rear brake lines

[Andy-W]

The other day, I saved the life of a rabbit by jumping on my brakes. Haven't done that in a long time, both saving a rabbit's life and hitting my brakes so hard. The result was that I blew the brake line/lines going to the rear brakes.

Mine is a 91 Corolla Wagon, Japanese built. It's got only 180,000 kilometers but I live in northern Canada, lots of winter salt.

So the lines were rotting and this was going to happen eventually.

I called the local shop and they quoted me 600 dollars. When I picked my jaw up off the floor, they said it was a bundled assembly carrying,,, something,, I forget. I had a '70 Datsun bought new WAY back when, I used to do all my own repair work, (such as it was/is) but I'm gettin' too rickety to get on my back to look at this stuff. I would have thought some 10 feet of steel line, a few fittings and an hour and I'd be on my way.

If anyone could give me some information on this issue, I'd appreciate it.

I'm not cheap, just on a dis-ability pension.

[wondermelon]

this seems to be a pretty common issue... exactly the same thing happened to a friend of mine's '92 Paseo, and on my '92 sedan the rear brake lines are almost rusted out in one particular spot. his mechanic just fabbed up some new lines and he was on his way fairly cheaply.

i would suggest that you get a quote from another shop... to the best of my knowledge i have no idea what this "bundled assembly" is that they are talking about.

on my car i'm thinking about doing it myself and only replacing the lines from before the fuel tank back to the brakes, since everywhere else seems to be in good condition.

[Flashmn]

First of all for that money, are they changing the metal lines too, otherwise its too expensive.

For your info, to change the rear lines, the fuel tank needs to be dropped, the lines run above it. To do it properly you have to change them from the front to back, splicing new lines from the part it ruptured is the short cut way and you can expect it to burst from somewhere else. Theres two lines from front back. Its an ass job, but someones gotta do it.

both saving a rabbit's life and hitting my brakes so hard. The result was that I blew the brake line/lines going to the rear brakes.

Thats exactly why people should keep more keen eye on their brakes, This time you got lucky, what if there was an accident and you'd have to make evasive braking and your lines tore leaving you no brakes, you'd be riding a hearse in a worst case scenario.

my two cents is dont skimp on brakes.

[Andy-W]

Originally Posted by Flashmn

First of all for that money, are they changing the metal lines too, otherwise its too expensive.

For your info, to change the rear lines, the fuel tank needs to be dropped, the lines run above it. To do it properly you have to change them from the front to back, splicing new lines from the part it ruptured is the short cut way and you can expect it to burst from somewhere else. Theres two lines from front back. Its an ass job, but someones gotta do it.


Thats exactly why people should keep more keen eye on their brakes, This time you got lucky, what if there was an accident and you'd have to make evasive braking and your lines tore leaving you no brakes, you'd be riding a hearse in a worst case scenario.

my two cents is dont skimp on brakes.

Well, I've never skimped on anything car wise. How does one keep an eye on such things? I finally had a look underneath and yes, there are some five lines bundled together inside a plastic sleeve. I'm imagining that no one COULD keep an eye on this area of their car, even if they DID have a hoist in their garage.

For the first five years of ownership, the dealer had full control over maintenance. No one EVER told me about this possible booby trap.

It's my opinion that these lines should have been made of stainless steel. ANY safety related item in a car should be handled that way. These items ought to oultlast the car, no matter HOW old it is, in my opinion. Sensible folks who keep their cars running for decades are not out of the norm to any great degree.

I posted on the weekend because my car broke on the Friday. Today, I made a few calls to shops that were not open on Saturday. I got a variety of opinions from that 600 dollar idea to get just the lines from a Toyota dealer, to get a generic line made up from tubing to just splice in a good piece. None suggested that the other lines (gas) would need attention,,, even the local Toyota dealer.

But thanks for the help, depsite my assertive response, I do appreciate it. I suppose this all depends on a good mechanic using common sense. Finding a good mechanic is the problem though, isn't it?

[Flashmn]

I finally had a look underneath and yes, there are some five lines bundled together inside a plastic sleeve

2 are brake lines, three other are Fuel feed line, fuel return line and the breather to the charcoal filter.

Over here yearly inspection checks hoses and lines, hoses are easy to check, run your hand down them and feel if they have cracks. Also brake fluid absorbs water from the air, thus it should be replace every 2-3 years, because the water increases, boiling point drops and also it becomes more corrosive to brake parts.

Also stainless steel has its own problems, copper nickel/copper what you get from normal parts stores are quite resistant to corrosion. Not to mention in a car the price of a corolla, stainless lines would increase the price of the base car and mixing stainless with a lower grade steel, such as car body steel/threads of brake cylinders will cause galvanic corrosion and when it ages its gonna get really welded to the other part.

Yeah finding a good mechanic that doesnt take alot of money isnt easy to do. Most like to take shortcuts even dealership mechanics.

[wondermelon]

Originally Posted by Andy-W

...there are some five lines bundled together inside a plastic sleeve. I'm imagining that no one COULD keep an eye on this area of their car, even if they DID have a hoist in their garage.

this plastic cover is held on by a couple of bolts and is removable.

Originally Posted by Flashmn

For your info, to change the rear lines, the fuel tank needs to be dropped, the lines run above it. To do it properly you have to change them from the front to back, splicing new lines from the part it ruptured is the short cut way and you can expect it to burst from somewhere else. Theres two lines from front back. Its an ass job, but someones gotta do it.

if the other sections of the brake lines have been inspected and are not badly corroded i see no reason to replace them. also the fuel tank doesn't necessarily have to come down in order to replace those brake lines. just run them along side, or they can even be tucked up above the weld on the tank. this is an old car, it doesn't have to look pretty.

[dogsridewith]

(Any links to threads with more detail greatly appreciated...every page load, including search, is slow for me on this forum)

At least one blew out at the only bend-it tab (up next to the gas tank). I see no reason proper flare couplings couldn't be used on sections from forward of that to each rear brake. (Line looks good under the plastic housing and up to the proportioning valve.)

Regardless whether I do this or install the whole length, factory manual instructs to make up, not purchase as a part, "brake tubing."

What size is it? I measure about .190 inch. So 3/16 would be just under and 5 mm just over. (It must be one of these.)

Also size and/or threading of end nuts (whatever called) might be helpful. Source of compact flaring tool that won't get used a whole lot? Tube bender? (Really needed, or just bend around somefer cylinder shaped object.)

Thanks for any help or insight!

[MzKzM]

I had my rear brake lines replaced about 2 years ago and got the lines from the dealer. They weren't that expensive I must say, I believe less than $120,- I also had to make a custom line for my JDM master cylinder to the proportioning valve and used 3/16" brake tubing with the flaste nuts from the old lines.

[Flashmn]

[dogsridewith]

Originally Posted by MzKzM

I had my rear brake lines replaced about 2 years ago and got the lines from the dealer. They weren't that expensive I must say, I believe less than $120,- I also had to make a custom line for my JDM master cylinder to the proportioning valve and used 3/16" brake tubing with the flaste nuts from the old lines.

Thanks MzKzM. Will check Toyota parts counter. Did your lines come with all bends? With an extra large bend or two you had to straighten out? (Because they are quite long for normal boxes.)

(Unsure of motive for Batphoto comment on responding on a two year old thread about a twenty year old car...if I start another thread, it just makes searching info on the problem incrementally more difficult for the next guy. This site loads very slow for me...slower yet for this thread since Batphoto added.)

[MzKzM]

They didn't come in boxes, and most of the bends were correct. I had to correct 2 bends myself (by hand) because the courier had it probably jammed bewteen some other parts while delivering them at my dealer. Overall less work than first straighten out a roll of brake tubing and then trying to get all factory bends at the right spot. (or it won't fit into the brackets)

Good luck!

[dogsridewith]

So far, doesn't have the lines or parts to make them. Nor Rockauto, but I haven't confirmed by 800 phone yet.

All these cars also split their original exhaust manifolds. At least 500 bucks at Toyota Dealer for job, and parts two or three times more than at some autoparts supplier I found.

(edit:WTF. I can't post name, not hyperlink name, not w/ dot com, of place I tried to find parts?)