Rust Belt Owners: Inspect Brake Lines

[Barnyspup]

If you live where road salt is applied, the steel brake lines are extremely vulnerable to corrosion and failure.
The Front brake lines corrode where they pass thru the body via a rubber grommet on the way to the caliper. Mud and salt collect inside the grommet where it can't be seen. The attached photos show the line from the engine side. These were on a 2002 model with only 35,000 miles. The last photo shows how the line failed from corrosion at the grommet. I estimate that the tubing wall thickness was only 0.005" (0.13mm) at the break.

The rear lines are subject to corrosion for their entire length under the car and especially in the vicinity of the fuel tank. The 2 short lines at the brake drums also corrode easily.

Jim

[jsinton]

Really good post.

[mpattdu]

Whew, those are some scary pictures. Are you replacing those lines yourself, and if so, how hard a job is that?

[Barnyspup]

Scary indeed!

This is a DIY job. And I'm doing 2 Accents at the same time, '02 and '04.

Basically, there are 3 jobs:
2 Front Lines. Fairly easy to access. I bent my own with a Harbor Freight tubing bender.
2 Rear Lines from M/C down to the junction/coupling block, which is roughly under the driver's feet. Lots of finicky bends to contend with. Difficult to break the fittings loose at the junction block.
2 Rear Lines from the junction, along the left frame member to the fuel tank area.
These were in worse shape than the front ones in my photos. When you get underneath, there are four lines running together, front-to-back. 2 Hydraulic lines, 1 fuel pressure line, and 1 vapor line (emissions).
The 2 hydraulic lines were nearly perforated and both broke apart when disassembling. The fuel/vapor lines are heavier but also in need of replacement.

The line to the left rear wheel is fairly straightforward. But the one for the right wheel makes a dogleg turn and is tucked above the fuel tank. I think the engineers did this to shield the line from the exhaust heat. Methinks I will cheat a bit and run this line more exposed, so the tank doesn't need to come out.

I bought a set of pre-bent lines for the rears from the dealer. The cost wasn't exorbitant. May have to re-bend a bit if I bypass the fuel tank.

For the other car, I bought stock lengths of tubing and will follow the pre-bent set as a template.

Where to get tubing?
AutoZone Auto Parts Stores | Motor Oil, Exhaust Systems, Suspension Parts, Car Starters, Car Stereo, Radiator Hoses, Headlights, Car Accessories, and More - AutoZone.com
carries lengths of the 3/16" tube with metric fittings under stock #
PAEX-3xx
This is poly-armour coated tubing.
xx can be 08,12,20,30,40,51,60 (inches long).

More info from the mfr site:
AGS Company - Brake, Fuel, Transmission Lines

Count on the mounting bolts for the various brackets underneath being stubborn. I resorted to the grinder to remove most of them. The brackets fell apart in a cloud of dust.

This is not a quickie weekend job and not for the faint of heart.
I'm just thankful that we caught it now because I am certain that one more winter here would have triggered a major brake failure.


Jim

[The_AirHawk]

I just did this same thing for a friend of mine on his '00 Ram 4x4. It was originally a Michigan vehicle (now transplanted to Northwest Arkansas). He discovered it when he pulled-away from a gas pump, and hit a copcar when his foot went to the floor. Yes, the cop was P.O.'d (at first!).

We got the lines from Advance Auto: Advance Auto Parts

They've got a large rack of various "stock" lengths in every store (I know this, because I replaced a clutch line halfway-across the country on a commercial truck last year in New Hampshire), of common SAE and Metric sizes.

The local O'Reilly and Autozone had nothing.

Even NAPA only had fittings and tools (and an assorted-few hoses).

[Barnyspup]

Yeah, it's hit or miss which parts store has the stock.

One last caveat if doing this job:
The fuel pump retains a lot of pressure in the line. If you may be disturbing the pressure line, disconnect the power to the pump (under rear seat) and run engine till it dies in order to bleed off the pressure.

[mpattdu]

Thanks for the detailed response. I have an '02 as well and will be taking a close look at those lines the next time I change the oil.

[Barnyspup]

A few more photos, showing the rear lines which run alongside the frame member:

[hxc-fuk]

i have an 02 and im thinking of replacing my lines soon too as they are getting pretty nasty, i live in central ontario so i know all about salt abuse on cars lol i was debating on trying to do it myself or possibly pay for the shop to do it. i kinda want braided stainless lines but with a quick search online i cant really find anything for this car, just a bunch of gay honda this honda that and ford bs lol i couldnt find anything for my 2002 accent sedan which kinda sucks, any advice would be greatly appreciated. im pretty mechanically incline and thats good because im in my 2nd out of 3 years in college so im flat broke lol

thanks, mike

[Barnyspup]

Dunno about finding braided stainless. But I can tell you that doing the job is no picnic, especially if you don't have a heated garage that is well-equipped. Shop around for estimates to have the job done.