Brake Lines Rusted Thru: Questions On ?

I don't know about typical, but it happens. Salt corrodes lines and it is not about mileage. Your car is about 9 years old now.

Are you nuts? Do you have any idea how much that would cost? Since when has ANY auto maker cared what happen to their cars after the warranty expires. Their answer: You should have bought another of one our fine cars by now, then you would not have these problems

Garage is correct. Some import car makers do sell complete lines, GM does not. In fact, I work at a Saab dealership and we sell the 9-7X, which is the same platform as the Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, and the Buick something or other. I noticed in the $12K worth of tools that Saab made us buy, there was a kit for flaring brake lines.

Sorry it has a really long time since I saw the underside of a Buick(Not counting the 9-7X). I would imagine +- 5 hrs depending on how hidden the lines are. Fabrication is not cut and dry kind of work. This is NOT a place to be cheap. You lived to tell your tale this time. You might not be so lucky next time.

One possibility would be to splice the lines. Cut back to good stuff and section in the new line. If this is done, DO NOT USE COMPRESSION FITTINGS OR SINGLE LIP FLARING, USE ONLY BUBBLE OR DOUBLE LIP FLARING!!!!

Don't even think of using anything except steel or if you can find it, stainless steel(brass fittings are OK). I would use steel and then undercoat to protect them.

Good luck, Steve

Well, chances are a trip to the dealer will cost you 50 to 75% more. Plus what ever there standard check/diagnostic out fee to tell you what you already know.

You have two choices with the lines. Bend to fit raw tubing and flair the ends, or buy pre cut and flared parts with the fittings already installed. I had the same thing happen on my 86 B2000 Mazda. Being that flaring is somewhat of a art and i had never done it before, i went the pre cut line with fitting route. Keep in mind there are different flares and types of fittings.

Using the old lines as a template, i bent what i could with a rounded tubing bender off the truck and then had to bend the rest when it was on the truck. Then i had to put a small loop in one of the lines to compensate for a slightly too long line. It took me awhile, but i did it myself.

My guess is the worst line will always be the long line from front to back. If that's the line they replaced, you may be OK for the short term anyway. The short lines to the front brakes should be OK. The rubber flex hoses should be OK in a car that new, but an inspection is a good idea.

Call some independent shops and see if they want to take on the project. Don't expect an exact quote unless they give you a high ball figure off the top. good luck.

Bob

Check your metallurgy, Robert.

Stainless steel in salt environments often performs like crap. Chloride cracking is an issue. Stainless steel is really not that expensive anymore, but it is probably an error in materials engineering, unless you go to duplex or other materials. Low 300's stainless is pretty poor in this type of service.

It is common to take generic lines and bend them to fit, or to fabricate new lines. It is not rocket science.

Dealerships might not offer you a loaner car, but they will often 'drive you home'. Check the dealerships if you like, but check out good independent shops too.

If you do it yourself you might get lucky and find a wrecker in your area that's a u-pull-it with your vehicle, and you can obtain factory brake lines from it. Most likely though, they would be rotted as well.

The big concern though is did this line rust from the outside-in, or from the inside-out? Look at around the area where the burst happened. Is there other corrosion or is it really clean. If it's clean the line might have had water in it which rotted the line from the inside.

Ted

Have you ever changed your brake fluid? Is it very humid where you store your car? Brake fluid will absorb moisture out of the air. That moisture in your brake fluid will cause your brake components to rust from the inside out.

------------ Alex

Actually, many car companies recommned you change your brake fluid every two years. I doubt the OP had this done. So don't completely blame the car company.

---------------- Alex

Driving oldish GM in the Northeast, I've found that often, when the brake lines rot, the body rails are in pretty bad shape, too. A '97 doesn't seem that old, but you might want to check - the car might not be worth saving.