Repair 7

Why Use Brake Line Clips

The brakes in most vehicles, excepting large trucks and the like, are operated hydraulically -- that is, by the pressure of a working fluid. This fluid is carried in lines that run under the body of the car, and these lines are fixed to the car with brake line clips.

What is a Brake Line Clip?

Brake line clips are small metal clips, usually cast or punched out of sheet metal or, increasingly, of plastic. They have a half-circle depression in them to accommodate the relatively small girth of the brake line. There are two holes on either side of this depression. These match with holes in the underside of the car body frame, with small bolts being used to fix the clips and the brake line to the body of the car.

Reason 1: Mechanical Stress

Brake lines are often made of metal, and are semi-flexible. Nonetheless, the bottom of a car is a hostile environment. Brake line clips protect the break line by keeping it from hanging below the bottom of the car, where it could get snagged on debris or terrain. They also protect the line from the undue stress that would be imposed by allowing the line to simply hang below the car, which could pull it loose of its couplings at either end.

Reason 2: Corrosion Protection

By keeping the brake lines up against the bottom of the car, the brake line clips perform a secondary service by keeping them from getting as caked in road salt and water as they otherwise might. This helps prevent undue corrosion.