Brake Pipe Replacement

[simonej]

MOT time is looming and one of the advisories last year was 'corroded brake pipes' (also confirmed by the chaps who did my cambelts) so I'm starting to plan ahead for having them replaced.

First of all, is it worth trying to clean them up myself to see what condition they're truly in? Am I allowed to paint them with anything or is that not recommended? It's obviously a safety issue so I don't want to cut corners but if I can avoid spending hundreds of pounds I would certainly like to.

Next, has anyone had their pipes replaced and how much did it cost? I can't imagine the pipes cost much but I can imagine it being quite labour intensive.

Cheers. :)

[T-Cut]

If you run the off side wheels onto a plank, it gives you enough room to lay alongside the car and service the brake pipes. They run along the offside of centre and easily reached. Unclip them from the floor so you can get a wad of wire wool around them and give them a good clean. This will get down to the sound metal so you can see what's what. There should be no obvious pitting of the surface. IF the pipes are in good condition after the clean up, paint them with two good coats of Hammerite. You can't get at the section which runs over the fuel tank, but this area is less subject to road spray and should be in reasonable nick. You might spray them with WaxOyl as a precaution.

If the pipes are past it, get them replaced in Kunifer metal. It will last 'forever'. Don't buy the OEM pipes, which will only corrode again (unless you Hammerite them first).

TC

[phil & helen]

word of caution .. careful when unclipping pipes from plastic holders under the body, did mine & a couple of the holders snapped , perhaps try spraying with WD40 before you begin.

If you run the off side wheels onto a plank, it gives you enough room to lay alongside the car and service the brake pipes. They run along the offside of centre and easily reached. Unclip them from the floor so you can get a wad of wire wool around them and give them a good clean. This will get down to the sound metal so you can see what's what. There should be no obvious pitting of the surface. IF the pipes are in good condition after the clean up, paint them with two good coats of Hammerite. You can't get at the section which runs over the fuel tank, but this area is less subject to road spray and should be in reasonable nick. You might spray them with WaxOyl as a precaution.

If the pipes are past it, get them replaced in Kunifer metal. It will last 'forever'. Don't buy the OEM pipes, which will only corrode again (unless you Hammerite them first).

TC

[sof007]

I had to get these done recently. It ended up costing me €130 in total. The parts were in the region of €50 euros I think although I'm not sure what type of material was used in them.

My local mechanic just took the old ones into an engineering place and they made them up for him.

I had to change mine as I failed the NCT (MOT in Ireland) due to advanced rust....Not something you like to hear about your brake lines!!

Pity though. €130 could have gone a long way towards getting me a Synergy 2!!! :mad:

[simonej]

Thanks fellas.

I had a look at the offside lines this morning and it appears that most of the corrosion is within the first 12" of where it joins the flexi pipe and the 4 way splitter (or whatever the proper name for it is). The main length of the pipe has a few bubbles of rust but after rubbing down with a bit of 400 grit it goes straight to shiny metal.

If I start painting with Hammerite and then coat with Waxoyl am I likely to raise the suspicions of the tester, perhaps giving the impression that I'm hiding something? Especially given that it was noted on the last MOT!

Or is he more likely to assume that the necessary preventative maintenance has been carried out?

[ceb]

Thanks fellas.

I had a look at the offside lines this morning and it appears that most of the corrosion is within the first 12" of where it joins the flexi pipe and the 4 way splitter (or whatever the proper name for it is). The main length of the pipe has a few bubbles of rust but after rubbing down with a bit of 400 grit it goes straight to shiny metal.

If I start painting with Hammerite and then coat with Waxoyl am I likely to raise the suspicions of the tester, perhaps giving the impression that I'm hiding something? Especially given that it was noted on the last MOT!

Or is he more likely to assume that the necessary preventative maintenance has been carried out?


Had an advisory on mine when I bought it (Nov 09) for brake pipes, had it up on the ramp whilst I had the fan 'jules'd' after a good clean I and the mechanic both thought they were fine, bar a bit of surface rust. MOT'd in April and the tester removed the advisory and passed it no problem. I think sometimes because they can look a bit 'ugly' around the clips the tester just assumes they are in dodgy condition, when in actual fact with a good clean they are fine. It may be worth talking to the tester before had just to explain what you've done so that they take a proper look rather then just look at the advisory and assume the worst?

[David Lawrence]

word of caution .. careful when unclipping pipes from plastic holders under the body, did mine & a couple of the holders snapped , perhaps try spraying with WD40 before you begin.



hmm,. when I did mine it wasn't this clip that snapped it was the pipe!

A real scare for me, and will always have a healthy respect for MOT testers who failed me for it after that.