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I have received an advisory for corroded rear brake lines. I've had a look through the forum and it seems the best option is to replace with new hard lines or flexi braided line and reroute to avoid dropping the fuel tank.
This will be my first time replacing brake lines, any advice or help with the best way to reroute and preferable options for lines etc. would be much appreciated.
Asking the same as a rear line has just popped on the union mount Driver's side rear. Will have to do this myself due to location, and do not have ramps to work with, so looking for the easiest route to replace line(s).
Looks like a pig of a job. Car getting quite corroded underneath also as getting salt blast from a beach about 50 yards away, and no garage.
Also be great if someone can confirm the flaring type, so I can get correct dies if i try to bodge it. I may have to chop out the union mount from both lines and join with new section in middle looking at the state of the nuts and block. Not sure how long rest of those lines might last without giving them a good clean up, but have some pipe left over from wife's X3.
Last edited by boma23; 07 February 2022 at 08:39 PM.
Lift the rear seat and you can cut the line inside the car then join. I used custom lines from Hel as it wasn't that much more in the grand scheme of things than normal hardline and I really didn't want to drop the fuel tank.
Yep, did the same, cut them both under the seat, new couplers to join a new bit of pipe to the bit running through the car, then through the floor into that junction box on the drivers side. Then ran new hard lines to each side, routing the passenger side round the petrol tank rather than over it.
I went a bit more drastic, got the same advisory in 2020 and was told that the back end as a whole was looking tired. So in Feb last year I stripped the entire back end to clean it all up and put all new lines in at the rear. Taken a whole year of work, but just got MOT'd today and passed with flying colours.
As above, the easiest way to to re-route the near side line infront of the fuel tank. The other way ideally means rear subframe and tank off. Make sure you have a good quality brake pipe flaring tool as well, the first one I used when trying to flare the steel lines failed miserably. Not helpful with brake fluid dripping out. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...+tool&_sacat=0 was the tool I used. Worth having a few practice goes on a random bit of pipe first. Check out a youtube video maybe. Just for the steel pipes, make sure you nip the tools 2 clamping screws tight, or the pipe will simply push through as you try and flare it.
Just to add to this be very carful with brake fluid, it will eat your paint and painting over it doesn't help. You need to go back to bare metal.
@swampdonkey84 is yours the FSTI you shared pictures of.
Very good point well made about the brake fluid 👍
I haven't shared any pictures of it on here of the work, wasn't sure if it would be something people would want to see 🤷♂️. Luckily I did do a picture diary if you want to call it that 😂
Very good point well made about the brake fluid 👍
I haven't shared any pictures of it on here of the work, wasn't sure if it would be something people would want to see 🤷♂️. Luckily I did do a picture diary if you want to call it that 😂
Not long since had to replace the braided (why?) section of the wife's X3 master/ABS lines in situ between the engine and firewall. Never seen such a needlessly stupid route. So already ordered one of the better in situ tools, as that was a nightmare. Especially with the OEM 6mm steel lines working in about 3" of space I could barely reach in between other pipes.
This looks like a proper pain as well, and am also scared that the pipe may not hold up as I start manipulatiing it, but at least I have a loose plan now and have a 25ft roll coming (after realizing stuff bought for wife was 6mm / 1/4"), with a bunch of fittings and unions just in case. Just waiting for the stuff to arrive now, which will be weeks living here, as have to import it all...
Last edited by boma23; 11 February 2022 at 01:37 AM.
@NOSSY_89 - I'll put them up in a post later in the projects bit 👍
@boma23 - When I did my lines, I had an idea to allow me to get on with the job at my own pace without having to worry about the fluid so much. So I cut the lines under the rear seats as someone in the past had mullered them previously (to get it through the MOT i paid someone to do them just to get it done, mega bodge job ensues). Then I got 2 short bits of new pipe and soldered one end of it to seal it, then put a female fitting on it and flared the other end. After flaring the steel lines in the car (also with female connectors), I used some male to male connectors to join them together (never put flare to flare like some tool did with mine). With the soldered ends sealing the system you can take your time in removing the old lines and routing the new, making the whole "take your time" bit soooooo much easier.
Please forgive the welding in the picture, it was the first side i went at and was a new welder so still hadn't got the setting right 🤣🤣 But thats how I did mine, obviously so much easier with nothing in the way though.
That's a good tip. I do the same, but if you don't have a soldering iron you can also crimp the ends of copper pipe by squishing it flat, folding it over onitself then crimping it.
Is there any advantage to using male or female ends and suitable connectors compared to the the opposite.
Are two separate connections required? I. E. Under the back seat and underneath the car, or will just connecting under the back seat and running to the calipers suffice? I'm thinking of putting braided lines between the hard pipe and calipers.
Is there any advantage to using male or female ends and suitable connectors compared to the the opposite.
Are two separate connections required? I. E. Under the back seat and underneath the car, or will just connecting under the back seat and running to the calipers suffice? I'm thinking of putting braided lines between the hard pipe and calipers.
Thanks
you could run all the way from calipers to the front with braided line if you wanted to.
you could run all the way from calipers to the front with braided line if you wanted to.
This now raises the question of cost, vs longevity, vs ease of work required. I have the hard line and flaring tool already, but no fittings or anything else required. Regardless of which I do I'd probably only be going from the back seats to the calipers. Now the debate is how and why. I'll not be dropping the fuel tank.
21 October 2021, 01:44 PM
Corroded rear brake lines
