Moved my Lt1 in storage and had a brake fluid leak. Jacked up the car and discovered serious rusty line from the front wheel channel, down the side and into what I believe is where the ABS module is located. Anyone have advice on how to tackle this? I found some pre-bent lines I plan to order but the more I look at it I'm not sure if I can get them in place. There are 5 lines running down the left side channel make a hard bend and then are bent almost in a square prior to entering into an enclosure near the rt rear wheel. I have never seen lines rusted this bad in a tight grouping. enclosed photo. Appreciated any advice..

Thx

 

Might I suggest going to Autozone, borrowing the flaring kit and buy yourself an easier time with Nicopp lines? They bend by hand so you don't need to worry as much about fitting it in tight places.

 

Eastwood also has some nice looking flaring equipment capable of doing double flairs. I believe all flairs need to be double flares on brakes so confirm that before bending up new lines.

 

I had the same problem, 92 LT1. Battery leak took out all lines going to the ABS module that is behind the drivers seat. Got new ones from Summit (Classic Tubes). Put ABS module up on table and worked from there forward. It was a job but appears to be fixed now. I didn't replace the lines to the back wheels because it would take dropping the rearend to replace them. Good luck! I wouldn't patch them if all possible.

 

Yes but people are stupid enough to use compression fitting patches. That is what I discovered in a potential buy. Pass.

 

I had the same type problem with my 1988 C4 where my brake lines rusted out at the entry point to the ABS box behind the driver's seat in my Corvette. There is no simple fix for this and making your own brake lines might be a challenge most of us are not up to doing. I even have the fancy Eastwood hydraulic tool for making high quality joints. The brake system is one piece of the Corvette THAT MUST work when you need it. I would do it the "right way" and just start replacing the pieces. The fewer compression joints the better. Just be absolutely sure that you order the right year as they change designs frequently. On my 1988 it is a one year only brake system with a unique master cylinder and the darn ABS unit. If you take a corner a weekend you will be done in no time unless you are one of those who likes to finish the project all in one day.

Instead I went to Classic Tubing up in new York State and within 10 days I had a complete set of new brake lines all pre-bent for this model car. The guys at Classic Tubing are perfectionists and their products show this attention to detail that few others can do. They will offer you your choice of Stainless steel or plain steel. I have used the standard steel with great success on both my replacement brake lines and for the replacement fuel lines that Classic Tubing has also made for me.

If your brake lines look this bad you should test your fuel supply and return lines to be sure they are not blocked off internally or rusted through. The ethanol in todays fuels absorbs moisture and will collect at the lowest point. On my 1988 C4 it was right under the rear of the passengers door.

Another part that probably needs replacing are the little rubber hoses that connect the caliper to the brake system on all four wheels. The older rubber hoses tend to "expand" when you push the brake pedal instead of "pushing" which is their job. Stainless braided hoses are a much better upgrade on any brake system! Just BE SURE that they are U.S. D.O.T. approved before putting them on your Corvette. There have been a lot of newer hoses on the market that are not approved for use in the U.S.. Using a non-approved part might be trouble in event of any kind of accident.

I wish you the best in getting your brake system to operate normally again! Go buy yourself some vacuum hose and replace every inch in the Corvette.

Best regards,
Chris

 

PM me! I have the four long lines off my C4 for sale—$50 plus shipping. No rust anywhere, no crimps or bends, and all the fittings are on and functional. Putting stainless steel lines on for “show,” so don't need the originals any longer. The fifth line us the Fuel Vapor line and runs from the fuel
tank to the canister in the front of the car. It has nothing to do with your brake system.

SnorT91Man

 

I know this is very old but do you still have the brake lines? If so what year is the car they came off of.

Thanks!

How hard was it to replace the front driver's side hard line that goes to the flex line and how long is it?

 

Sorry, no one wanted them so I sent them to the scrap pile. The hardest part of installing pre-bent tubing was getting the ends to line up to the mounting brackets in the frame. The piece itself is only about three feet long.

 

Mike, highly recommend you start a new thread and include your year model of car. I just replaced all my hard and soft lines on my 91.
I and sure me and many others can guide you through this process.

 

Sorry I missed some of the questions and responses. I ended up buying a full pre-bent full set from summit. Went with the steel vs stainless. The job was not without a lot of bad words and took some time to get the new lines installed. The hardest were the rear between the R/L calipers. Even though pre-bent it was a challenge to route the new ones through the chassis and up and over the frame in front of the gas tank. The bends made it difficult and you have to be careful not to kink any of them. A key lesson I learned was ensure new lines are routed in the right position / layering going up into the ABS module or they will not fit/group right. The bottom panel will not mount to the floor. When I started, I connected each line as they were installed but ended up having to disconnect all of them to to re-position the stacking order. Also there is very little room to install the rear lines from the calipers because of the short distance and bends that line up with the ABS module after installed up into the floor. You can connect all lines except the rear with the ABS protruding down from the floor. I was fortunate to have a convertible so I had some room to work from the top. I have worked on a lot to cars and many different areas but have to rate this as one of the toughest jobs! I used a brake bleeder vac pump to purge the air from the master cylinder back to the ABS. No question these were installed body off... Brakes are solid but now I am working more issues. This baby keeps on giving...

Rgds