Toyota still supplies preformed brake lines for my 99 Avalon for a decent price. I need the two for the rear wheels. I am wondering how they can ship them without bending them into a pretzel. Haven’t checked shipping cost yet but maybe these are something I should get from local dealer even if it costs more. What do you think? Thanks.
Shipping Preformed Brake Lines
- Thread starter artbuc
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I'm not familiar with how these parts would be shipped, but Toyota is not new at the trough and I'm sure they have it handled. Go for it art.
LOL! Shipping is over $300. Local pick-up is the only sensible thing. I could buy flaring tools and repair lines/couplings but that may be more trouble than it is worth. Even if I took it to a indie for repair, labor would be more than a new preformed line.
Have you tried going to a Toyota dealer in person? Dealers get most OEM parts delivered by a semi truck and the distribution and transport is exclusive so the fragile parts are handled better.
A few years back I ordered a complete set of preformed brake lines for my BMW. Before I even placed the order I e-mailed the online dealer asking them if this would be a problem in shipping and they said no. But the day they arrived at the dealership in Nebraska the parts guy called and said that regular Fedex would not take the package as it was too large. I told them they could cut the lines if they needed and I told them where to cut them, but they said no and would have to ship the package Fedex freight at their cost. When the package arrived it was HUGE, about the size of a queen or king size mattress. I have no idea how much that shipping ended up being but your figure of $300 is probably low.
In my experience since then (and doing the job most recently on my old Accord) the pre-bent ones are not worth the effort unless you have the vehicle on a hoist with many components removed underneath the vehicle. For me the only way to do it properly is with Nicopp or Cunifer lines that you can feed over obstacles and then carefully hand-bend into place.
This was the thread I made for the Accord:
On the BMW I had ordered fuel lines too but those were not preformed so I used Nicopp, that's where I learned how awesome that is.
Another thing to consider is that if you buy preformed lines and for some reason you cannot route the new line exactly like the old one then it may end up too short.
In my experience since then (and doing the job most recently on my old Accord) the pre-bent ones are not worth the effort unless you have the vehicle on a hoist with many components removed underneath the vehicle. For me the only way to do it properly is with Nicopp or Cunifer lines that you can feed over obstacles and then carefully hand-bend into place.
This was the thread I made for the Accord:
Fuel and Brake Line Replacement
My daughter's 1996 Accord needed new tires and a few other things, and while test driving it after repair I stepped on the brakes a little harder than usual and heard and felt a "pop" in the rear. Bottom line is that the brake line to the right rear wheel was severely corroded above the fuel...
www.bobistheoilguy.com
On the BMW I had ordered fuel lines too but those were not preformed so I used Nicopp, that's where I learned how awesome that is.
Another thing to consider is that if you buy preformed lines and for some reason you cannot route the new line exactly like the old one then it may end up too short.
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Parts stores have preFLARED lines if that's your holdup. And they have adapters from double flares to whatever your wheel cylinders use.
So your options are
-- go to a mechanic, who will just flare bulk line, NiCopp if he's cool or if you ask, I guess.
-- Pay a bazillion bucks to ship prebent line, maybe as much as going to a hole-in-the-wall mechanic
-- DIY with pre-flared lines and adapters, cheap
-- DIY and learn to flare. This can be an art form, but you also get better with experience. You can also splice the line at, say, the firewall, and not have to snake line past the engine and whatnot.
So your options are
-- go to a mechanic, who will just flare bulk line, NiCopp if he's cool or if you ask, I guess.
-- Pay a bazillion bucks to ship prebent line, maybe as much as going to a hole-in-the-wall mechanic
-- DIY with pre-flared lines and adapters, cheap
-- DIY and learn to flare. This can be an art form, but you also get better with experience. You can also splice the line at, say, the firewall, and not have to snake line past the engine and whatnot.
This is correct. Our Ford parts come on a Schneider Logistics truck nightly and our Mazda parts come on a Black Horse Freight truck 3 times a week. I know the Schneider truck also does the local Chevy and Nissan dealers since whenever there is a hiccup they don't get their parts either.
If you want to avoid using a flaring tool, buy repair lengths and bend them to fit. I did that for yrs before I bought a double flare tool. 
Eljefino is right, it is an art form. I use my thumbs and I can form a line well enough to re-use the mounting clips, and where the clips are broken I resort to lashing cord, but cable ties work well too. I started 50yrs ago and I enjoyed the last few line R+Rs I did. But the first one I did worked as well as the last one , just uglier
Eljefino is right, it is an art form. I use my thumbs and I can form a line well enough to re-use the mounting clips, and where the clips are broken I resort to lashing cord, but cable ties work well too. I started 50yrs ago and I enjoyed the last few line R+Rs I did. But the first one I did worked as well as the last one , just uglier
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Some great ideas...thanks to all. This would not have been any problem for me 5-10 years ago but I have to approach things differently now. I do not have a relationship with any local shop since I have always done everything myself but there is a shop just a couple miles down the road which has a good reputation. Going to get an estimate from them and size them up. Fortunately I know enough to quickly determine if they are legit.
Buy the rolls of copper/nickel brake line off of amazon. Get a double flare tool and a bender and copy the lines you take off. You can replace every hard line on your vehicle for less than $100 with line that will never rust and bends/flares like butter. Watch a couple youtube videos to learn everything you need to know.
Did you price them at the dealer?
I buy them at the dealer and they were reasonably priced.
I buy them at the dealer and they were reasonably priced.
I am not sure if this is helpful, I try not to post generally if it isn't, but I have restored several American muscle cars in my lifetime and always have done new full length lines on these restored cars. The brake line manufacturer ships the preformed terminated lines carefully rolled up in about a 1.5' or 2' radius (so up to a 4' diameter coil). When you unpack the lines, bear in mind these will be roughly 10' to 12' uncoiled in some cases, you carefully unroll the lines as not to kink them or have unsightly wobbles. It has not been a big issue to date, so, if the lines you are buying are packaged the same way you should be ok. Incidentally, the fuel, vapour and carbon canister lines for these cars are also rolled, packaged and shipped the same way, again no issues to date. The box is big... but not $300 shipping big.
Yep, Inline Tube, Fine Lines etc. build full length lines for muscle cars/classics. They come in a 6' box that is about 2' square. They have a big radii bent into them which you straighten and roll out on your garage floor. The shipping is pricey but not that crazy.
The $300+ shipping charge came from two different on-line Toyota dealers. I will call them for confirmation.
If I decide to do it myself, I will buy preformed from the dealer, pick them up to avoid shipping and cut/repair as necessary to install OR buy nicopp coil stock and make them myself. I like the idea of the nicopp because it may be close to impossible to remove some of the support brackets and plastic tray plus the preformed lines will almost for sure end up being too short requiring a repair section anyway.
If I decide to do it myself, I will buy preformed from the dealer, pick them up to avoid shipping and cut/repair as necessary to install OR buy nicopp coil stock and make them myself. I like the idea of the nicopp because it may be close to impossible to remove some of the support brackets and plastic tray plus the preformed lines will almost for sure end up being too short requiring a repair section anyway.
The right way to replace the rear line on a Grand Wag involved removing the gas tank and the 'Coffin" skid plate. Qwik'n dirty was a couple odd lengths and some couplings cable tied to the out side of the frame. Worked as well as original. Find a good place to make a splice and get creative. Whatever way you go, please post a follow up
I've not replaced brake lines but recall seeing a couple of the TV auto repair/restoration shows where they received preformed lines that were bent at some middle point and marked with, I believe, white tags indicting the place. That way the end user/mechanic could straighten the line and was ready to install. Perhaps these were from a certain retailer and it's not a somewhat common practice.
I replaced the rear brake line set on daughter's '94 Camry. I don't have any practice in forming/flaring brake lines, so I ordered both lines from the local dealer. The lines were pre-formed and they were 'gently' bent in half length for the left rear and bent twice for the passenger side.
The rear lines (brake, fuel and vapor) on that generation Camry are held to the floorpan with clips and a plastic 'ladder' cover. The cover is what caused the lines to rot out - road salt and brine doesn't wash out easily. I had to drop the rear axle carrier, cat-back as the lines were 1 piece from ABS to the caliper hose connections. Just for kicks, the lines are installed while vehicle is flipped over and before the steering rack is installed. IIRC, the Avalon is built off the Camry chassis so YMMV!
The rear lines (brake, fuel and vapor) on that generation Camry are held to the floorpan with clips and a plastic 'ladder' cover. The cover is what caused the lines to rot out - road salt and brine doesn't wash out easily. I had to drop the rear axle carrier, cat-back as the lines were 1 piece from ABS to the caliper hose connections. Just for kicks, the lines are installed while vehicle is flipped over and before the steering rack is installed. IIRC, the Avalon is built off the Camry chassis so YMMV!
When I wrote buy them at the dealer, I meant physically showing up at your local dealer and buying it there, not at an online dealer.
I wouldn't waste my money on these premade assemblies. They would be expensive and more difficult to install as it is very likely when the originals were installed on the assembly line, there were much fewer items in the way. I just measure everything out, salvage and clean up the original fittings off the old lines and make my own lines. They will outlast the standard steel lines from the dealer.
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