I just put my bug eye WRX through an MOT and it came back with the following:




"(Both front to rear) brake pipe excessively corroded [3.6.B.2c] **DANGEROUS**"




I assumed it'd be the rear solid sections from the flexi sections running up to above the fuel tank, so I backed the car in to the garage took the wheels off and had a quick poke around. They look mind to me, even the unions. They're covered in a grey plastic coating and I can't detect any bubbling underneath.

So I turned the car around and had a look in the front. As far as I can see, the pipes that run down by the sus turret look to be fine.

I initially thought that the pipes where routed internally between somewhere under the passenger bench and the engine bay - is this not the case?

Any pointers as to where else I might find corrosion on the 'front to rear' pipes?

I'm going to pop back and see if I can ask the tester tomorrow but it'd be nice to have a look myself as i'll probably end up doing the job of replacing them (please please please... don't make me drop that tank!).

 

If you have checked everywhere and they look fine then could be a case of the mot man is blowing smoke up Yer ****! They have to fail so many every month as far as I know or they will flag up on DVLA radar, you may be just unlucky he picked you! Go back and ask him to point it out for you

 

HI
It does happen unfortunately , the pipes will be routed over the tank somewhere , we can make you copper lines as long as we know the lengths and end fittings you need.
The copper pipe is very easy to bend so can be bent to shape while fitting them.
If you can see both ends of the pipes to get at them , you could fit new pipes routing around the tank so you don't have to remove it , as long as the pipes are out of harms way and cannot get damaged in any way , and are clipped , it doesn't matter where you run them
Cheers Ian

 

Thanks Ian, I'll probably take you up on that if I do it myself, saves having to learn how to do the flares etc!

I've popped in and the tester was good enough to talk me through exactly where it is. Apparently the connector block above the tank is the culprit, which I haven't yet found my way back to. It's heavily corroded on both sides apparently (which might mean I need to replace the line running forward or shorten it in some way.)

It's caught me out because the lines are in such good nick around where they connect to the flexi sections.

 

Personally I prefer Cupro-Nickel over Copper...so long as you have a decent flaring kit.

What I tend to do with cars on existing steel lines is coat them all with grease (and spray grease in the hard to reach areas and re-do it every service, looks a mess, but they won't rust. Done our E39, which are notorious for rusting around the fuel tank - touch wood, its still ok....the sills/jacking points on the otherhand may not last 'til next year.

 

Yeah, I do this on my off-roader. I like using a bit of spray lith as it coasts nice and thin so it doesn't pick up grit yet doesn't appear to get washed off too easily.


This is an issue on my older Bugeye (tinker toy) but I think I'm going to start coating the Blobeye now I know it's a corrosion spot. I always kick myself when I find out I was ignorant of some preventative maintenance. As I said, I've just been looking at the pipes near the wheel rather than further up the car.

 

Well, I've found the part it failed on, I didn't realise it was so far forward.

This is the offending area:












http://thumbsnap.com/f/rD0NREeC (high res)


Not exactly questioning the MOT man's judgement, but I swear I've seen lines in a worse state go without advice. I have given it a brush up in this picture, so removed the yellow fail crayon.


It looks like both sides are just as bad, so I'm going to end up running the length up in to the car body too. Can anybody advise where the next joint would be?


I've had a look at the routing over the tank and I think I may be able to run kunifer lines along almost the same route. It almost looks more awkward to shape the but pipe nearest the hub.