I'm taking my car to school soon and I would like to have some of my concerns taken care of while I still have the space to fix things myself. The steel brake lines aren't in really bad shape (no leaking), but they look corroded (worse in some places than others). The real issue is that the steel lines are most corroded near the brake hoses. I would like to replace the brake hoses as a precautionary measure (one of them has cracks running through the rubber). I'm thinking that if I try to budge the rusted flare nuts I will wreck the already corroded brake lines. Has anyone replaced the steel lines themselves? I'm guessing that my indy will charge a lot for this sort of repair...

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Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K

I've made up brake lines for several vehicles, using off-the-shelf tubing from the auto parts store. It is a time-consuming affair, but it is quite possible. Buying factory pipes will speed up the job for a lot of them, I'm sure, but ones that snake through the body are hard no matter what parts you have.

As long as you firmly grasp the metal-line nut, the rubber line should be able to be removed without any damage.

The metal lines are not difficult to replace. They're held against the chasis by a few brackets containing rubber mounts. The only trick is finding a junk-yard car that is high enough off the ground to allow you the necessary room for removal.

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Don't Chrome them; polish them

I'll try a junkyard for the steel lines. It might be tough here, though, since most of the cars are in the junkyard because of rust. I'll see what I can come up with tomorrow. Otherwise I'll try having someplace make them for me. Any recommendations are welcome!

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Andrew

1989 Volvo 745- 202K