How To Repair Broken Brake Line

Repairing and Replacing Brake Lines

At present more ever, people are keeping their cars longer, new road de-icers are eating lines like never earlier, and restriction line pressures are higher due to ABS and stability command systems. In short, today's automotive landscape is a perfect storm for restriction line replacement.

Brake lines corrode both on the inside and outside. Equally the additive parcel that prevents rust and controls the pH of the fluid breaks down in the interior of the line, the copper brazing that coats the within of the line dissolves. On the exterior, rust and de-icers take their toll on the exposed surfaces.

Automakers have tried galvanization, polymer coatings and physical barriers to stop this corrosion. Just, these barriers can't prevent age and the pecking of road droppings from causing corrosion. This is why some late-model vehicles employ stainless steel for the brake lines.

When information technology comes to brines and other de-icing agents, the chemical science is what makes them and then caustic. MgCl2 (magnesium chloride) solution has high viscosity, high crystallization potential and strong hydrophilicity. So, information technology can stick on the surface of a metal and become solution again in a humid environment. Eventually, this may cause more astringent corrosion than NaCl (rock common salt), especially to components with coarse surfaces.

Now, for the big contend, what should y'all use to replace brake lines? The answer is complex, and every solution has its ain advantages. Direct replacement lines are an option that works smashing on popular vehicles with known problems, such as early 1990s GM SUVs and pickup trucks. But, on less pop, older vehicles, this might not be an choice due to availability and price.

If you take to fabricate your ain brake lines, at that place are even more options. In terms of raw tubing, there is balmy-steel Bundy tubing, stainless steel and nickel copper alloy. There are as well brands that accept special coatings and coverings to extend the life of the brake replacement line. Some new line materials are more flexible, so they can be formed on the vehicle past hand. But, in some cases, it pays to stick with a similar fabric so the value of the vehicle is not diminished.

Pre-flared and cutting-to-length lines with fittings can save time by eliminating the flaring process, simply sometimes they can be difficult to source due to flare, fitting and length considerations.

Fabricating brake lines from rolls of tubing and fittings tin can offer the fastest turnaround when replacing lines. Bending new lines is function fine art and part scientific discipline, but in the past decade, new tools and materials have made the job a lot easier.

Hither are some tips to ease the process:

ane. Don't skimp on flaring, bending and cut tools: New tools are on the market place that can flare a line while you have 1 hand tied behind your dorsum. More expensive angle tools allow you to make bends tighter and closer to the fittings without deforming the line. Better tools will not only salve time, they will relieve raw line and fittings.

ii. Expect how the automobile is built: On some cars, the forepart and rear suspensions are on subframes. In most cases, the brake lines installed on the unibody and the subframes are attached. This tin create problems if the brake or fuel lines need to exist replaced. In the days of ridged lines, y'all might have had to remove the subframe, but more flexible tubing is now available that can be formed in place and routed to the attachment points.

3. Supervene upon every bit much of the line as possible: Splicing together corroded line does not work in most cases, and replacing just the leaking section volition result in a comeback. The best do is to replace the hard line from the wheel well to an undamaged line. On vehicles with coated line, find the expanse where the coating is still intact.

4. A flare is a precision device: Never accept a flare for granted. To seal brake lines against two,000 psi takes some geometry. The male person and female surfaces of the plumbing fixtures are three to five degrees different between the sealing surfaces. In some cases, the flare is designed to trounce or compress onto the surface to form a seal, and the tolerances can stack up apace confronting you. An off-center cut combined with a poorly clamped line may look fine to the naked eye, but the connection may leak when it is compressed past the fitting.

5. Use new fittings: You can remove the fittings from the old line and reuse them on the new line, just it is a better exercise to apply new fittings. The old fittings can be cracked, corroded and the threads could be damaged.

half-dozen. Lubricate your flaring dies: Flaring dies can go damaged if they are not lubricated. This can create flares that can't seal. If a die or other part of the tool is damaged, get rid of it.

7. Y'all might demand a scan tool: If yous install new brake lines on a modern ABS-equipped vehicle, y'all volition need a scan tool to bleed the brakes. Air bubbles in the arrangement tin occur in the modulator body if the system has lost all its brake fluid. Removing these bubbling may crave the apply of a browse tool to open up the isolation and dump valves in the modulator.

8. Not all deburring tools are the same: A good flare starts with a square cut that is clean and deburred. New deburring tools can make sure the die is straight earlier forming the flare.

9. Charge for your time and skills: When estimating a brake line repair job, make certain to charge for not only your time, but your expertise equally well.