Brake line replacement

[j_mezz]

So I'm about to try to replace the steel rear brake lines on my 96 Cutty, didn't see anything about it in the FAQ's or how to's and searching 'brake lines' brings up a lot of false positives. Never tried this before so I'd be grateful for any tips you all might have! I do have a couple of questions that maybe you could help with too...

 

first off I don't have a lift, so to get the old lines out and the new ones in I would have to cut them where they turn towards the rear of the car (leaving an inch or so to put on a new fitting) and pull the vertical part out of the engine compartment and drop the rest out the bottom...or is there a smarter way to do it?

 

and second, as long as that's the case, and the vertical part isn't rusty or leaky, could I reuse it or is that being 'penny wise and pound foolish' (or something like that)?

 

And third, I can see that my gas lines have some surface rust but are solid. Any reason why it would be a mistake to sand off the loose rust and coat them with POR 15 as a preventative measure?

 

Thanks!

[Schurkey]

I would have to cut them where they turn towards the rear of the car (leaving an inch or so to put on a new fitting)

What "fitting" are you planning to use?

 

Keep in mind that only a double-flare or an ISO bubble flare is likely to be acceptable.

 

A compression union is NOT acceptable.

[j_mezz]

I figured I'd be doing ISO bubble flairs, but the plan was to use whatever was on the part that goes into the MC (which is still soaking in PB blaster). I have a basic flair kit but haven't got the die yet, was going to get that at auto barn when I get the piping and have them match it up.

[ron350]

Can you please give more information.

 

Do you have new or non rusted factory brake lines to replace the rusted ones?

Does your car have ABS brakes?

Do you have 4 jack stands?

[j_mezz]

Sure! I do have 4 jack stands, I do have ABS, and I'll be having to bend new lines to replace the rusted ones.

[urbex]

I'm interested about the fuel lines. I was just wondering that myself...

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

[ron350]

Good; does your cutlass have a factory splice in the rear brake lines under the car near the fuel filter like my regal does?

 

I am thinking you could disconnect the two lines there and at the abs and pull them out. The two lines that run from the fuel filter area to back should not be a problem pulling out.

Then all you would need is a set of factory brake lines that are not rusted.

[j_mezz]

There is a factory splice back by the fuel filter. There's a lot of bends between the front and back along the bottom so the only way it's coming out in one piece is through the bottom. I guess it just depends on how high up I can get the car on the jack stands. I'd rather get it out in one piece so when I go to bend the new ones into shape I'll have an unobstructed view of the whole thing.

 

I'll keep you posted Urbex. Won't have much time this weekend but I want to get this car on the road again so I don't have to drive the vert through the winter!

[j_mezz]

Ok, I have some status updates! I was able to get the lines out without cutting them with only the front up on jack stands. Once all of the plastic brackets were removed and the lines popped out of them I rotated the lines one at a time so they were pointed out the passenger side of the car. That rotation lines up the part of the line that extends into the master cylinder such that it could slide down far enough to see from underneath the car on the inside of the wheel well. Then I popped it over to the outside of the wheel well and was able to pull the whole line out the drivers side wheel opening. I had to rotate it a few times to snake it out but it came out with no problem.

 

My first suggestion (however obvious it may be) to anyone trying this...have a glass jar or tin can standing by when you disconnect the lines in the back by the fuel filter to catch whatever brake fluid is still in the lines. When it's done draining cut a thick plastic bag down the middle and put the corner of the bag over the end of the line and strap it on with a rubber band. this will keep the brake fluid from dripping all over your garage floor while you're swinging the line around getting it out.

 

Now onto some things that I've learned...first, the master cylinder is labeled which line goes where, which is nice to know but sort-of irrelevant because the lines are keyed by way of different fittings at the ends. At the master cylinder, one rear line has a 1.0 thread, the other has a 1.5 thread. Remove them carefully because you'll need to re-use the 1.0 thread fitting! In the rear by the fuel filter one line has a 'male' fitting, the other has a 'female' fitting.

 

Next, I learned that bubble fittings are...not very popular, at least not 'round here! The third store I went to did finally have 5' long lines with bubble fittings and a pair of 'unions' (to join 2 lines together). The lines I'm replacing are about 10' long so 4 of them should get us back to the fuel filter.

 

But now we have some decisions to make. because of the keying of the original lines you're going to have to make at least a couple of your own flairs and none of the stores I went to had a bubble flair kit. I wound up ordering one from Summit but you could get through this using double-flairs to join the lines. Just plan it out and change the fittings before you start bending the lines.

 

The only problem I've run into so far was that the bolt that holds the front-most plastic bracket in place broke as soon as I tried to turn it. That whole area seems to be very prone to rust! But I was able to cut off the rest of the stud and drill it out. then I por-15's the area. I'm still waiting for my flair kit so I've only got one line bent into shape and I haven't installed it yet. I've got lots of pictures I can post if anyone is interested, but here's a couple showing the progress:

 

here's a before:

some sanding done, you can see the broken stud:

Broken stud cut off and drilled out (that stud was some Tough metal!):

front half prepped for paint:

and front half ready to go:

Edited September 4, 2013 by j_mezz

[urbex]

Wow, those cleaned up nicely!

[j_mezz]

Got 'em in! At least the front half, which is enough for the moment. Going to spin the car around and jack up the back for some other work I have planned so I'll finish the back half of the front later. First a few more suggestions. When you pull the lines down out of the car attach a string to one of them just to mark the pathway the lines took. They have to fit in around the other lines there and I wound up putting them up there a couple of times to find the spot to send them up. Also, take them out in order - outside line first as you're looking at the plastic clip on the bottom, and put them back in reverse order - inside line first. They wrap around each other and I don't think you can get them in out of order. One last tip, when I bent the lines I didn't make the last bend (that goes into the MC). Not sure if it was easier to get them in that way or not but it worked out ok and I was able to custom-tailor the last bend to slide right into the MC.

 

Oh, and once I got the lines in place I snapped them back into all of the black holders, then did some 'tweaking' to get them tucked out of the way. Once I was happy with the way everything was sitting then I did the last bend into the MC.

 

Here's the lines bent up and ready to go:

 

 

A look at the lines going into the MC:

 

 

and finally how it looks underneath:

 

 

and a view facing back:

 

 

If you get this far, the back half of the front shouldn't be too tough because it's much more accessible. Hope this helps someone else thinking about doing this, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!

Edited September 15, 2013 by j_mezz

[urbex]

Alright, I'll bring my car over next weekend and you can do mine now!

 

 

Looks nice!

[j_mezz]

Thanks man, it really did clean up pretty good! I'm psyched!

 

Now, on to the rear end rebuild!

[ScoobyDoo82]

That looks MUCH better, I think I need to get this done