Guys, I just brought 3 metal fuel and 2 brake lines (pre-bent) from the dealer. I'm trying to install them but it seems like the gusset/control arm/front control bar are in the way.

I have no problem removing the front control bar but the gusset and control arm are such pain in the ****. Do I really need to remove it in order to route the 3 fuel and 2 brake lines from back to front?!?!?!? Any advices and tips on how to replace these metal brake and fuel lines would be greatly appreciated. How do I slip it up thru without removing all these items:

 

I dont see any other way around it...The gusset/stabilizer bar need to be removed..

 

argh man, ok... what other major obstacles do I need to remove so I could prepare for?

 

I'm not sure about what "all" has to be removed to install prebent lines,but it also looks like the steering rack needs to be removed or partially removed..

Personally,if i ever had to do this,i would not get prebent lines.I would just get a section of straight line,and bend it myself,not going with the path of the oem lines..

It wouldnt be pretty,but meh,it's under the car anyway...

 

After having replaced these things before, trust me... you want the prebent ones from the dealer. makes install MUUUUUCH easier.

As for how to get thse installed, you're going to have to remove the gusset. it's not that bad though. just a few large bolts and you can swing it out of the way. don't even have to unbolt it from the control arm I don't think.

 

Bah,i bet i could snake a bend myself line in waaaay before you could a prebent one..

 

where did your car come from? it obviously hasn't been in LA all its life...

 

It's not the snaking of the lines. it's the cutting, splicing, flaring, sealing, testing, REcutting, REsplicing, REflaring, REtesting that makes it a royal PITA.

not to mention getting the proper radius on the bends so that it looks decent and doesn't crush the tube.

 

aluminum tube coil

 

I dragged it all the way from NY. Funny thing was, I drove this puppy cross country 4 times, north south once and 3 times SC to CA last year. Lucky me, it didn't crap out until now.... whew

 

thank you guys for the suggestion. What about the steering rack as mentioned? To me it looks like I could get away without removing it. Is this right? I think I could just slip it thru, there were about 1" gap at min so that should be fine, right?

 

Did you get the lines installed ok? What did you end up removing? Did you have to drop the gas tank? How much did you pay for all of the lines?

 

yes, I installed it.... pain in the **** cuz it took me a week to work by myself but hey, it's done and I just saved around over $1K on labor so I'm happy. at least I don't have to worry about it for a while.

no you don't need to remove or drop the gas tank. leave it alone.

just take out the fuel pump fuse bus, the one underneath the steering wheel, crank the car a few times to make sure it's completely de-pressurized.

disconnect your negative battery terminal

loosen the lug nuts -> jack it up and place the car on 4 jackstands.

take off the wheels

take off the front sway bar

take off the driver side gusset. Leave your steering rack alone. no need to remove it.

that's it. now you're ready to remove/install your 3 fuel lines and 2 brake lines.


I ended up paying around $230 for all 5 lines at a local dumbass dealer cuz they're the only one close enough I could get there on my bicycle. they wouldn't even give me any discounts. Damn I wish I could've gotten it from courtesynissan or jerryrome. those guys would've offered them for $100 flat but their SH fees are too darn expensive, they wanted $250 for shipment fee alone...yike!

just a few misc comment.....
......I broke a bunch of supporting metal brackets. damn rust!!!! If you did it, don't worry. Just zip tie them. Make sure those 5 lines get enough support at the beginning and end. Those two spots are the most important point. You can get away by zip tie-ing the middle section.

.....as I installed the new lines, I made a lot of scratches.... dude, it was impossible NOT to! I can't paint the lines. It's such a pain... they're on and they stay there, I'm NOT taking it off. I'm just gonna jack it up tomorrow and touch it up with some rush oileum as much as as I can.

....after I installed my new rear calipers and new brake pads.... man, it's so freaking tight! is this normal? it makes a lot of noises when I drive. everything looks fine too me.... the lug nuts are on at least 100ft lb nice and tight, twice the FSM specification. anyone knows, please comment?

 

yes, I also bleeded all 4 wheels. I'm pretty sure I did it right. But the rear wheels are mad tight. I'm pretty sure the calipers are good. The piston moves very smoothly.

 

The spec for the lug nuts is 80 ft.lbs

 

I would have paid to see you carrying the brake lines on that bicycle..

 

I assume you mean the brakes dragging. Have you tried loosening the parking brake adjustment (nut on base of handbrake lever). I had a wheel drag problem before and it turned out to be this.

 

torque specs are there for a reason.
anything that you cranked to twice the specs, loosen and retighten to spec.

 

LOL no, I actually had a ride home with those lines. I just ride my bike there to order them, it took them over a month to back order them.

 

thanks, that's a good idea. how do I remove the plastic box around the parking brake lever? darn thing wouldn't come out... argh, I don't wanna brake it.

 

ok, the FSM said to tune that brake lever to 8-11 notches. I got 10. It's still tight. I can't obviously go lower/higher. What do you guys think? Would this drag go away after a few rides?

 

I tightened the adjuster screw down all the way which makes the lever feel tight, but it reall doesn't do the job.

 

actually, no matter how you adjust it.... the lever should makes 8-11 clicks as you pulling it all the way up. otherwise, the parking brake will not works accurately. right now I had 10.... I might have to lower it to 8 or 9.

damn.... I had no insurance yet so I can't take the car out for a joy ride. I gotta wait til I'm done with heater core then I'll look into it. As a matter of fact, I terminated my insurance since the brake lines leaked 5 months ago.

I think this is a typical problem. The pads will wear itself out a little after a few rides....everything should run normal again. I remembered, I had similar problem to the front side a while back and the problem went away after a few rides.

 

i just got doing everything u just did. I had a brake and fuel line leak. i didnt buy pre bent but instead cut out the bad sections with a pipe cutter and bought straight pipes. i then used compression fittings to put the new ones on.