need advise - time to replace brake and fuel lines?

[mrbizi]

I have a 94 Corolla, car runs great and haven't had any major problems with it. When I had the car serviced in January I was told the brake and fuel lines are rusty and will need to be replaced soon. I was not experiencing any problems with my brakes (e.g. leaking or irregular performance) so I was not too concerned at the time.

Fast forward to today, I had my car serviced and while the car was hoisted up I was able to check the lines myself and they are indeed very rusty (but again, nothing leaking). So my question is should I proactively have the brake and fuel lines replaced or should I wait until I actually start experiencing problems with it? Cost to replace is around $1500 (DIY is not an option as I do not have the time). I plan to keep the car for at least 2 more years and thereafter will decide on whether to replace or keep the car.

I am also curious for those of you who actually experienced their brake line fail, were there any symptoms (e.g. leaking) prior to the brakes failing or did it just fail all of a sudden? The other thing I should mention is that my wife uses this car most of the time, so I am concerned that even though it is a dual circuit system she might panic if the brake fails.

Thanks in advance!

[Yuko]

I remember my brake line failure.

After 15 year in Chicago, the snow and salt rust the brake lines on our old 95' Nissan Quest. Over a year ago, the morning I got the van, every time I got on the brakes, the "BRAKE" warning light came on but it stopped normally. I thought it was low on DOT 4 fluid. I check the master and it was low. I never thought there was a leak and would fill it up later. After school, I started the van but the brake felt soft. I began to pump the brakes in the parking lot and seconds later; the pedal when straight to the floor. I got out and found a pool of brake fluid on the ground; one of the rear lines blew.

Not sure if the Quest had a dual circuit brake system but I was able to drive slowly home, then to the school's shop with the use of the parking brake. The rest of the brake lines look fine but the part that fails was behind the RF lower control mount and I have to tear half the suspension to get to it. Took me three days and $40 to fix the bad lines. My father drove 30k after that, and it's still here today.

Worse case is the lines can fail completely at the time most needed like the freeway. At $1500 to replace the lines, you might want to look into another vehicle if the line are that bad. (My rule is if the repair is more than the KBB of the vehicle, it's not worth it.)

Just thought I would share this with ya.

[sam333]

How thick is the rust, ( surface or pitting) if there are pits then replace them .Your rear and front brakes or on a separate hydraulic circuits so if one fails you will still have the other, also you have your emergency brakes on the rear which are mechanical.

[mrbizi]

Thanks for your input guys.

Yuko - glad you did not get into an accident when your brake lines failed. Regarding the cost, my thinking is this - yes it would cost me $1500 to replace these lines and it would cost more than the car, but the alternative would be for me to pay $15,000 for a decent 3-year old used car. If I had any reason to believe that there would be other major repairs on this car, then that would be a different story. Besides my finances are a bit tight right now, so repairing the problem is the better option for me.

Sam - the lines are quite rusty - some areas have "crusts" of rust and are not just superficial. This is particularly true in the area that stretches from the front to the back of the car where it's covered by some kind of plastic sheathing.

Any other comments/input?

[sam333]

Originally Posted by mrbizi

Thanks for your input guys.

Yuko - glad you did not get into an accident when your brake lines failed. Regarding the cost, my thinking is this - yes it would cost me $1500 to replace these lines and it would cost more than the car, but the alternative would be for me to pay $15,000 for a decent 3-year old used car. If I had any reason to believe that there would be other major repairs on this car, then that would be a different story. Besides my finances are a bit tight right now, so repairing the problem is the better option for me.

Sam - the lines are quite rusty - some areas have "crusts" of rust and are not just superficial. This is particularly true in the area that stretches from the front to the back of the car where it's covered by some kind of plastic sheathing.

Any other comments/input?

Mrbizi ,Im with you on fixing it. Its better than having a $400 a month car payment.

[speedy25]

ALL cars have had "dual circuit" reservoirs since the late 60's. BUT pedal typically goes to the floor anyway.

If they are rusty- REPLACE THEM. Or you can wait until they break and you are stranded. Mine broke while I was towing a trailer home!! Slightly scary, but I could handle it safely.

Be safe.

-SP