I was driving down the highway today and tried to use my brakes only to find out that the pedal went straight to the floor. Drove it home over 50 miles using the hand brake. Crawled under the car and found two brake lines and two fuel lines that are rusted so badly that it scares me to think about it. Can I buy new lines from a dealer, already bent and everything? Or, should I just make new ones? From my preliminary inspection, this looks like it's going to be a BIG project. Any input or words of advice would greatly be appreciated.

 

eeek! I doubt if there is pre-bent line for our cars[too old].You can buy fuel/brake line at autozone or pepboys and rent a bending tool.

 

On my dads car his brake line rusted out. My mechanic just bought some straight lines and then bent it by hand. It didnt run exactly the same path as the old one but it did the job.

 

I've been in the same situation as you are now.
It's up to you - order lines from Nissan (pre-bent; that's what I did) or bent 'em yourself.

BUT!!! REPLACE ALL THE LINES (BRAKE AND FUEL) AT THE SAME TIME!!!

Once you move a rusted line, it will start to leak (believe me, it will - I've been there).

So you have 5 lines total to replace (2 brake lines and 3 fuel lines).
I paid about CND$50 each at Nissan dealership.

Don't forget to follow brakes bleeding procedure (disconnect ABS first) and then follow the sequence (if I remember correctly start with a front right side).

Good Luck!

 

I didn't think that a dealer would be able to order them. But, I'm definately going to price them tomorrow. Buying them from the Nissan dealer is more expensive, but I think that it would eliminate a lot of fitment hassle. The lines look like they're pretty tough to snake back into place. How difficult was the process?

 

Nissan does sell OEM lines. I paid about $35 each (plus tax). They're VERY long - so make sure you have a large vehicle to pick'em up or ask if they can deliver to you. I picked'em up in a Sunfire Coupe and they litterall JUST fit with a little coaxing...

Replacing all the factory lines with pre-bent factory lines yourself, without a hoist, will be next to impossible if you plan on replacing the full-length of each line. Because they are pre-bent, you need to have the car pretty high in the air to be able to maneover them into place.

Also, ALL the lines run between the floor and the drivers-side control arm. So be prepared to drop the control arm as well.

I didn't wanna tackle the control arm with an air-impact and I didn't have a hoist, so I had a mechanic do it for me. I was a little pissed and surprised to find out that the fuel tank also needed to be dropped (he said) to install the full length of the fuel line.

You could splice-in the part of the lines that rusted (usually about a foot to foot and a half under the B-pillar area of the car), but if you choose to go that route, don't bother with pre-bent factory lines - there's just no point. Just get a fuel/brake line repair kit in the appropriate length and go from there.

I would recommend having a pro do it if you want a solid repair and you don't have access to a hoist or air-tools, and/or don't have much experience working on cars.

 

i replaced all the hard lines a couple of weeks ago on a friends 3rd gen. it was a big PITA. I just bought lines and bent them myself. It's virtually impossible to duplicate the stock lines so don't bother trying. If the OEM lines were priced a little more reasonably I'd opt for them when it comes time to do the hard lines on my car. definately replace all the lines because messing with only one or two of the rusty old lines will only lead to more leaky lines.

 

shock211 - Which was a bigger PITA, bending the lines to fit or actually installing them?

 

I just ordered the lines from my local Nissan dealership. They are a little pricey, but not only would I have to buy the line and the bending and flaring tools, I would also have to try to come close to the factory bends, not something I'm interested in doing. For others who are interested the prices I paid are listed below.

-Fuel Return $32.22
-Evap Emissions $25.92
-Fuel Feed $30.32
-Brake line $23.93
-Brake line $13.15
-Being able to drive my car $priceless

 

They're equally a big PITA.
Seeing as you bought the lines already, my advice to make it easier on yourself is to drop the rear suspension support beam.

 

Others have suggested the front control arm and the gas tank too. What do you think about those? I have a few days to get my car ready since the dealership had to order the lines.

 

the front control arm you can work around and the gas tank shouldn't need to be dropped in my opinion. i guess you'll see what's needed when you start to put on the new lines.

 

When I did mine, I took out the front control arm and the gas tank. I replaced all the lines (brake and fuel). In my opinion you have to take out the front control arm. The lines run between the control arm and the body. I used the pre-bent lines from Nissan

 

tmuscedere, i'll probably take out the control arm since I have a few days to work on it before my lines arrive. But, do you think that dropping the tank is necessary also? Or, is removing the suspension support beam adequate? I don't think that there is going to be any easy or quick way of doing this, but I don't want to remove the tank if I don't have to, mainly because its nearly full.

 

I dont see how you could do it properly without taking the gas tank out. Anyways the gas tank would be easier to drop. Mine was full too. The way I took out all the fuel was to remove the back seat and jumped the wiring harness to make the fuel pump work. The gas emptied out quickly. Have fun, its a PITA of a job. Not that its hard, it does take a lot of time. After your done bleed the brakes exactly as per the FSM manual if you have ABS. I realized it after 3 hours of screwing around with the car.

 

Thanks, I just got a call from the dealership saying that my lines are in. So, the fun begins.

 

Good luck! Hope it works-out well for ya.

 

I just finished the procedure on Sunday. Man that sucked. I think that I would have rather done an engine swap. The pre-bent lines are definately the way to go. The job is hard enough without trying to bend lines as well. I do need an alignment now, as I had to remove the control arm (pulls to the right now). I am having a small problem with the brakes though. The pedal goes almost to the floor. I've bled the brakes three times, and still pedal goes almost to the floor. Suggestions anyone?

 

you may still have some air in the master cylinder.. it's a PITA..

you may give it a few more miles of driving and bleed the system again.
you should have clean, fresh fluid at the calipers now, so you can just basically bleed one of them for a loooong time to flush the MC, and pour the clean fluid back into the MC to save from buying $50 worth of fluid..

once you've emptied and refilled the MC a few times, then go ahead and bleed the other three corners and try it all again.

 

I think (?) I sometimes understand all, but now that 'PITA' all over does not fit my pic of a brake job... Nearest I can think of is the flat Isreali pita-bread... Now please help me out. I figure most do not like beings from EU, but look, people did not choose that EU coup but were hijacked via 'chiraq group', we are kept here dark taxed against our will... so PLEASE at least let me info what that big 'PITA' -jubileum is about.

 

You have to bleed the system exactly as prescribed by the FSM, especially if you have ABS. Start at the right rear wheel, then left rear wheel. Then front left wheel, finishing it off with the front right. If you have ABS you have to take out the relays in front of the ABS pump before starting the procedure.

 

hahaha
PITA = pain in the a$$

 

Thank u for the crucial info... I accept to a point that the job is such, but having done once such a project, thats mildly put. Its pain all over... ? =PITAPAO

As we have here thick tar on the car bottom for rust protection, and as that melts (gas slurp) on your face & anyplace on the business, I feel sorry for all those who have been rolled in tar & feathers... Making maxima a rear wheel drive would be lovable compared to this business. And most propably the floor has rotten under the tubes and must be welded. Speaking of this kinda rustyproblem, I start to askmyself, havent u got few zillion spare cars to donate? I Would even settle for ford than repairing THOSE pipes...

And installing all piping from a reel, the sight of your vehicle underbelly [knotted curvy pipe bundles] is comparable to new russian locomotive straight from taiga factory =terriblese!

 

I have the same problem. All five lines are shot under the car. I was wondering if I could just change the (almost) straight section and connect with either high pressure tubing or maybe a union? The little plastic guard the covers the lines must have trapped salt and snow, causing them to rust. If the lines under the hood and elsewhere look okay, will just replacing the rusted sections be fine?

This is my first car, and the price was right (free ), I am just trying to make it safe and road-worthy. Thanks for any replies.

 

that's what I did first - replaced rusted sections ...
if u do all the lines at once and from front to the rear u should be just fine (and pay extra attention to a hi-gas line).
just don't replace by small sections - leaks will be back very soon.

 

Yes. All or nothing. The rust sections will continue to bleed rust chips into the system, to the ABS and cont to cause problems.

Make no hurry. For original pipes [as already stated] one get nice looking system with more work and expenses. From reel, its faster and cheaper. Both will do their job as well. Remember to strap pipes tight that they'll not be able to vibrate and break.

 

The lines beyond the control arm (up on the firewall) don't have any rust on them, could I just make a break somewhere that I have easy access to and replace from there to the tank? The only rust damage (that is visible) is on the sections that follow the bottom of the car. If you think the sections near the firewall need replaced, could I follow a different path? I want to try to avoid taking the control arm off.

The auto parts store said he could get me high-pressure tubing, and a roll of solid tubing. Do you think using tubing has any drawbacks? I would probably only use it from where I would cut the lines on the firewall to under the control arm. Is this safe?

I probably will replace all the way to the tank, because that is not as much work, but if I can use any sections, I will.

thanks for your replies

 

- Well done joint is no hazard. Howewer, make sure local inspection allows those extra joints. But do you really win by savin some tubing?
- Routing has to be safe so that mechanical malfunctions will not cut the tubes.
- Automakers use many types metal tubing; GM europe uses the rusty crap, and seems nissan is in that crowd also... Ask the salesman each properties, price, installation easiness and think how long will u keep the car. [I had once a choice of two kinds of rolls, bought the better cause I will not ever return under that vehicle (my Opel) in this business.]

 

Thanks for all the replies. I think the metal fuel lines actually connect to rubber hoses just past the lower control arm, so i should be able to replace all of them. My brake lines I will probably have to break somewhere, but I don't think that will be a problem.
the car already has 150k + miles on it, and it is just my first car, so I can't see myself putting too many miles on it. I just need to make the lines safe and reliable (for as cheap as I can).

 

I love reading all these replies - I had the distict pleasure of replacing my brake lines on my old car (from the firewall to the brakes) about a year and a half ago. As far as I'm concerned, you all took the easy route - I bought a couple 25ft coils and bent my own lines. Talk about a fun job! My Nissan dealer told me I couldn't get pre-bends, so I had no other choice (or so I thought). Needless to say, I became very skilled with the pipe bender and double flare tools - my 'homemade' lines were a 95+% match to the orginals.