I put a set or stainless brake hoses on my 05 ECSB Z71.

The trucks brakes were nothing to complain about. The new drum rear system have always impressed me with stopping power and feel over my older body style systems.

So I decided to top them off with a set of Russell's lines.

The verdict is with not much to improve on there is no night and day difference. The pedal is improved but if you had installed them without telling me I may have not commented.

The notability is in hard panic type braking. Yanking her down hard from 60mph was a new thing for me. The anti-locks came on with a perkiness I have not seen before. So I believe I gained in responsiveness more than felt pedal.

GM did good in my eyes with the new breaking system. The rear discs never impressed me before this system but may be better now if they finally proportioned any kind of power to them. The new master cylinder and booster with better rear proportioning to the large drums has me noting how well my brakes work everyday.

I do not regret the purchase. They complement an already pretty good system.
The quality of the lines are better that I had anticipated. A very fine mesh with an impregnated clear poly coating. The bulkhead mounting system is nice.
The a-arm guide brackets seemed as if I got two right hand pieces and I had to reform the one for the left to be able to use it.
The suggested tapping of the front hole on the left side knuckle is a must.
You do not get any extra length so have it so you can turn the wheel to full lock in both directions to check for routing and pulling. If you don't get it just right it will get tight in one direction.

I will add that when I first got the truck I wondered what the big deal was. I told a GM tech this and he said bleed them now. With only a few k on the truck I did and got this dark green stuff from the right rear and off color fluid through out the system. But after that I knew what they were talking about! It was a night and day difference.

The image below is of the finished install on the passenger side.
The supplied A-arm bracket's bend was reversed. As it was - it angled towards the motor making the line stressed when the wheel was in a full lock right hand turn. I believe I got two left brackets in my box.
The directions called for tapping the front hole and fastening both clamps (the brake line and the wheel speed sensor wire) with a single bolt. I chose to use both bolt holes using a spare screw I had about the shop.
The sensor wire had a plastic attachment clip where the hose clamp is now. I removed the rubber sleeve from the clamp. The part that looks like it is resting on the A-arm is not.
Moving up to the bulkhead inlet connection I'll note the factory clip that was there has to be pulled out with a good yank.

 

Nice write up. I too have been impressed with my brake setup and have considered this upgrade. It may have moved up the list of things to do.

 

Thanks,
When ever I report I try to include what I would like to find in a search.

 

Very good write up and yes, looking back and remebering when I did the mod I'd agree with how you have described the improvement. Now get some pics of the install

 

Do the 05's get a 5 hose or 3 hose kit? I was happy with the improvement I felt with the 5 hose kit on my 99, like you said, it wasn't night and day, but I did notice a better pedal feel

 

3 - Hose Kit.