Peelwalls_Man
Member Since: 26 Apr 2024
Location: Berwickshire
Posts: 1
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I came across this thread and thought it was worth commenting to help others.
I have just gone through the same with my 2016 RRS S/C Autobiography and found there are no spares available in the UK and the cost of labour is crazy - your garage will need to detach the body from the rear frame and raise it 25mm to gain enough access to replace. RR quoted 14 man hours @ £230/ph, and a specialist the same 14 hours @ £100 p/h to do this. If they can find a part...
To resolve this, I cut out the corroded sections and replaced them with a hydraulic hose rated at 5000 PSI and high-pressure compression joints rated at 400 bar. I don't recommend using brake line or 10mm copper pipe (as per YouTube videos) as RR says there is 2000 psi in the system. My fix has been working perfectly and reliably since the repair some 6 months ago.
SAFETY NOTE: Don't try to use a hydraulic hose with jubilee clips, circlips etc, for this fix - they'll blow off as soon as you start moving. Your hoses must be made by a hydraulic hose supply company, with fittings machine attached, and the connections to the original pipe made using high-pressure pipe fittings.
Points to note:
(1) The original hydraulic line is 10mm outer diameter and 8mm bore. THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS BRAKE LINE, so brake line repair kits won't work for this repair. Be sure not to use a hydraulic hose which is < than 8mm inner bore to avoid restricting flow. Outer diameter is not a major concern.
(2) Use 316-grade (or similar) stainless steel fittings for the compression joint, rated to 300 bar or above. I used 4 no's Swagelok fittings rated at 400 bar, which cost £10.90 each.
https://products.swagelok.com/en/all-produ...0?clp=true
(3) There are two lines, a feed and a return. Each line has one joint and a fitting, the feed joint is near the rear arch. The return joint is inside the sill undertray. I recommend changing both as the removal of the undertray is a pain in the a*s that you won't want to do twice. When removing this undertray, watch out for a face full of dirt as you lower it 
(3) It's your choice to cut out the original fittings and have new fittings on both ends or, retain the original fittings and add a new fitting where you cut the line only. In my case, the fitting in the rear arch was so corroded the threaded bore snapped off as soon as I put a spanner on it. The fitting inside the sill undertray was only slightly corroded but I decided to replace both. If you choose to retain the existing fittings, the company that makes up your hydraulic hoses will need to know what thread is on the original fitting, so once removed take it to the hose company to avoid mistakes.
Note that the fitting under the sill has a non-removable stop ring in the line, (unlike the fitting at the rear arch), which makes finding the correct fitting for the replacement hose difficult. This is another reason to cut this out and use new, standard fittings on both ends of both lines.
Be sure to mark which line is the feed and which is the return and don't get crossed over once both lines are cut out! Make sure you have cut far enough back to remove all corroded sections.
Check the size of the replacement hoses. If replacing all connections and fittings, my hoses were 770mm and 795mm long, but measure up and add 25mm for errors - the replacement hoses flex so no worries if slightly too long.
I bought custom-made hoses with fittings from Hose World, https://www.hoseworld.com/ who made and tested the hoses for £15.00 each!!! Somewhat cheaper than the £440 excluding tax for the RR part.
(4) When you cut the lines, you'll find there is no room for a pipe cutter and like me, you may end up using a multi-tool with a metal cutting blade. Because of this, be careful to remove metal debris from the pipe by angling the pipe down and getting hydraulic oil to flush the debris out. If there is any metal burr from the cut, use a small circular file to remove it by inserting it into the line and filling USING BACKWARD STROKES ONLY. This is IMPORTANT to avoid pushing metal into the system. Once complete, flush again, use a cotton tip to swab and when clean, plug the ends of the pipe to avoid dirt entering the pipes.
(5) Using 120-grade emery cloth, clean the lines where the fitting will sit to bare metal.
(6) Using gas-grade PTFE tape on the compression fitting olives and threads, install the new connectors. My fittings came with small olives to make up for pipe ends that may not be perfect due to cutting in situ and felt positive when assembled. Fit to 50% tightness and route to the lines. Once you have a good route, tighten the fittings 100%.
(7) The old RR rubber mounts will no longer fit (the hydraulic hose is thicker than pipe), so fit rubber/alloy P brackets to hold the hydraulic hoses in place securely. This is important to avoid movement in the hoses under operation. There are plenty of holes in the underside where I routed the hoses to bolt the P clips into, but check there is nothing that will be damaged when doing so. Use a plastic/rubber washer under the clips to avoid vibration and corrosion issues.
The 8 P clips used cost £0.50 ea from Hose World.
( Refitting the tray etc should be no problem as there is plenty of clearance for the hoses to fit inside.
(9) Take the car for a test run and any air in the system should be purged through operation. Check the reservoir level after the test and top up if necessary using RR spec fluid, not cheap steering fluid from your local supermarket. My vehicle took about 0.2L.
(10) While under the car, paint the visible parts of the original pipe that remain with rust converter and then rust oil the lines, compression fittings and connections on the hoses for added protection.
In my view, the RR original part is cheap and barely fit for purpose, and the exposed routing at the wheel arch asks for trouble.
More than happy to share this experience in detail or provide pictures if helpful. PM me.
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Wed Jan 26 2022 11:33am
