The braking system is one of the most important parts of your vehicle. A car without good brakes poses a significant risk to you, your family, and others.
It is, therefore, crucial to ensure your brakes are properly maintained. Maintaining your vehicle’s brake system is essential and cannot be emphasized enough.
Your vehicle’s braking system may be complicated, but it is easy to maintain. If your brakes have to be applied harder or are not functioning properly, rusty brake lines may be the cause. This guide will instruct you on how to fix rusted brake lines to ensure safety.
Why Do Brake Lines Rust?
Rust is one of the common problems for many vehicles. Corrosion (oxidation) can happen to metal or rubber and even plastic. It’s essentially oxygen and other elements from the environment attacking the car parts.
As we know, brake lines are made mainly of metal (steel or stainless steel tubing) which is always coated with plastic to prevent corrosion.
In terms of materials, brake lines are considered one of the most easily corroded parts on cars and they can naturally deteriorate from heat and moisture.
According to the structure, the brake line is designed under the car, that’s where it comes into contact with dirt (salt). Brake lines can be rusted by the salt spread on icy roads in cold weather. These factors mixed with moisture will accelerate the corrosion process.
Furthermore, the main cause of rust in brake lines is abrasion. Rusted brake lines are a sign that the outer protective layer has been damaged. Corrosion causes a change in the material’s surface and eventually erosion of the metal.
For vehicles that have been used for a long time, the protective coating of the brake line (plastic) is easily worn away by dirt and collisions. When this layer is disabled, the brake line will be in direct contact with the air and external substances, causing significant rust.
Signs of Rusted Brake Lines
It’s important to recognize the signs of rusted brake lines to address the issue before it becomes dangerous. Common indicators include:
- Brake Fluid Leaks: If you notice brake fluid pooling under your vehicle, it could be a sign of a rusted and leaking brake line.
- Spongy Brake Pedal: A soft or spongy brake pedal often indicates a brake fluid leak, which could be due to rusted brake lines.
- Corrosion and Discoloration: Visible rust or discoloration on the brake lines is a clear sign of corrosion that needs immediate attention.
- Brake Warning Light: Many modern vehicles have a brake warning light that illuminates when there is an issue with the brake system, including low brake fluid levels caused by leaks.
How to Fix Rusted Brake Lines?
Before starting to replace rusted brake lines, you need to prepare some necessary tools for this process if you decided to repair it by yourself:
- New brake lines
- Flare nut wrenches
- Flaring tool kit
- Bending pliers
- Brake fluid
- Tubing cutter
- A debugging tool
Step 1: Remove rusted brake lines.
To facilitate the replacement process, the first step, you should jack up your car and make sure to fix all 4 corners on the jack.
Metal brake lines run from the frame to the master cylinders. If the brake fluid is leaking near a wheel, you need to remove the wheel where you’ll be replacing a line.
After that, you will start to inspect every part of the brake lines to locate the line that has corroded.
In this step, we recommend that you wear safety glasses to prevent debris from entering your eyes during inspection and replacement because dirt from rust stains can affect your eyes.
Use a wrench to unscrew both ends of the brake line. If the nuts are rusted, you can spray some oil on them to make the process easier.
You should have a rag ready to wipe up any spilled liquid. As brake fluid is corrosive and can damage paintwork, clean it up immediately in case it leaks.
If you want to replace the whole line, you can use the line wrenches to remove the brake lines. you just need to cut the section of the line and use a mini tubing cutter to remove the rusted brake line section.
In the process of removing the rusty brake line, you need to be careful not to mistakenly cut or loosen any other wire designed at the close of the brake line. In case you want to replace the entire brake line, you can use a flathead screwdriver to remove this brake line.
Step 2: Prepare the new lines.
First and foremost, you need to know exactly the length of the old brake lines, you can use a ruler or a measuring tape to do this and the notice in this step is you should careful with the bend to make sure to have the accurate result.
Use the cutting tools to cut the new brake line into the required lengths. Don’t cut your line too short, you should leave about 1/4 inch left over to allow for flaring.
Take your time and turn the knob on the tubing cutter one quarter to haft a turn at a time until the blade just touches the metal. You may have to do this many times up until the cut is complete.
Step 3: Bend the new brake lines.
How to blend the new brake lines and can you do it by hand? You can bend the new brake line based on the old line simulation.
And do some light bends in the new lines by hand. Depending on the material of the brake line. If the brake line is made of copper or some tough materials. You can use a machine to bend it for major bends like 90 degrees.
Before bending, you need to slide a new fitting onto the line. After that use crimping pliers to make the first bend. Match the old brake line and the new line put the bender in place and start bending.
Step 4: Flare the new brake line.
Remember that you should put on the fitting carefully before flaring the new brake line up to the point where it is attached and clamp it.
Go on with the frame and reattach at the bottom end first, then remove your plug and reattach it there. In this step, you must make sure the fitting is in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.
The fitting must be slid into the line before you place the line onto the fare. Because you can’t fit the coupler when the contour is flared.
You need to choose a suitable adapter to match the size of the brake line. If you read the instructions, they will show that the adapter has a couple of humps on it.
After locating the humps we will line up the adapter and the brake line with the first hump. Then we can go ahead and close up our clamps.
Note that: you should tighten the clamp or the brake line will slip. Insert the pin end into the brake line and insert the cone tool to push the die into place, forming a line.
The cone will have a recess where it rests on the die. Fasten the cone tool until it stops, remove the mold, and reinsert the cone tool so that the flare can be folded down. Squeeze until it stops.
Step 5: Install the new brake line.
In this step, you will connect the new brake line part to the coupler, and match the old and new lines with an adapter. Hold the link with an open-ended wrench and tighten each joint with a flare wrench.
With the 5 steps we have analyzed above, do think the rusty brake line repair will be easy for you? So “How long does it take to replace brake lines?” Replacing rusted brake lines is always a quick process. It just takes you about 1 or 2 hours depending on your experience.
How to Protect Brake Lines from Corrosion?
It is easy for your brake lines to rust, so how to keep this part always in good condition? Normally, brake lines are designed with a lifespan as long as the car.
However, the function of brake lines also depends on the environment when you live in a “cold climate”. To prevent the lines from rusting, we will share with you a few tips:
You can limit rusted brake lines by changing the brake fluid periodically (every two years or sooner). The reason is that brake fluid accumulates deposits over time. This also causes corrosion from the inside of the brake lines.
You can coat the brake line with anti-rust or spray paint just to prevent them from rusting. If your brake lines are steel and do not have a plastic or rubber coating. It would be a good idea if you used stainless steel or nickel-copper instead of steel for the brake lines.
Because nickel-copper is anti-corrosion and it does not rust and can last a very long time. Before applying the paint or rust extender, you can clean the dirt on the line using alcohol.
Take the car to the service center to periodically check for underbody rust. The undercarriages should be washed and clean during winter for a very simple reason: to remove corrosive salts from the road.
In case of severe corrosion of the brake lines. The NHTSA’s advice to drivers is to replace the entire brake hose.
Final Word
Your braking system is your safety while on the road. Ensuring they are in good working condition is crucial to protecting those around you; hence, you should maintain all braking parts.
Hopefully, this guide on how to fix rusted brake lines goes a long way to ensure the effectiveness of your vehicle’s brake system. This is a straightforward process that is also affordable because you have eliminated all mechanic fees.
All the steps are safe, but at times you may need to consult experts for guidance on how to proceed safely.