Guesstimate on full brake lines fitted?

Post by **Red Westie** » 13 Jul 2008, 09:28

Are you sure about ALL of the brake pipes? the rear 4, the front to rear, the two short fronts and possibly those the other side of the flex's but usually the others going back to the master cylinder don't corrode very much because they are away from all the road salt etc.

Brickwerks do the braided flexi kits at £44 and you will need a roll and a half of kunifer brake pipe with ends, about £18 plus £5 for the unions, and a litre of DOT4 at around £8.00.

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php?p ... t&Itemid=6

http://www.jhmbuttco.com/acatalog/Shop_ ... e_544.html

If you insist on all the metal pipes being changed I would estimate a full 8-10 hours labour.....if you change the exposed ones then 5-7 hours at whatever labour rate is charged (think Simon Baxter is around £45 p/h)
To properly secure the front to rear pipe it is advisable to lower the petrol tank.
Not a cheap job because of the labour involved.
Martin

Post by **Ray** » 13 Jul 2008, 16:51

Had mine done last year. all pipes changed and new flexible fitted which I supplied. Over £500 including VAT. Lot of labour involved!

Post by **Tex Ritter** » 13 Jul 2008, 20:19

Ray wrote:Had mine done last year. all pipes changed and new flexible fitted which I supplied. Over £500 including VAT. Lot of labour involved!

Jings! That seems a hell of a lot of dosh, especially when you supplied the flexi hose.

TR

Post by **dugcati** » 13 Jul 2008, 21:20

Ray wrote:
Had mine done last year. all pipes changed and new flexible fitted which I supplied. Over £500 including VAT. Lot of labour involved!

Jings! That seems a hell of a lot of dosh, especially when you supplied the flexi hose.

I am in the process of changing ALL the lines on my van and believe me it takes forEVER! most runs are fairly straight forward but to get them right and proper instead of bodged has taken me ages including removing the fuel tank! (although I needed to remove it for other reasons...)

Doug

Post by **Tex Ritter** » 14 Jul 2008, 09:48

dugcati wrote:[quote

I am in the process of changing ALL the lines on my van and believe me it takes forEVER! most runs are fairly straight forward but to get them right and proper instead of bodged has taken me ages including removing the fuel tank! (although I needed to remove it for other reasons...)

Doug

There is only one way to do brake pipes, and that's the right way.

Mine have been completely renewed, including front calipers seals kit as a matter of course, not because they had corroded - see my van in readers rides - apart from my own labour I guess it cost £70 - and possibly cheaper if I had kept count - for all the bits and fluid.

TR

PS: How do you go about bodging a brake pipe?

Post by **dugcati** » 17 Jul 2008, 21:36

PS: How do you go about bodging a brake pipe?

was referring to joining new stuff to sections of old stuff to save dropping the fuel tank or to save fighting with a hard to get to area

Have not got as far as bleeding mine out yet - how did you do yours and did you have any assistance?

Post by **Tex Ritter** » 18 Jul 2008, 10:30

dugcati wrote:
PS: How do you go about bodging a brake pipe?

was referring to joining new stuff to sections of old stuff to save dropping the fuel tank or to save fighting with a hard to get to area

Have not got as far as bleeding mine out yet - how did you do yours and did you have any assistance?

Replied to your PM.

TR

Post by **Red Westie** » 18 Jul 2008, 14:48

Cut and joining sounds like an option as the section clipped on the chassis rail above the tank does not generally corrode as quickly as those at the back......only problem is; the nature of the original steel piping (very hard and non maluable) makes it almost inpossible to make new ends to it in situe. Sorry but my advice is don't even go there! drop the tank and properly clip the new pipe in place....remember that the gear linkage also uses this tunnel for it's home..so any loose flayling pipes could easily get caught up in the gear change.
Martin

Post by **Fritz** » 22 Jul 2008, 00:20

Gal, if it make you feel any better, I will be paying a garage in West Lancashire, about 60 quid to fit 2 brake pipes to the Rsend of a 'V' reg Escort, this will include dropping the fuel tank to gain access to the clips/bleeding etc.

The alternative was for me to make up the pipes myself after removing the old ones,refit as before and then take the whole shooting match back to the garage for a Re-test mot,,,,,,,,,,,it will take me about the same amount of time to complete the job,,,,,,except he will be getting full of shyte instead of me..

What I am trying to say is find yourself a local mechanic who needs some beer money and offer him 100 quid +any parts and fluid and you will have your brake pipes done/replaced for a fraction of what a garage will want to charge you.........

FFS,,,,,parts should include 3 rolls of Kunifer (copper brake pipe) Metric pipe ends / 2 litres fluid/ 4 flexy hoses.........Total may be a round 70-80 quid.IMHO....

Regards

Fritz,,,,,

Post by **Jamie** » 27 Jul 2008, 21:43

On a cautionary note, I removed the fuel tank on my '86 van and found that the pipe above it was very badly corroded indeed. The rest of the pipes were all OK (well coated in Waxoyl) so if I hadn't been removing the tank anyway I might never have checked...

Website · Post by **CovKid** » 28 Jul 2008, 08:50

I found a company online that supplied a replacement brake pipe kit in copper for £59. Replaced them myself. Couple of days work but worth it in the long run. In fact it was the very first job I did when I got the caravelle, as well as all shoes, pads and front discs. Nothing worse than buying an older vehicle and 'trusting' that the previous owner always kept them in tip top condition.

Its essential that you can pull up in a perfectly straight line in an emergency and I've had to do that a couple of times since I renewed my brake system. An MOT won't always pick that up on a brake test and the cost of renewing brake parts isn't that high if you do the job yourself.