How To Deal With Rusty Brake Lines
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- In particular this video is about removing wheel cylinders with rusty brake lines. Sometimes the brake line will rust to the inside of the nut. When this happens, if you try and remove the brake line, it can damage it and cause a leak.
The method in this video shows you how to deal with this issue.
*Note* this method is really only to get you out of a jam. Rusty brake lines should be replaced. If not, they could suddenly fail causing a loss of brake pressure.
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Buy a 99-07 silverado and you will get really good at replacing brake lines!
Use nickel copper lines, you'll never have another problem.
Does the Tahoe from same years fall into this category too?
@@robs1852 unfortunately yes.
@@aodox theyre not legal some places
@@toddmccarter45 Well that's fucking stupid. Nothing wrong with them whatsoever.
Good pointer for dealing with stick brake lines. I like how you closed the video. A brake line in that condition, it's just a matter of time before it develops a leak.
Ugh! That northeast salt horror would make me wanna fly a balloon to work and back. Untenable.
If you strip out the nut and you're truly SOL, you can also just rebuild the wheel cylinder in place. Pillage the new one and install the parts into the old body still bolted to the car.
I blew the lines right out of my new old car. Scared the hell out of my passenger. Take care of your rusty brake lines fellas, you don't want that kind of adrenaline rush.
I had the brake cylinder /slave cylinder (wheel cylinder lol ;) fail on me braking at like 40 mph once as a young driver, instantly no brakes, had to use the handbrake to slow myself and very carefully drive to my destination. I later found out the handbrake was also only attached one side lol easily fixed on the roadside.
Shouldn't there be two independent parts of the brake system? Of course independent untill the fluid didn't leak out completely lol :) I mean that the brakes for left front and right rear should be independent from right front and left rear. This way when a line goes bye-bye, you still can stop your car. The brakes won't work for long, as there will be a massive fluid leak, but it will be enough for you to just stop on the side of the road safely. Two wheels of four braking is better than nothing I suppose ;)
If I just say that it's a fiero and its older than me, does that explain it? But yes, when I started replacing all the hard lines, the forward reservoir had a little fluid left in it. I'm guessing some parts may have seized. Well, new calipers and rotors all around is like $100 anyway so may as well do it all
did you use substandard Chinese parts?? had the same thing happen to me lucky me i was in the driveway unlucky me the bleader tried to get me in the face it was torqued down to 10 ft LBs after that time i decided to disk swap it with a USA based company parts because i was tired of rebuilding my no name R&R drums for the 3th time ( slow air leaks X 3 times from bad seals , a bad spring @ 40 mph locked up fL tire ) in one year with less than 5k miles on them, the oem where ok an i like them but they were used up and junk and 20 + years old so that wasn't a good option
@@richardprice5978 probably original equipment from 34 years ago, they were so gone from rust. I was literally driving it home from having bought it.
Ive run into this situation many times, sometimes on my car sometimes not. One friend of mine was a real cheapskate and always took the least expensive way - least expensive for that moment until the line blew on an old single master cylinder system and he lost all braking, fortunately no traffic and he got it stopped with the parking break and downshifting. But Eric is right, replace any lines that are this badly rusted - if theyre rusted bad enough to be froze to the nut it wont be long before youre taking a white knuckle ride-lol
For those complaining that he didn't just replace the line right away, how about for the situation of having to remove a brake cylinder for a customer, a customer who does not have the money to replace both the cylinder and the line?
How about for the situation in which you go to the store and they have a replacement wheel cylinder for you, but will have to order the brake line, which won't be in for two more days, and you are stranded on the road, in another state?
Good tips, Eric. Thanks for addressing the need to replace the line all together, at the end of the video. I wish more guys had acknowledged that you took care of that.
I'd tell my customer that I cannot put that piece of crap back on your car. It's dangerous and I could be held liable and if you don't like it, take it down the street. It's only a few bucks. I rarely buy preformed lines and have become very good at bending and flaring my own.
Loads of people saying a new brake pipe isn't expensive but us mechanics aren't free, if a pipe snaps and a customer won't pay why should we be out of pocket. Eric's channel seems to have the most people trying to nitpick over his methods.
everybody's all butthurt but the fact of the matter is we dont live in a perfect world. this information would be useful to many people.
@@drummerboysmith968 --I wonder how many customers we would lose, talking to them like that....
@pakking Who you were quick to call an idiot may just not have the money to pay the extra hour of labor you were about to charge for the line. I have been in that very position. But you are absolutely correct in saying that you have the right to send that customer out of your shop. They would go down the road, and look for somebody willing to do what Eric just did, until they get the money to come back and fix the lines.
You do realize that those thumbs down are from people saying "NOW HE TELLS ME", LOL! Great tip Eric!
...yeah, I had to re-do all the brake-lines on one side of the front of my '71 Super Beetle because of this issue. Unfortunately, it'd had a disc brake conversion...and needed the lines replaced anyway, but they did break on me in a similar manner.
I have dealt with a lot of that. When the brake line looks that bad ill heat that up by the nut with a torch. That almost always loosens it. Then I replace the line because its weak. It may hold but if someone hits the brake pedal hard that will bust the line
Good advice on how to avoid turning your brake line into a break line.
AYOOOOOOOOOO
Very punny...haha
I think we need to pump the brakes on your puns!
I mean it’s pretty obvious bad cylinder, bad brake line. They work together
Hey Eric looking though these comments you sure put up with a lot of crap from people who are mostly diy 'mechanics' . In your position I would probably just turn commenting off and make the whiners keep it to themselves. You give great information keep it up man.
Both of the front brake lines on my 71 olds rusted out to the point where they gushed. Coupla squirters. Got some parts store lines and bent them as close as I could to the ones that came out. Held my tongue just right and no issues. It’s not too hard don’t rear end some one! Lol.
Never had luck with penetrating oil
Rusty brake lines sucks
Used this trick for years, when people won't stump up the extra for new pipes. It's also useful when someone has previously fitted copper brake lines and the union is siezed, trying to undo the union will twist the pipe and eventually snap it.
Exactly!
I was ready to get my old dodge aspen inspected for MOT and as soon as i was about to leave my house, i pressed the brake and a large puddle appeared under the car.. The rusty crusty brake line exploded in half.
Take care of your brake lines. Replace them when they're rusty and crusty.
Hey I did this but the bolt holes don't line up now any ideas when twisting the new ones on?
Rubber brake bleeder caps are cheap on eBay in bulk.
Great idea! Critical thinking!! Love your videos and I would truly be at a loss without them bro! I been stayin dirty since I was 15 years old! Now 49 an accident has slowed me down... but I never give up!! Keep up the great work Eric!
I'm dealing with this exact problem on my rusty volvo. Thx for the info, and hello from Dayton ohio!
9.30.18. If you don’t have any of those rubber caps for the Break bleeder fittings, then you can use 100% silicone caulk and just blob it on, ............ a.k.a. jelly weld™️❗️ The next time you have to bleed the brakes just pull it off, works like a champ‼️☕️
How do you not rip your rubber gloves? I always do.
Best question ever...I'm betting Hollywood magic & a case of gloves lol
dork getreal get 9mil heavy duty black from harbor freight. FWIW-I used to like’em snug,no slack but I noticed a couple rips. I went up a size and xl fit better,don’t cramp my hand and tear less
i have big hands, how do you get ones that fit, if i buy extra large the fingers are to long, story of my life. And my hands sweat,, take the gloves off water pours out.. To many years as a carpenter.. are hand are thick!
When/if using gloves I tend to wear the rubber gloves, under a normal set of gloves. Spare a bunch of rubber gloves, which otherwise would last... 2 minutes! Of which 1,5 minute would be looking for that 10 mm socket that always vanish! LOL 😂
THANK GOD you changed that brake line! I think you trigger my OCD on purpose -- right.there.at.the.end.
Nobody cares about ur ocd idiot
@@ramtrucks721 Apparently you did enough to comment on it LOL
Just a little heat even from a small propane torch has always worked for me. Also anti sieze between the line and flare nut and on the flare nut threads will prevent it from happening again.
Awesome tip Eric. I'd replace it anyway but that will get you to the parts store again
In my opinion it's a great way to temporarily fix car and go to parts store for new break lines.
vampirwrr fold the rusty line over and pinch close with vice grips. Drive to store to get enough materials to fix correctly the 1st time.
I was watching that; looking at the crusty brake line and thinking "oh man just replace it for the sake of it." I'm glad I kept watching.
I'm glad you did to. Thank you.
I have used Freeze off. Have not broke a line sense. Your advice on just replacing the line is spot on! The crap they spray on the roads in the winter just eats everything. I have started using Fluid Film on the underside of my cars.
I saw this tip in a older video of the ETCG.
+1 Was gonna say, it seems like Eric already told us this trick a few years ago.
Very clever way of getting some additional leverage and brute force to remove the fitting without rounding off the nut or breaking the line, even with a line wrench. Nice!
Umm, putting a wrench on something to get more leverage to turn it is a concept that's been around for two centuries... maybe it was clever the first time some guy made a wrench from scratch to do that but since then, it's pretty much what a wrench IS FOR.
The tongue holding is crucial to reconnecting.
How's camera man Brian? Do you still talk to him?
What about where the line wrench just slips off? the line nor the nut turn when i try to break the nut on the line into the wheel cylinder. the nut looks fine but the threads into the cylinder look rusted. ive soaked both sides with PB blaster two days. Not sure if I can use heat to remove. The line isn't to rusted but the other end that goes to the hard lines on the body the only the nut is rusted. If i can remove that I would just replace the line and cylinder but that nut looks worst. Body lines look good at least
I had same problem I used a small torch and put some heat on break line nut and helped break it loose with out damaging line i did it first before removing wheel cylinder clip hopefully this will help someone thanks for posting your video clip Everyone Have a Great Blessed Day
To work properly you need your tongue in the correct position lol
The good old type of videos 👍👍👍
Saved my ass getting wheel cylinders off, but no help when installing the new ones. The odds of these being tight at the exact moment the wheel cylinder is lined up are pretty slim. I suggest spending more time with the torch and penetrating oil and don't be like me and forget to take the cap off the bleeder before sticking the torch back there. It's ok I got 2 new ones for only $23 and they came with free wheel cylinders! Love my GMT400, some of the parts are so cheap you can buy them and make $ at the scrapyard
Your a genius etcg! I actually thought about attempting this but didn't know if it would work
Great hack however to replace the shoes on my 2013 VW Polo, I’m required to remove the cylinder first so I don’t have rooms to spin it…..Thanks VW!! 🤬
ended well, i wouldnt think twice about that, just change it if its that rusty, i find if you 'get by' the customer or yourself tends to forget about it till it pops.
good info all round
Except it's not that simple. If one line is that bad then it is probable that all are, and while doing lines, you ought to do hoses, and suddenly la $150 repair turned into a $1150 repair. It's always best to try to save any parts possible and inform the customer, as it is their vehicle and their money and their choice.
First time I seen that done, thanks Eric thats good information, keep em coming.
Great video, I had forgotten this technique.
I’m in the middle of doing the infamous, dreaded 2007 Subaru rear hub bearing in Maine.
I just realized I ordered the entire kit, the knuckle, hub and bearing, long bolt & bushing for the lateral arm and it comes with a new backing plate.
I have to swap everything off the old backing plate, onto the included new backing plate. It’s sandwiched between the knuckle and the hub, can’t slide it over the hub.
The rust is so bad the bolts for the wheel cylinders and ABS sensor are no longer octagon shaped. The parking brake cable is frozen also. So far no joy with the vice grips and some heat.
I guess I’m going to have to press out the brand new hub from the new bearings….carefully, oh so carefully. NOT looking forward to this. (still waiting on the parts to arrive).
Unless you have another method???
Nice job
Today: ETCG1 Brake Drum Pain & Misery Series, Part II.
I too, have executed that same technique when extracting a wheel cylinder...with marginal success.
Great tip !!! ......
Here in Iceland we deal with badly rusted parts on a daily basis. How I get over this problem is as simple as heating up the fitting. By heating it up, 9 times out if 10 it will come loose pretty easily. Most of the time the issue is not the break line corroding onto or into the fitting but the rubber sleeve that is fitted onto the factory brake line gets pushed into the fitting by the oxidation or corrosion underneath it.
Thanks Eric. Loving theses short snippets of mechanical wisdom. 👍👍
Dealing with this on my 1996 Volvo 855R a fat ole Swedish wagon that’s seen 24 Midwest winters… thinking of taking it to a mechanic. I have all the parts but they said $500 for a quote which unfortunately would be my whole paycheck. Fml
I've always found that along with penetrating oil, I first tighten it a little, then go for loosening it. If it comes loose, great, if not then I rock the nut back and forth in small moves until it does. It the line isn't rusted so bad it breaks, they come right off.
Eric I just want to say THANK YOU!!! This GD brake line is the last part holding me back from finishing this month long nightmare project that was never supposed to be this big of a pain in the ass. Idk what I expected though she is a 20 yo Wrangler and she's getting old and crabby like me 😆
I put never seize on the threads. Then axel grease outside on the line right up against the nut. Can't rust. Been doing this foe 41 yrs. on my '65 F100. Works.
This could very well come in handy. Replacing the shoes and cylinders on my daughter's old 98 Protege tomorrow, it's pretty rusty as well being an Iowa car. Hopefully, I don't run into any problems.
I just spent $1,000 on having a shop replacing all brake lines on my 03 chevy z71. Old lines were rusty and corroded and they ruptured and lost my brakes completely. Fun scary ride trying to get it back home. This is my frst and LAST Chevy i will ever have
The other problem I'm having is getting those goofy E torx bolts out of the wheel cylinder....I gotta dig out my Dremel.
My 99 Dakota 5,9 rt , was hauling ass , got brake checked , lost brakes, Came to find 6 rust brake lines , I ordered all in one kit , that wasntvallin one , But what can I use to loosen if I have days in advance ? Will on or similar eventually help? I’m looking to replace 11 lines Saturday and was gonna start soaking today ...
The cost to get them done instigated my diy , 1700$ to replace them in 2000$ truck , lines are 300$ But 14000 labor I almost died , and I get it a mans gotta eat,,,,, But I’m looking for any , “ watch out for this “ or a general trip . This was so helpful .. tyask you mr Eric
My local mechanic has replaced four brake lines on my F150. Prior to that the Ford dealer replaced all of them at once about 4-5 years prior. The explanation my mechanic gave was these lines were touching rust underneath already, causing them to rust out and fail again. Aren't there Stainless Steel brake lines available? If so my next vehicle I run into the ground will have all lines replaced with stainless.
Eric thank you for this video ever since I watched you use this trick to remove wheel cylinders this is how I do it all the time now I have learned so much and saved so much time and money from your videos I cannot thank you enough
Bro it's 2021...you trying to tell me they can't make cars that dont rust? All about money...god forbid the common man gets a car they can drive for 20+ years without the car disintegrating on them...
In my country, which is the Netherlands it is not even legal to drive a car with brake lines that are rusted like that, it wouldn't pass the annual inspection and the vehicle would be declared un-roadworty. Why? Because it is a SAFETY issue.
You should see what they look like in Salt strewn Minnesota. To replace brake pads. I have now just excepted my fate. Everything gets replaced to the first brake connection that does not just crumble when you touch it. let alone twist on it. Even if you get the pads replaced with out braking a line or two. No way the bleeder valve is coming loose.
I keep a well stocked supply of coiled brake line and fittings.
Minnesota.. It is what it is.
9 December 2018.. I am faced with exact situation today. I think I am going to put a new wheel cylinder and brake line.
i just clamp the brake line nut with a teethed vice grip the hardest i can (it may deform and thats ok), then remove the vice grip and reclamp it 90º OFF.. after this second clamping dont force it or it may strip completely, just give it a hard-dry tap with your palm. it WILL ALWAYS unbolt no matter how crusty it is...Eric please try it you will not regret ... after this you may not be able to put the 10 or 11 mm wrench because the brake line nut is deformed but you can safely tight it with the vice grips again...done this a million times never had an issue....however if it is a customers car or if you are not sure about longevity or safety just replace the line...here we can have a line custom made for less than 10€
Sorry, but by that time I just snip it off and bend a new copper brake line for it. It might be half and hour extra work and 5 bucks in parts extra.
But like you said. By that time. It’s better to replace that brake line anyways.
Haven't dealt with rusty brake lines in this context.
Center lane going downhill approaching a red light in heavy traffic, though, is not a fun scenario for a rusty brake line making itself known.
My rusty rear brake line on a civic blew while braking from 80 mph to a stop downhill. Shocked that its not fail safe system if on line leaks it doesn't lose all fluid and all brakes. My transmission hated me for the next 10 miles getting her home with engine braking. Please chaps always replace
I spend 5 minutes with those fittings on short lines. If they don't crack free... Cut em and run em. Nicopp brake line and the mastercool brake flaring tool kit. Just drill out the old line on the brake fittings and reuse them.
So fight with it for 3 days to carefully remove it. Have to replace it anyway. Haha. I've been there. It's not worth being careful with scary old rusted lines. Replace them before you crash.
How about using some heat? I have seen mechanics hit with a oxy/acetylene torch to burn the rust.
I can't get the bracket bolt's out of the bracket , have done everything I could ! Going to go to the scrap yard and buy a replacement ! You can't buy just the brackets anymore ! Damn they got us
On some special coating lines this often happens even if the line isn’t really rusted.
Maybe you have that backwards? Coated lines are much less likely to seize the nut on because that coating doesn't rust, at least the typical nylon or whatever plastic coating doesn't. Maybe if you got water in the line and it rusted from the inside out that won't help.
No. Maybe because line is protected by coating it to rusts more in non-protected areas. Or maybe some coatings actually act as glue or cause some reaction. Here’s one video where the line isn’t really rusted ua-cam.com/video/LcJQa9kh_js/v-deo.html
Well you just saved me from dangling from the ceiling by a ratchet strap
for those people that say "replace the line since that bad"i will say that its not always that easy.usually a customers car that is this bad,your lucky you got to sell them the rear brakes!now put on top of that $100 more!thats right,why that much you ask, line is $10.yeah,this is of course if you can just "wish" the line to be installed itself.the replacing of the line can cost easily as much as the whole brake job!now you may have to move other lines,that may break also and so on..the best rule of thumb,the less you have to take apart the better.work smarter,and you will work faster.nice video showing this simple little trick.been a tech for 25 years now and have dont this quite often in the past.not so much now with the advent of rear disc.
I’ve had a rusty brake line rupture while coasting down a hill toward a 4 lane intersection where my light was red. I’m not making any attempt to save that brake line and would remove it by cutting the garbage out...
Pro-tip. Move out of the rust belt and into a southern state where you don't have to deal with this rusted garbage. Either that or replace all lines with nickel copper lines. I live in Michigan and this rust crap is getting old.
Thank you for your video.
I just have same issue today ... Will update you if I can make it.
Thank you again and have a nice day.
The rubber brake line should be replaced every 6 years anyway. If it's rusted that bad it needs to be replaced or else it can block fluid from returning after the brake pedal is released which causes the drum to seize up.
You clearly know your stuff, but anyone that got something new outta the video probably shouldn’t be doing brake work.
relistically how much work is it to just make a new line from the hose to the wheel cyl anyway? takes what 15min? If you are going to do it like this though just unclip the hose from the holder bracket and the line will be nice and free and pull further out of the backing plate
Ummmm. ??? Why on earth would you risk literally everyone on the road for the chance to get a little more use out of a rotten brake line . Just replace the brakeline .
Good video. This could save us when the brake job extends past closing time at the auto parts store. We might still make it to work the next day. Thanks.
and always check that the bleeder end inside the cylinder was machined properly ... i learnt that the annoying way .
My car's brake system was not taken care of and I have some rusted lines, one just blew as I was flushing the fluid. Is there anything I can do to slow down the destruction of the brake lines?
I know this is a ‘get around’ video but i would certainly of cut it and used a socket 👍
That line looks pretty rusty . Might be a good plan to replace it anyways. Even if you can macgyver a new cylinder on.
Hi surely if the line is that rusty it is a safety issue. Am i missing the point here ?.The cost of replacing this line is minimal. This technique is not relevant surely. Safety is paramount when the rust is this bad and causing this form of get around repair it is irrelevant.
What kind of a world do we live in where people watch mechanics working for entertainment value? A damn fine one I'd say.
At 4:05 is where this video should start. That brake line needed to be replaced without question. Trying to save it was simply a stupid waste of time.
Surely, you're just leaving the problem for the next time. Why not replace the short line, too?
THE GUY IS NOT VERY SMART YOU REPLACE ANY RUSTY BRAKE LINE YOU SEE, SPRAY THE NEW ONE WITH PAINT TO PROTECT BEFORE INSTALLING SAVES YOU DOUBLE WORK
Eric the brake man.... any other motoring info check out south main auto... this guy is seriously good
Thank you sir.. very helpful for this girl whom is figuring it out as she goes along
Good tip!
just a note when you replace brake lines with reg steel if you can get it its called red lead it a primer rust preventive that the navy uses on ships, paint that on your new brake lines and they will not rust, other than that use nico copper lines.
Wish you made the video 1 year ago hahahahaha, well at least now i know how to address that situation, great video!!!!!
You re awesome @Erickthecarguy
I eventually said f*** it and started changing rusty lines too. Bleeding is the hard part.
Glad to have found this one !!! Thank you Eric . And now I go and give it a try ))
What's missing here on the manufacturing side of things? I bet you can guess. Time to start a movement.