Hey guys,

I just got done putting steel braided brake lines from the newer Polaris machines on my 1997 Sport. I did have a lot of fun doing this because Polaris took it upon themselves to make the fittings on the brake lines smaller (1/4" on mine to 3/16" on the new ones). I thought I'd share the experience with you.

First, putting the new lines on a machine with split brakes becomes a problem as there is only one machine with split brakes in the whole Polaris line up (Sportsman 6x6). The 6x6 uses Banjo bolts to mount the line to the master cylinder. I ordered two of the upper brake lines for the Polaris Scramblers to use for my split brake kit.

The second problem is the longer travel suspension I have on my Sport. I have roughly an inch more travel on the front of mine than the standard Scramblers (9.25&quotdue in part to the Works struts I'm running. I simply ordered two right side lower brake lines in place of the shorter left side one to compensate for the longer travel suspension.

The third problem I had was the fittings on the new lines. As I stated above, The new fittings are SMALLER than the original ones. Of course I didn't find that out until AFTER I CUT THE OLD BRAKE LINES in two. Oh joy, I have no brakes! I now know how Blaster owners feel. Well with a little help from a friendly local, I located an auto parts store that specialized in brake components. There sitting in a bin was a 3/16 brass tee. Now I have front brakes, can I possibly piece toghther something for the rear?

Fourth, the back brakes will take a little more doing. The four way block, which is plugged on two sides because of the split brakes on mine, had to come off. I just could not find a 1/4" to 3/16" adapter or even a 3/16" to 1/4" elbow. However, I did find a 1/4" to 1/8" reducer along with a 3/16" to 1/8" reducer and a 1/8" elbow. After teflon taping the reducers and screwing them into the elbow I reassembled the rear brake line.

Fifth, Bleeding the front brakes is a whole new definition in futility. Many four letter metaphors were spoken to get the brakes bled. I finally realized that the brake lines have to be lower than the cylinder in order for all of the air to get out of the line (duh). The standard proceedure when bleeding brakes is to start from the farthest brake and work your way towards the closest brake to the master cylinder. But what if you have brake lines that are exactly the same length? Well, you do as I did and bleed one front brake and then the other. Once I got the air out of the lines it was a piece of cake.

Finally came the back brake. For some unknown reason, once I got the brake bled the lever would come in an inch and then be nice and firm. This is not good as my parking brake is on the back brake lever. Well with some advise from a Polaris mechannic I tried the only option left to me. Tie down the lever and wait over night to let gravity and pressure to do it's work. The next morning I came out to find that the rear brake is now nice and firm. I have a theory on why this worked. When I bled the rear brake, I did make sure to get all of the large air bubbles out of the line, I neglected to get the smaller ones out. I was noticing that tiny bubbles were slowly working their way out of the system. I imagine to get them all out would have taken a gallon of brake fluid and more time than I would have cared to spend on the project. By tying the brake lever down, I used pressure to force all of the tiny air bubbles into one big one. The big air bubble then floated to the master cylinder and the next morning when I realeased the brake lever (which was quite spongy) the air bubble floated into the reservoir and the line was refilled with fluid.

Now, how well do they work in compairison to the standard brake lines? Good question. I could never lock up the front brakes on any firm surface (like pavement). The lines would bulge and not give enough pressure to the brakes. Also I noticed that when I hit the front brakes, the brake lines would move from expansion. All of this is gone. The brakes will lay a nice patch of rubber on the pavement (I'm too chicken to try a stoppie). The back brake has much more power to it and it is possible to easily lock the rear wheels with only two fingers.

All in all, I would say it was a success. But I'm going to think long and hard about doing this mod to the Trailblazer in the future.

 

Great post Mike! Ive been thinking of the conversion myself, For a future note a good trick for bleeding brakes is to crack the lines and walk away for an hour or so, Gravity will do all the work, Just keep an eye on the m/c and make sure it stays full during the process[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] BTW how much were the lines from the dealer?

 

Todd400 is absolutly correct, that's how we bleed are brakes on our sand rails. (other than we lift the front end up a foot or two, no front brakes) The other way would be to buy a power bleeder which works wonders also.

 

This may be a stupid question, but what do you mean by "cracking the lines"?

 

Its pretty simple, Anything that has hyraulic brakes you can simply loosen the banjo bolt or back the treads out a little on a steel brake line where the hose or line goes into the caliper and gravity does all of the work, It is a trick a fellow mechanic taught me years ago when a old Ford was giving me hell[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Since then I replace the line first and let it bleed while im doing something else. I bought a power bleeder once from Snap-on they work great also if you are in a hurry but the gravity trick is just as efficient and free[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Todd 400,

You won't believe how cheap they are. I paid roughly $20 each for the uppers and less than $30 each for the lowers. About $100 with tax and all. The only bad part is now I have no brake lights. I will work on getting the other switch for the back brake lever.

Thanks for the advise about brake bleeding! I have to do some work on Celeste's TB. The rear (left side) lever is getting hard to squeeze. I tried to bleed it, but I broke the bleeder. I just twisted it off with a 1/4" wrench. It looks like it's time for a "easy out" or time to drill it. Either way, I'm going to have to get a new one.

Thanks again!

 

Mike, who's split brake set up did you use? I've been contemplating splitting the system for a while, but I may try the stainless / teflon lines first.

 

Capt Nemo,

I used HPDs kit. The problem is that they don't make them any more. This was a kit I ordered several years ago for my Sport. I recently put what was probably the last split brake kit in existance on Celeste's Trailblazer. HPD and RCR didn't carry them anymore and I found one last kit at Chopper City Sports.

However, the only thing you really need that you can't get through a Polaris dealer is the Brass "T" that connects the front master cylinder to the front brakes and the two plugs for the rear brake. You should be able to pick these up from an auto paprts store that specializes in brake lines and equipment. You can order the right side master cylinder from any Polaris dealer (part# 2050075).

Hope this helps!

 

Is the # 2050075 the M/C for a 6X6 ? The tee shouldnt be too much of a problem to find or special order. I guess I have it lucky, I bought a double flaring tool when I was building race cars and I can cut and re-flare the lines as need be.
I haven't been riding much at all lately, it's been too hot and too busy at work lately. Have you been getting out much?
It seems like most of the Sport & Scrambler guys have kind of fallen by the wayside lately, ie: Quadfather, Xplor, Jerry Goodman, etc. ( please don't be angry is I omited your name, old age is getting the better of me, and we've all come a long way together ).
I bought a 650 Prairie three weeks ago to replace the TRX 300 3X4, and haven't had the Scrambler out of the garage since. I cranked her up yesterday just to get the hair on the back of my neck to stand up, and I got the smell of Polaris Gold back in my nostrils... I may have to leave the Kawalski at home this weekend...

 

Mike, why didn't you take the part numbers I had posted on Bad Boys....I told of changing the distribution block, and the master cylinder replacement??? The master cylinder on mine now is from a 440 Pro X sled, works great. Bleeding takes two seconds with a piece of tubing and a container to catch it in. Change your front rotors to HPD drilled units. Get the EBC ( I think that's what it is) from Hot Seat. Remember if you use teflon tape on your fittings, to keep it back one thread from going over the end. Like I said, I think the part numbers for this change over are on the Bad Boys page still, if not, I'll repost them.