replace brake line on 95 Jeep. arggggg!!!

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I have a 95 Jeep ZJ that I need to either junk it or fix it. its been parked for 18 months under a pine tree at a friends house 250 miles away. it was running fine when I parked it - but time and rust took a toll on one of the brake lines that exits the rear of the abs pump and heads down the frame rail towards the rear. certainly no fun to get to. the Jeep is very much a hooptie but I was looking forward to driving it this winter and letting one of the boys have it next year. it has 110k miles on it and it has always been reliable - but the PO and rust have not been kind to it.

anyway... I opened the door and was met by the smell of death... found one dead mouse. there certainly could be more. that brake line is hard to get the fitting behind the abs pump. is it actually reachable or do you need to remove the pump? is it worth it? sigh.... I will either call the junk yard, or tow it home and fix it here.

I believe that the fittings are all different sizes and are metric, just to add to the fun - which can make the repair lengthly and require many trips to the store and or parts hunting.
 
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you got 110,000 miles on a jeep and want to junk it?
usually around that mileage its considered broken in and should run another 200,000.

If the rust did not destroy the frame which it probably did not unless it was around salt water most of its life it pays to fix or sell. people love those things.
 
certainly it does seem kinda lame to consider junking a serviceable vehicle. I'm just being lazy because I dont really wanna take the trouble to tow it back - and what's it gonna take to get rid of the dead mouse smell? I know, quit whining and just do it.

frame is fine. the rockers are rusted. I actually have replacements but no time to do the repair. I replaced a fender a couple years back - the truck actually looks decent for its age. compression on the motor is not great - but it runs good. wonderful - you guys are convincing me to fix it. now, about that dead mouse smell....
 
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Originally Posted By: Miller88
I buy lines for mine from the dealer prebent!


I will swing by the dealer tomorrow. sure would save ALOT of time although I'm not sure if they will have lines for a Jeep that is 20 years old
 
No big deal at all. Cut the line at the fittings and remove them with a 6 point socket.
Remove the line in pieces if need be and lay it out .
Go to AA with the fittings and a short piece of line and buy a coil of Ni-Copp line and fittings in one trip.

You need a flaring tool and that's it ("you can rent it free), you can bend this stuff easily by hand into a pretzel if need be.
Install the fitting on one end then bend the line next to the original leaving an extra foot or so.
Get the line in and routed properly then trim the other end, put the fitting on and flair it.
 
I would go with the Ni-Copp brake line also. You do not want to do it again in a few years.

I would not junk it. This is an annoying but not an expensive repair.

Spray some FF or CarWell on the frame.

I have driven cars home to fix with a broken brake line. Just need to plan your route.
 
I think you should sell it to me for scrap price, LOL.
Nickel-Copper brake line is the only way to go. Lasts a lifetime and super easy to work with.
 
If you can't get at the fitting, splice the line under the hood. Usually the rust stops six inches above the frame rail/ floor boards and the under hood lines are more or less fine.
 
I hate doing brake lines.

When I bought my vehicle (new),
I coated the brake lines with Never-Seize & Fluid Film.

Ford may have used some type of Stainless (possibly ? ? ?)
Edit: Oh, OK maybe Nickel/Copper
But today, their as good as the day I bought it.

I highly recommend this to anyone in the "rust belt".

My Ford Ranger is 12 years old.
Parking Brake Cable works fine also.
To work under it is a oily/greasy mess. But I'm OK with that.
 
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Originally Posted By: tomcat27
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I buy lines for mine from the dealer prebent!


I will swing by the dealer tomorrow. sure would save ALOT of time although I'm not sure if they will have lines for a Jeep that is 20 years old


They have lines for a 20 year old cherokee (same as my 15 year old cherokee).

You do pay a bit of money, but well worth it! I'm not paying a shop hundreds of dollars to make lines and I'm not making them myself.
 
How much are lines? I know napa sells it by the foot and its only a few dollars at best.seems silly to scrap a 110k jeep over say a $100 repair and a good cleaning. Most likely they moved into the blower motor.
 
I have replaced all the brakelines + hoses on my 93 ZJ, but i had a local shop do it they charged me about $300 to do it.
I could have done it myself but i did not have the time to do it and did not want to do it, i have messed enough with brakelines and hoses.

Rusty rockers on a ZJ is almost considered a factory forced option at this time because everyone has it.
I can guarantee you that if you go out and look at 10 random ZJ,s atleast 7 of them will have rusted out rockers, the other 3 has been repaired.
I have the passengerside left to fix on mine.

110k miles is nothing, mine is going to hit 300000km,s this week and still going strong.
(186k miles if i done it correct)
 
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