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Splicing a New Piece of Brake Line into a Rusted Rear Line

JohnHoward

CEG'er
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
54
Location
Wisconsin, USA
Hi,

I have a rusted leaking rear brake line on my '95 Contour just forward of the passenger rear wheel. I was going to replace the entire line but discovered that there is no easy way to reach the front connection without taking the car apart. But you can reach the rear connection. So I plan to do what others have done and splice in a new section of brake line to replace the rusty piece.

Reading some of the older posts here, it seems like I will need to cut the bad section out of the old line and then make a new double flare on the piece that's left. Then I can fit a universal piece of new brake line where the old piece was. I will also need to use an adapter or union where the splice was made in order to join the old and new lines together.

Has anyone done this? Any tips or advice on the process and parts needed will be greatly appreciated. I see some discussion between "double" and "bubble" flares, but don't know what kind the Contour has. Anyone know? I measured the OD of the brake line and it seems to be 3/16 inch. All the double-flare kits have an adapter for that size. I'm guessing that's what I need.

I did brake lines on a Ford Tempo a few years ago managed that okay but have never made a flare on an existing line. I've searched the older posts and found some info but not a great deal. Your experiences and input would be a great help to walk me through this. I live in a rural area and need to do this myself.

Thanks!
 
I have never done a "hard" brake line on my Tour but I have done many on other cars, both bubble and double flare lines.
When you cut the old tubing make sure you cut it in a place you can pull the line free of the car so you have room to work on the cut end.
After cutting the tube you will need to "square" up the end. If you used a tubing cutter then it should be "square" but you need to chamfer the end of the tube to clean the ID of the tube. A tubing cutter pinches the tube and you need to remove this metal so that the double flare addaptor will work correctly.

When you buy the brake line tubing buy an extra line and practice on it before you do the line on your car. Cut the tube, chamfer the end and then do a bubble flare or a double as needed. The process is the same for both only the double flare has a second step that you don't do on a bubble flare.

I was doing so many flares on fuel lines & brake lines that I bought a MasterCool flaring tool. I will make a flare in less then a minute and the results look factry make. Not a cheap tool but if one does make many repairs of tubing then it is the tool to have.

http://www.mastercool.com/pages/flaring_tools.html
 
Jims right. Make sure you have adequate space to work with the remaining end you need to prepare for attaching the new.
Make sure you have the proper, GOOD QUALITY, tools to do the work.

gl
 
Guys,

Thanks for the replies and good advice about the brake line splice repair which I plan to follow.

Not sure if I have a tubing cutter or not. I'll have to hunt around. If not maybe I'll practice with a fine blade hacksaw making a slow and careful cut.

The idea of getting a spare line to practice the flare on is a great idea. I'll do that.

But I may try a lower priced flaring tool. I see that Lisle makes one and I have had good luck with that brand of tools. It also gets pretty good reviews. If that fails to work I'll try something else.

I've been spraying the rear fitting with PB Blaster. Maybe I'll try to crack it loose today.

I can't understand why Ford engineers did not put a junction in the rear brake lines on the underside of the car up front. Especially considering it's that long run along the bottom that's most exposed to rustout and damage. Not to mention that your brakes are your lifeline and should be easy and simple to fix right in the interest of safety. If I were designing an automobile I would run the brake and fuel lines where they would protected from corrosion and make them easy to repair, and NOT expose them to all that corrosion.

But what do I know...

Thanks!
 
I've done pleny of brake lines at work. One of my least favorite jobs to do, but overall they arent bad. I just hate the flaring and getting the lines loose/starting the new lines. Just make sure, when you're splicing in, the section that you're splicing has NO rust on it. BTW Contours run a double flair. I belive its Dodge that runs the stupid bubble flairs.
 
Rear fitting apart

Rear fitting apart

I ordered the tube cutter listed above. Made in USA caught my eye.

Thanks for the info that Contour has double flare ends. That is the type of flare tool I ordered online.

I had my first piece of good luck yesterday. I had sprayed PB Blaster on the rear fitting of the leaky line for a few days running. Yesterday I crawled under there with wrenches and it unscrewed easily. Good thing because it's hard to get in there.

Yes, I will also inspect the line and find how much more rust there is. Probably a lot. Seems to rust where the line plugs into the plastic clips.

Now I gotta figure out which rear wheel the leaky line goes to and then see if the bleeder will crack open after a few sprays of PB Blaster again. (Oddly, I found this can of PB Blaster washed up on a remote beach on Lake Superior. Fell off somebody's boat?)

I'm going to order one of those vacuum brake bleeder kits from Harbor Freight. Anyone ever use one? Sounds like a good idea so you don't need a second guy to pump the brakes but instead sucks the fluid and air out thru the bleeder. I assume it works that way. Does it?
 
Two pieces of advice. Just get an extra master cylinder cap for the Contour master. Then go and buy a "Screw in" tire valve or you can use one of the "pull through" rubber ones. Drill a hole in the cap, install the tire valve. (You will need to drill a correct size hole for the pull through.) Then all you need is a source of air, a pressure regulator and a clip on tire fill chuck. I use 10-15 psi to bleed my brakes. You install the cap, add air and then go and open the bleeders. Just make sure you keep the master topped up.

The second is, try using regular ATF on rusty nuts & bolts. It's cheap and it works! If you mix acetone and ATF together it works even better. I have been able to "break' bolts free that nothing else would work on.
 
Two pieces of advice. Just get an extra master cylinder cap for the Contour master. Then go and buy a "Screw in" tire valve or you can use one of the "pull through" rubber ones. Drill a hole in the cap, install the tire valve. (You will need to drill a correct size hole for the pull through.) Then all you need is a source of air, a pressure regulator and a clip on tire fill chuck. I use 10-15 psi to bleed my brakes. You install the cap, add air and then go and open the bleeders. Just make sure you keep the master topped up.

The second is, try using regular ATF on rusty nuts & bolts. It's cheap and it works! If you mix acetone and ATF together it works even better. I have been able to "break' bolts free that nothing else would work on.

Wow! Those are two very good pieces of advice. You guys sure do know your stuff.
 
Rear lines just open tubing or more complicated than that?

Rear lines just open tubing or more complicated than that?

Looking at these rusty rear brake lines and reading other posts, I'm now thinking of running all new brake line from where I would make the splice under the car all the way to the flexible hose fitting at the rear wheel. Only one rear line is leaking right now, but the other one has rust on it too. Might do both. Since you can buy bulk brake line and make your own lengths this might make more sense than connecting to the old rear rusty sections of the line under the gas tank, etc. Just abandon the old lines and re-route new lines all the way. I've already got the double flare tool and a tube cutter on order.

Important Questions: Are the two brake lines to the rear wheel cylinders completely separate from one another? That is, each rear line goes to its own brake unit? Also, in the area of the gas tank are the brake lines basically just open tubing? Or are there any metering devices, valves, etc. hidden out of sight in that area in the rear of the car under the gas tank or under other stuff? Unfortunately, the Haynes manual does NOT show a brake line diagram. Also, this Contour has ABS. That's one reason I'm wondering.

Thanks!
 
Important Questions: Are the two brake lines to the rear wheel cylinders completely separate from one another? That is, each rear line goes to its own brake unit? Also, in the area of the gas tank are the brake lines basically just open tubing? Or are there any metering devices, valves, etc. hidden out of sight in that area in the rear of the car under the gas tank or under other stuff? Unfortunately, the Haynes manual does NOT show a brake line diagram. Also, this Contour has ABS. That's one reason I'm wondering.

Thanks!
they are completely separate all the way from the ABS module (or master cylinder on non-ABS cars) to their respective brake caliper/cylinder. all of the metering is done in the ABS module in your case so no extra devices (on non-ABS cars they are either right at the master or right before the rubber flex hose at the wheel). I will say this, you will need to remove either the gas tank or the rear subframe (or both) as the brake lines run between the body and the subframe, and there is very little room between the gas tank and subframe. I replaced the rear lines on my old 97 from the connection near the rear (by the fuel filter), i dropped the fuel tank as i was concerned about breaking the subframe bolts and it was a PITA. im not sure how much better dropping the subframe will be, though you will need an alignment afterwards.
 
they are completely separate all the way from the ABS module (or master cylinder on non-ABS cars) to their respective brake caliper/cylinder. all of the metering is done in the ABS module in your case so no extra devices (on non-ABS cars they are either right at the master or right before the rubber flex hose at the wheel). I will say this, you will need to remove either the gas tank or the rear subframe (or both) as the brake lines run between the body and the subframe, and there is very little room between the gas tank and subframe. I replaced the rear lines on my old 97 from the connection near the rear (by the fuel filter), i dropped the fuel tank as i was concerned about breaking the subframe bolts and it was a PITA. im not sure how much better dropping the subframe will be, though you will need an alignment afterwards.

Thanks very much for the additional information about no other devices in the rear brake lines lurking under the gas tank, etc.

I'm going to reroute the rear brake lines to where I want them to go. I see where other guys have done that. I'll just splice into the rear lines towards the front where they are not rusty and make my own custom lines from that point to the rear wheel cylinders. That will eliminate all the old rusty lines in the rear. Of course I'll have to train myself to make a double-flare, but it can't be too hard to do. Only one is leaking but they are both rusty in the rear so I may replace long sections of both.

I was under there yesterday again and following the factory routing of the lines is not worth the errort. No way. Maybe I should do it that way but I'm not going to.

Once I decided to reroute the brake lines it came as a great relief similar to deciding to splice into the old line. This way should be MUCH easier.

Once the tube cutter and flare tool arrive I can begin the operation. Hope to get it done before winter snows come. Luckily I have a spare car.
 
Update

Update

Cut off end of old leaking brake line so I know what size fittings I have to get. Will make a parts run this week. Got rear brake drum off with some difficulty (rusted on) but shoes look decent. I hardly use my brakes anyway.
 
Update

Update

Got the tube cutter and the double flare tool in the mail.

The double flare tool must be NOS. The package was bruised but unopened and to my surprise it looks to be high quality and is stamped MADE IN USA. Not bad for $30 delivered. Thank you eBay!

Thursday I plan to make a parts run and get the fittings and the bulk brake line. Then I'll be set to actually fix this thing. It's taking time but I need to get everything from a distance.
 
Making test double flares

Making test double flares

Got the tubing and ends and am making a few test flares.

Instructions with Lisle tool double flare tool are poor. Doesn't even tell which side of the clamp bar to use (the flat side or the side with the conical recess). Online I see it being done using both sides as if it doesn't matter. But it must matter!

Nor does it say anywhere if after making the first flare if you are supposed to slide the tube down into the conical recess so it held in place for the second recess. Seems like you should do it that way. First flare I made sort of collapsed sideways on the second flare so that's why I'm wondering. Before trying a second test I came online for more info. Not finding too much tho. Good thing I bought 25 ft of tubing. And altho the flare tool has crappy instructions it is heavy duty and well made. Glad I didn't get the el cheapo HF brand.

So far the best online flaring instructions are here: http://www.carcraft.com/howto/50919/index.html

That one shows the flaring being done on the conical recess side of the bar. But the big question remaining is whether you are supposed to slide the first flare down into the conical recess for the second flare.

Anybody know????

Thanks!
 
The link to the instructions you posted show how you are to do it. Using the countersunk side of the split bar clamp you clamp the tubing in it, then set the height of the tube above the flat part of the bar clamp to the height of the thickness of the double flare adaptor. Insert the adaptor into the tube and then using the flaring tool compress the tube to form the "bubble". Remove the flaring tool and the adaptor, then clamp the flaring tool to the bar clap "without removing the tube". Tighten the flaring tool to make the 45 deg. flare by compressing the "bubble" with the cone of the flaring tool.
 
Test Flares

Test Flares

Thanks. That's exactly how I've been doing it. Glad tho I got a better grade flare tool (by accident really) and not the HF el cheapo.

Yesterday I made 5 test flares. None of them turned out very well. So then I slept on it and today tried another. This one came out much better. The only thing different I did was on the second flare I only tightened down a partial turn, then backed off the screw, swiveled the press to a different spot on the bar, re-tightened a little more, and repeated the same process until the second flare was formed. My theory is that the second flare is more likely to go sideways if the clamp is in one place only, but will be more prone to stay centered if you turn the screw-clamp to different positions. Possibly I'm nuts.

Question: What part of the flared tube actually does the sealing? The folded over lip (the second flare?) or the inner diameter of the tubing deeper down? It seems like it should be the second option but I don't know for sure.

If the rain holds off I might crawl under the car and try a test flare on the line to be spliced into. Must not forget to put the fitting on first!
 
Update

Update

Made a flare on the existing line on the car. Did not turn out perfect. Do they have to be perfect in order to seal? Probably so...

I'm going to get a premade line at least one side. The fewer flares I have to make the better.

Incidently, the guys at the auto parts store said that the stock Contour brake lines are "bubble flare" and not "double flare." They showed me the difference. So I am using an adapter to use double flares because that is the flare tool type that I bought. But after making a few "double" flares it looks to me like the "bubble" flare would be much easier to make. It's the second flare on the double flare that goes sideways and screwy.
 
Compression Fittings

Compression Fittings

I went to get a pre-made brake line yesterday and the auto parts guy turned me on to compression fittings. Online I read not to use them, but he made it sound like they were just fine to use. After all, they are made by the same company that makes the other brake fittings. Sure simplifies things. In fact, I would NOT have to have bought this double-flare tool. Oh well, live and learn.
 
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