Brake line washers: safe to reuse?

[Triple]

...

[Trip]

I'd replace them. It's just a washer, cheap and easy.

[Gas Man]

Do you mean the copper washers?

Can re-use, as long as it looks good. You can buy new ones at the auto store.

You can also retemper them by hitting them with a torch. Can't remember why but it does something to them.

Originally Posted by Trip

I'd replace them. It's just a washer, cheap and easy.

For banjo bolts in brake systems they aren't just regular washers. They are copper. Regular washer would leak like a siv.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by Gas Man

Do you mean the copper washers?

Can re-use, as long as it looks good. You can buy new ones at the auto store.

You can also retemper them by hitting them with a torch. Can't remember why but it does something to them.



For banjo bolts in brake systems they aren't just regular washers. They are copper. Regular washer would leak like a siv.

Now that's the definitive answer gentlemen! Oh and I've reused them and I'm on the 4th oil change with my drain plug washer as well.

Originally Posted by JoshuaTree

Copper brake line 'banjo bolt' washers(*) - NO

Metal drain/fill plug washers(*) - NO

(*) The only permissible exception to this is when you're on the road, have an "issue" (e.g. accident) and need to effect emergency repairs to get to a repair facility or home.

Any questions?

I bet you're one of those guys that throw away a brand new tire if you get a nail in it....

[zed]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

I bet you're one of those guys that throw away a brand new tire if you get a nail in it....

I've got a stack of rear tires about 6 foot tall from people like that. most of them still have nipples on them.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by zed

I've got a stack of rear tires about 6 foot tall from people like that. most of them still have nipples on them.

Yea I have a buddy like that, he also works at a dealership. I'll never get that. People think that you can't patch a motorcycle tire.

[JoshuaTree]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

... I bet you're one of those guys that throw away a brand new tire if you get a nail in it....

No, as a matter of fact, I don't.

I am a guy who has rebuilt three motorcycles, one down to splitting the cases and installing new main and con-rod bearings. I do hold several certifications from BMW Motorrad (worked at a shop for a while, a while ago), and have worked on my own vehicles since I was able to drive (legally).

In the matter of brake line crush washers - ask yourself a simple question: Is it worth injury or death (to say nothing of resulting damage to your bike) to have brake system failure for the want and use of $0.10-0.65 parts? You've just spent $50-250 on new brake lines, bought new race-spec brake fluid (or just generic DOT whatever), can you really say that you couldn't find the money for new sealing washers for the banjo bolt fittings? Really?

Motorcycle shops don't patch tires anymore due to liability issues, not real technical function issues. Some techs just hate the job in general anyways.

Relating to oil drain/fill plugs' sealing rings/washers, if you don't mind an occasional leak / total oil loss from your engines (i.e. when the sealing ring fails and the drain plug vibrates out as a result), and really want to save that $0.25-1.00 per oil change, go right ahead.

I'd bet that there isn't a single motorcyclist that can't manage to allocate their discretionary spending such that they can always afford new sealing rings/washers for their maintenance.

Then again, WTF do I know about maintenance anyways...

[was92v]

Like many things we do or don't do, it is up to the person doing the work, especially on his or her own bike to make the decision. If you have new washers there and feel the need to replace them, then by all means do it. Would I let not having new ones in my garage on Friday night keep me from finishing a job and going riding or racing for the weekend? Put everything on hold until I can get to a bike shop and order the correct washers, nope, but again that is just me. Our own experiences usually dictate how we react to these things and it is neither right or wrong. The first shop manager that I worked for summed it up nicely. He said, during a conversation similar to this, "There are always at least 4 ways to do something, your way, my way, the right way and the wrong way". The phrase is much more accurate than it seems.

Our own experience determines how we feel about this type of question or in the absence of that, what we have read, or been told by someone whos opinion we respect.
Or we have a situation arise that forces us to change our opinion.

As far a experience, I have mine and you have yours. I have ridden for 41 years and messed up some stuff.
I am (was) a certified MC mechanic with a degree from AMI
which is now Wyotech in Daytona. Worked as a mechanic in a Kawasaki shop and for a while in a Yamaha shop. Did a short stint as a shop manager for a Kaw shop, built 8 or 10 bikes from the bare frame up, built, maintained and rode drag bikes for 3 years, built, tuned,maintained and rode roadrace bikes for 5 years and have always done all my own maintenance on all of my street bikes and I reuse them.
In the past 41 years, I have had exactly zero failures of copper sealing washers, so my experience says to me, if it looks good, it is. Yours may say something else. Go with what you know until you need to change. Very few things in this world are really YES-NO or BLACK-WHITE. When you think about it carefully, almost everything is MAYBE-GRAY.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by JoshuaTree

No, as a matter of fact, I don't.

I am a guy who has rebuilt three motorcycles, one down to splitting the cases and installing new main and con-rod bearings. I do hold several certifications from BMW Motorrad (worked at a shop for a while, a while ago), and have worked on my own vehicles since I was able to drive (legally).

In the matter of brake line crush washers - ask yourself a simple question: Is it worth injury or death (to say nothing of resulting damage to your bike) to have brake system failure for the want and use of $0.10-0.65 parts? You've just spent $50-250 on new brake lines, bought new race-spec brake fluid (or just generic DOT whatever), can you really say that you couldn't find the money for new sealing washers for the banjo bolt fittings? Really?

Motorcycle shops don't patch tires anymore due to liability issues, not real technical function issues. Some techs just hate the job in general anyways.

Relating to oil drain/fill plugs' sealing rings/washers, if you don't mind an occasional leak / total oil loss from your engines (i.e. when the sealing ring fails and the drain plug vibrates out as a result), and really want to save that $0.25-1.00 per oil change, go right ahead.

I'd bet that there isn't a single motorcyclist that can't manage to allocate their discretionary spending such that they can always afford new sealing rings/washers for their maintenance.

Then again, WTF do I know about maintenance anyways...

I'm completely surprised that a BMW owner would have this attitude... I bet that you park your bike if it has 3000 miles on it and you don't have an oil filter. Hey to each his own... man people accuse me of getting all fired up over stupid shit!

['73 H1 Triple]

Originally Posted by Gas Man

Do you mean the copper washers?

Can re-use, as long as it looks good. You can buy new ones at the auto store.

You can also retemper them by hitting them with a torch. Can't remember why but it does something to them.



For banjo bolts in brake systems they aren't just regular washers. They are copper. Regular washer would leak like a siv.

Copper works hardens when tightened. Heating them with a torch and allowing to slowly cool ( do NOT quench ) makes them soft again.

Jeff