling about. Except it's a secondary setup.

Also, don't sue teflon tape on brake parts. It'll melt the tape.

[Jrcanes55]

I bet that was my diagram you're rambling about. Except it's a secondary setup. Also, don't sue teflon tape on brake parts. It'll melt the tape.

Nah not your diagram. It was honestly some chicken scratch written on a piece of colleges ruled notebook paper and then photographed. I'll edit the post tomorrow. And looks like I'll be removing all that tape. Oops.

[protomor]

I wouldn't bother removing it. Just bleed it now and then and the dissolved bits will come out eventually. Cuz I'm lazy lol. Most of those brake fittings are NPT style where the tighter you get them, the better they seal (until they strip) so teflon tape isn't necessary.

[Mikestokman]

Sounds way too difficult. I cut my one line under the car, run into hydro cylinder, out of cylinder, back into the cut line. Takes about half an hour to bend and flare the lines and no messing around with running lines through the firewall or wrenching in the engine bay.

[Jrcanes55]

Sounds way too difficult. I cut my one line under the car, run into hydro cylinder, out of cylinder, back into the cut line. Takes about half an hour to bend and flare the lines and no messing around with running lines through the firewall or wrenching in the engine bay.

E36/e46 have individual brake lines to all calipers that are run through the Dsc. It's not that easy for us. You either have to go dual caliper or inline like I have done it.

[e46cruiser]

How well does this lock up the wheels? A buddy of mine has an inline setup on his e46 and hates it, that's why I went ahead and ordered parts for the dual calipers.

[Mikestokman]

Um no. E36 has one line that runs from the abs pump, under the car, then splits at the diff. Inline works very good on e36's, ive never had any issues or problems locking in any of the 4 cars I've installed them in. But it all depends on your cylinder and leverage ratio for it to work good or bad. 1/2" difference of leverage makes the world of difference in ease of lockup.

[Jrcanes55]

Um no. E36 has one line that runs from the abs pump, under the car, then splits at the diff. Inline works very good on e36's, ive never had any issues or problems locking in any of the 4 cars I've installed them in. But it all depends on your cylinder and leverage ratio for it to work good or bad. 1/2" difference of leverage makes the world of difference in ease of lockup.

My bad. E36s with ASC+T have 4. Anything without which I believe is pre 94 or so have a traditional line set up as you described. So no need to get all butt hurt bud. I've just never owned an e36 without traction control. Here's a diagram for you.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=34_0458

[beat328i]

Let's keep the accusations of butthurt to a minimum here lol. This isn't facebook.

[Mikestokman]

I mean if you're gonna call something "the ultimate____" it should probably be accurate.

[Novablue454]

They work great. I run an inline and have no issues with it. Only time it gets weird is if you need to slow down with the normal brakes and simultaneously handbrake, which usually only happens if you messed up.

[Piner]

Or you are coming in hot as fuck into a tight corner. Ebrake only does so much to slow you down and adjust your line. For big fast entries into tight corners foot brake and hand break use at the same time is pretty common.

@3:20

[tptrsn]

So how bad do people really feel the Chelsea Denofa parking brake setup is? And secondly, who has actually tried it?

The reason that I ask is that I have been running that setup this year and for me it seems great, but I've never tried a hydro hand brake setup. I can imagine a hydro brake would probably provide more feel, but I'm not sure more feel is really necessary... I'm going to have to dig into my parking brakes soon and free up my actuators or something since they are a little sticky on release, and therefore I was kind of weighing the options to just slap in a hydro pass-through brake instead. In advance of getting some knowledgeable info here, I think overall so far my preference is to keep on going with the cable setup.

Thoughts? If this is too off-topic for this thread I will make a new thread or something.

[protomor]

If it works, keep it. Pass through systems get wonky if you brake and hand brake at the same time and supposedly are harder to bleed. I never could get my factory hand brake to work so I went full secondary. IMO, order or preference is: secondary -> extended factory -> pass through. But people will fight me on it

[tptrsn]

Cool, sounds like what I need to do is put the effort into my current setup to make it work as well as it can, and leave it at that.

As well as it works already, I can't see me going to the effort of fabbing up a secondary system I guess..

[protomor]

You weld pretty well. You could just get a second set of calipers or some cheap used wilwoods. Wouldn't be too bad honestly.

[tptrsn]

Yeah, I think I might be able to pull it off, but I really like the simplicity of my current setup if it stays reliable for me. But who knows, maybe after I get some more experience next year I will decide I need something better... In which case I guess it's a secondary system.

And if I can't get my drum brake actuators freed up to where they will release cleanly and consistently that will also irritate me. Lol

[protomor]

A lot of times, the rear backing plates are what go bad. But you can't replace those with the hubs on. But then you have to replace the wheel bearings. The prices add up quick. Plus the cables stretch after a while.

[tptrsn]

Well hell, now you have me thinking about this.... HATE you! haha

OP, I can't see your pics?

[awp235]

Sorry to bump a bit of an old thread- one of my backing plates is bad, and my motivation to pull the hub is minimal.am I correct in thinking that going dual caliper is going to be just as much as fixing the actual parking brake? One the hub's out on a high mileage car, I assume I'd have to do new wheel bearings and an alignment when it all goes back together, right? At that point I'd say screw the parking brake, and have another bracket welded on for another caliper, and all the part for the caliper/ running the lines back.

[tptrsn]

I think I'm getting tired of my long handled parking brake setup as predicted by the stiff member.

[RandomHero27]

bumping to mark for later

[Jrcanes55]

I'll update on this. After a year and a half of having this installed it has not failed. It has not leaked. The cylinder on the hydro still functions. The only thing I would recommend if you are looking to make this an effective and consistent setup is to buy a nicer handbrake with a slightly taller handle. I'm not sure if it's the fact that I ran it through the DSC or if the ISR handbrake just sucks. But it requires significantly more effort to actuate than most any other handbrake setup. Other than that. Not bad at all. I'm going to a dual caliper setup so I can left foot brake again.

Also things to note. Not all e46s have the DSC under the brake master. So I apologize if you go to do this and it's not there.

[protomor]

Depends on the master cylinder sizing you used for your hydro. The stock rear brake calipers aren't designed to lock up the rear wheels. So if you went with a 3/4" master, you'll need more force to lock it up. If you had like a 5/8" master, you could use less force but it would require more travel of the handle. With the dual caliper setup, you can size the clamping force with pad size and cylinder square inchage to get more force for the same master cylinder so it'll lock up better.