Replacing rusty brake lines at the ABS pump

[atikovi]

I've replaced lines elsewhere on other cars, like the ones on the rear axle, but this is at the ABS pump. Little room to work between the frame and transmission and sharp bends. Ideally I would cut out the rusty section, flare the good side and use a coupler to join a new length of line. They do make replacement pre-bent kits for over $200, but the rest of the lines are fine. Any other tips or tricks on replacing these?

 

[eljefino]

That's gonna SUUUCK.

Get nicopp and thread it through to where you have room to splice. Do one at a time to make sure you have it right. You can probably reuse the old line nuts.

 

[GSCJR]

It looks more like you found some rusty brake lines and stumbled across a reman tranny; This is going to take a little creativity a lot of patience. Good luck!

 

[oldcodger]

Did salt do that?

 

[atikovi]

Did salt do that?

Probably water in lines from never changing the fluid.

 

[SeaJay]

My mechanic had a look on his face when I brought in an older vehicle up north with leaking brake lines from rust. He did replace, but got charged for the time it took.

 

[Pew]

I've replaced lines elsewhere on other cars, like the ones on the rear axle, but this is at the ABS pump. Little room to work between the frame and transmission and sharp bends. Ideally I would cut out the rusty section, flare the good side and use a coupler to join a new length of line. They do make replacement pre-bent kits for over $200, but the rest of the lines are fine. Any other tips or tricks on replacing these?

I just helped a friend do his (or rather, watch) on his '04 tahoe. Flaring was a total PITA and he ended up having to replace both rear brake lines anyways since the old one was so rusty; then had to flare it again because he cut sections out of the line. It took two weeks and multiple flare jobs to finally stop leaking.

 

[PF52]

I just helped a friend do his (or rather, watch) on his '04 tahoe. Flaring was a total PITA and he ended up having to replace both rear brake lines anyways since the old one was so rusty; then had to flare it again because he cut sections out of the line. It took two weeks and multiple flare jobs to finally stop leaking.

Trying to splice the new line into the old is going to be difficult, since the old line is a) clipped to the underside of the car and thus not very manueverable, and b) made of steel and thus not easy to flare like the ni-cop line you're trying to install. I think it's probably easier to bite the bullet and replace the entire length from the ABS module to the junction where the flexible hoses attach.

The OP's brake lines are going to be challenging because of all those tight bends. He might want to consider adding a splice right in the middle of the straight sections, and then bending each section (fore and aft) separately before splicing them together. With challenging bends, it's easier to work on short sections at a time. I think if I were doing it, I'd try to do this area separately, and also any other complicated areas (such as by the rear axle) and clip them up to the car, and then connect them using straight sections last.

The hardest part might be the section by the firewall, between the ABS module and the area seen here in the photos, because it's so hard to see and reach! I am sure the ones I have done in the past would look pretty amateurish if the engine were removed and I could see what they actually looked like.

 

[GSCJR]

It ain't goin' to a beauty pageant @PF52 . As long as it does the job well, is what matters.

 

[eljefino]

Probably water in lines from never changing the fluid.

Nah they got blasted by the tire, see the springy stuff wrapped around, that's rock guard.

Sitting around on your property in the weeds for years also kept it moist under there unless you were crazy about mowing or had it on gravel that drains very well.

 

[xmanjeff]

when i had issues with my silverado, i used the ss prebent lines , did all of them , cost about 310 everything went fairly straight forward

 

[Timmastertech]

Nicopp, new flare nuts, a good flaring tool and tubing bender and have fun. Its not as bad of a job as it looks, ive done hundreds, life of a rust belt tech.

 

[doublebase]

They sell brake line that is pretty flexible nowadays that you can bend by hand. It’s pretty soft and takes a while to learn how to flare it because too much pressure while flaring it will ruin your flares. But you won’t need a tubing bender and you should be able to make those turns, it won’t look pretty but it’s pretty forgiving.

 

[michaelluscher]

I'd buy the premade

 

[Donald]

Probably water in lines from never changing the fluid.

Looks like rust on the outside of the line.

 

[Hall]

The OP's brake lines are going to be challenging because of all those tight bends.

I've seen people buy the pre-bent, full assembly brake lines to replace and I don't think they realize that those lines are almost certainly installed to the body before the body, underbody, engine, etc are mated together at the assembly plant. I suspect on some vehicles it's not even possible to replace them whole.

 

[PF52]

I've seen people buy the pre-bent, full assembly brake lines to replace and I don't think they realize that those lines are almost certainly installed to the body before the body, underbody, engine, etc are mated together at the assembly plant. I suspect on some vehicles it's not even possible to replace them whole.

Those are my concerns exactly! With my luck, the subframe or the rear axle or some other nonsense would have to come off first in order to install the new brake lines without having to cut a bunch of new joints in it.

I bought new all-stainless brake and tranny cooler lines for my Fiero, just because they're available. I don't even need them any time soon, but they're good things to have "just in case". Or just in case they're discontinued eventually. But for my winter beaters, I'm going to plumb the lines myself every time.

 

[GON]

Aftermarket premade brake lines (pipes) are very hard to find/buy. For full size pickups, there is a vendor in Michigan and one in Maine that I am aware of.

I think for some specialty cars like older mustangs and cameros and the like they are available. But replacement pre bent flared brake pipe is often not available for many vehicles.

The vendor of stainless steel brake pipe in Michigan can scan the OEM lines and make duplicate lines from the scan. Very cool, but you have to have good lines and get them to his shop in Michigan.

On a 2000 -2005 Pontiac Bonneville, the brake lines can be pulled from a donor vehicle and I stalled the vehicle in need without to much hassle. Of course, abs bleeding typically required.

 

[atikovi]

Got the rusty sections cut out and new lines bent as best as I could and spliced in. Maybe $25 worth of lines and fittings.

 

[eljefino]

Throw a couple zip ties in that mess by the transmission so that one pipe doesn't rattle around.