Jack stands on gravel is just an accident waiting to happen . The things in your way will be just enough trouble to remove as to cause a shift and let the vehicle fall on you . Let a shop handle this .

 

The lines are run inside of a long plastic holder that must be undone from the car, and then its clips can be pried open to allow the rusted old lines out and the new lines in.

Some just rip the plastic apart and use zip ties to try and hold the new lines in (this is the most direct, and quickest way). If you wan to retain the plastic holder you'll have to undo the dozen or so nuts holding it to the weld studs to the floor bottom.


Here is when I did mine: the big plastic holder is laying on top of the 1x6 in the photo (this was after I'd installed the new pipes, using the rusted old ones as a pattern). You will notice the fuel, return and vapor pipes also have to come out to do it this way (all were badly rusted so that made sense).

 

HERE ... is the best & easiest way to repair-replace your brake lines , FAST & E-Z !!

( Brake - SUR&R )

 

It would be much easier (and safer) on a professional shop lift.

When I did the '96 Camry here, even with the body lifted 18+" off ground (dirt driveway / cardboard), using extra cribbing, and floor jacks under the front and rear cross member supports - it was a challenge. And I was running NiCop replacement line: routing -> and cutting out the OEM lines, as I went, not OEM replacement lines.

On the back: I was able to route and 'shoehorn' the NiCop line over / through the fuel tank and muffler areas: but none of the (original) line clips (holders) survived. I used some stout plastic zip-ties, to secure the line to the general area of the destroyed holder clips.

On the front: I -cut- , flared, and unioned the NiCop line to the original OEM lines, just beyond the "bend up" to the distribution valve at the floor pan: even lifted & supported "1.5x" my usual "safe working height", it was too tight (and dicey) to get all the way up / and gain access to the distribution valve.

That's just my experience here. Hope this helps.

 

What type of connector did you use when you unioned your NiCop to the remnant of factory line?

 

Doable? Yes

Easy? I thought so... just do one end then lift the other end of the car

Advisable on a gravel driveway with cardboard over it? No.

 

Using jack stands on a gravel driveway really scares me. We had a guy in our graduating class back in the early 80's that did that. We sure missed him at the ceremony.

 

Thank you all for your concerns regarding jack stands on gravel. I don't want to be squished. The stands were set up on marine plywood pads with stakes driven into the ground holding the plywood in place. (think what you might see in the pits at the drag strip, sans the stakes for extra security.)

The car was up on larger jack stands, but I still didn't have the clearance I needed. I had removed the plastic guard tray, removed all the rusty bolts and nuts, broke most of the plastic clips, and removed the old line. I had to cut the line at the 90 degree bend where it begins its route along the fuel tank.

To get the line in place to the rear proportioning valve I had to remove the rubber fuel filler neck hose and also unclip a line from the frame. (I'm guessing for the e-brake?)

I could get the line in place in the rear, but I ran into major headaches when trying to route the line in front. I didn't have enough clearance to get the line up through the front end and around the steering linkage. I worked on it several different ways but still no bueno.

Yesterday I got her hauled to a shop. I'll let you guys know the damage $$$ when the job is finished.

 

I could get the line in place in the rear, but I ran into major headaches when trying to route the line in front. I didn't have enough clearance to get the line up through the front end and around the steering linkage. I worked on it several different ways but still no bueno.

Yesterday I got her hauled to a shop. I'll let you guys know the damage $$$ when the job is finished.

I was watching Eric O. from the South Main Auto channel on YouTube the other day working on a Toyota Prius front suspension cradle & OEM rear brake line replacement: vehicle was lifted up 6 feet, and he was dropping the fuel tank strap / and snaking those lines in - still looked like an involved job, even though he makes this stuff look easy.

Hoping your repair goes well there.

 

If the brake lines are rusty and leaking, the fuel lines will need to be replaced as well. They will likely start to leak when you move the brake lines. For reference, I live in the rustbelt and had to replace all these lines back in May 2008 on my 1996 Camry. Did the replacement using jack stands. You may need to manually bend the lines to route them where they need to go, then bend back. Be extremely careful not to kink the lines, but don't be afraid to bend for installation.

Side note, fast forward to February of this year and a rear brake line rusted through. I guess they really only last about 12-14 years.

 

@ghettosled Yes, now that it's at a shop I let the owner know I need new brake and fuel lines. I let him know the underside is crusty and let him know where I was in the process. Wednesday he said it would be done Thursday. It's Saturday and I haven't heard from him, so I hope he hasn't fused with the rest of the rust on the underside and become one with the wagon Hans Solo-Carbonite style.

 

Denise (Da'Nice) the Wagon is back on the road thanks to a bumpy visit to a local shop. She came home with a rather home-made looking fabrication job and a 10"x4" mystery dent in the back hatch. The mechanic couldn't be bothered with running the lines so they fit snugly back in the underbody tray, so he rigged up some pipe strapping wrapped in electrical tape in lue of the plastic clips I had broken to bits. I may get underneath and tidy that up because I'm worried about the friction between the metal strapping and the lines rubbing through the electrical tape over time. What would you guys use to protect the lines from rubbing? Despite it not being an aesthetically-pleasing job, I've driven it for a couple hundred miles and there are no leaks.

 

Zip ties will be better than electrical tape because tape will fail when it gets warm and its glue gets soft.

 

I was thinking about trying to put something around the lines where they are strapped to insulate from friction. Maybe I can find some rubber tubing to fit around them. For strapping, I will go with the zip tie idea for sure. I currently have a zip tie as my passenger door handle so I'm already in the zip-tie mindset!