3.2TLc

Just had the "Brake" warning indicator lamp light up and found the brake fluid to be low in the reservoir. The brake pedal felt soft and figured there was a leak somewhere. It was raining, pumped brakes and noticed a small puddle of what appeared to be brake fluid coming from the center area of the car underneath the driver's side.

Have not been able to jack the car up and look at it closer as of yet with the rain. Just wondering if those particuliar brake lines are available and replaceable items for "DIY" or if it's better to let the job up to a pro ? Thanks for any advice !!!

Nicks2001tl

If it was the brake lines by the tires that would be an easy and quick fix but underneath the car might require a bit more expertise. It is your braking after all, very important to get repaired correctly.


Whatever you do don`t put a bandaid on it. Git r done!

d1sturb3d119

iTrader: (1)

It's not a problem to DIY. It's also a cheap part to replace unless its a steel braided line. Fix it and fix it fast. Do not drive anywhere with it leaking!

3.2TLc

Yeah, thanks guys....don't worry, the 'ol gal is parked for now.

Just gotta wait until I can get a closer look at things. Feel lucky and very blessed that I didn't find the problem going down the freeway at 70 mph !!!

Anybody else have any experience with leaky or possibly rusted main brake lines ?

d1sturb3d119

iTrader: (1)

True that! I had my bleeder screw on the clutch slave cylinder loosen up while driving and I lost all pressure in an instant. I can't imagine what I would do if I screwed up the same way with the bleeder screws on my brakes.

ErickUa5

More than likely its the rubber hose unless there was physical damage to the metal lines or severe rust on them.
If the master cylinder ran dry you may need to bleed out the whole system.

3.2TLc

OK, guys.....finally got a chance to look up underneath the car for an apparent brake line leak. What I found was that the actual source of the leak was coming from within the black plastic "cage" for the steel fuel and brake lines which run towards the car's front. The leak is approximately a foot from the rearmost part of the cage. This would located be on the driver's side, just in front of the rear wheel.

So, after attempting to inspect the bad brake line closer.....I couldn't seem to get the "cage" loosened up to actually look inside. However, I could tell that the problem was due to rust corroding the line itself and causing a pinhole leak. Any tips on this ?

These brake lines appear to loop up behind the gas tank towards the rear calipers, after coming out from the retaining cage. Has anyone experienced replacing or possibly repairing this type of problem with a leaking brake line ? Any basic suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I realize that this is a safety concern, but I'd rather not get reamed by a dealer for all new parts and labor involved ........ as I'm sure that they would want to replace all of the fuel and brake lines within the retaining cage. Thanks for any possible insight on what to do next.

d1sturb3d119

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like a leaking hardline. That's not a problem to replace. Reaching in there is. Do you have any pics?

TLer trash

I've done a few of these, and I think they're a pita. Are you comfortable double-flaring steel lines? You need to do at least this much in order to splice in a section of line. Compression fittings are not acceptable. You're going to end up halfway up the firewall before you find line solid enough to work with. You'll be doing 2 lines, because the other one is in the same condition as the leaky one. If you're careful, you won't break any fuel or evap lines, which run right next to the brake lines. Pre-formed lines are available from the dealer, but they're almost impossible to install, as they were installed at the factory before any suspension, drivetrain, or almost everything was installed. Skip the dealer. They rarely work on anything rusty, and tend to turn their nose up at such repairs. If you know a good independent garage try them. Expect to pay $300 or more for a decent job.

3.2TLc

Yeah, thanks guys !!! ..... and I could do the double flaring as TLer trash mentioned.

I managed to wrestle the plastic retaining cage off to expose the back half of the brake lines. The one line closest to the driver's side for the LHS has a pinhole leak caused by Pennsylvania rust. The other line isn't quite as bad. Seems like the retaining cage trapped the salt within.

Oh well, ya know that they don't want these cars to last forever.....and once the dealer service looks things over, they will try to sell ya a new car after presenting the repair estimate.

Since driving the car is not an option, I may attempt to perform surgery and do a temporary flared splice. Perhaps that would at least save me a tow bill to have the car evaluated by a shop !!!
So, do any of ya have some general DIY tips for doing this "band-aid" splice ?

fsttyms1

I have done many of these on many different cars. I have yet to do it on the TL but i have noticed they are starting to rust. This particularly happens to vehicles that dont get driven much or for longer periods of time to dry the area. The actual repair isnt hard, just tedious sometimes. You can buy the hard line at most parts stores and patch it but personally for 50 bucks i would buy the complete line from acura and save yourself a ton of headache

3.2TLc

Yep, gotta totally agree.....that's the only sure way to properly fix the problem.

The oem brake line is relatively inexpensive in itself, but how about the actual difficulty and headaches involved with replacing the entire line ? Especially up around the fuel tank and stuff ? Seems like it may be a PITA and possibly create other issues along the way. IDK !!!

ErickUa5

If you're going to replace the whole line you will need a good quality 10mm line wrench to avoid damage.

This thread makes me want to inspect the lines under the car since I never really did.

3.2TLc

Yeppur, it caught me completely off guard. Especially since it's well hidden in the plastic retaining cage.

But, for anybody that lives in a rustbelt area......it would be wise to check, clean and use a rust preventative product to help protect from the elements.

Yeah, I have flare line wrenches.....but that's not going to help get around all the other obstacles involved with replacing the entire line with a preformed OEM part #. The task appears to be a real knuckle buster, IMO.

fsttyms1

If you have a good set of jack stands and a extra set of hands to help, it shouldnt be that hard. Use taking the old one off to learn any little trick to help get the new one in.

d1sturb3d119

iTrader: (1)

Damn. This looks annoying to do.

3.2TLc

Hey Fsttyms1, So with the car safely supported with jackstands.....there's enough clearance to access the OEM steel brake line as it winds hidden behind the fuel tank ? I'm assuming that when ya said "having an extra set of helping hands" ..... that was implicating a need to hold the fuel tank while dropping it, Huh ???

The good thing is that it's the driver's side ! May be easier to do, IDK. But....in my thinking, a person should probably just replace all the associated lines if going to the bother of doing the job correctly.