Blew rear brake hardline - rear brake delete?

[E30 Wagen]

I had to slam on the brakes a couple days ago, and I blew the brake hardline that runs along the bottom of the car (it's very corroded/rusty). I looked at all the fittings and they're rusty too, so basically I'm looking at having to replace all the hardlines, which I don't have the time to do atm.

I only use my car to drive to work which is literally about a five minute drive, so I'm not that concerned about having no rear brakes until I get the time to replace them. What's the best way to go about cutting fluid off to that rear line?

edit: the car is a '86 325es with ABS

[bmw325csi]

:stupid:

sorry, couldn't find the popcorn smiley

[whodwho]

Please stay off the streets until you have a FULL functioning brake system, might be time to retire the car or hire out the work if you can't keep up with the maintenance. ;)

[bzboardz]

Please stay off the streets until you have a FULL functioning brake system

run to the junkyard and grab what you need for cheap

[Hey_You]

run to the junkyard and grab what you need for cheap

Literally...run

[E30 Wagen]

might be time to retire the car or hire out the work if you can't keep up with the maintenance. ;)

*sigh. currently browsing CL for a new DD...

I guess I was just being lazy and hoping somebody would reply, "Yeah, it's no big deal. I haven't had rear brakes since 2003..." so it would give me an excuse for my 5 minute drive to work.

[bmw325csi]

is it possible to repair the hard line with regular hose and clamps?

[jlevie]

is it possible to repair the hard line with regular hose and clamps?

NO!!! The pressure is way too high for that.

[E30 Wagen]

is it possible to repair the hard line with regular hose and clamps?

Nope, the entire line is garbage. It's really disappointing. Due to crazy rusty, it's not going to be an easy job at all. I guess I'm stuck driving my mom's e36 for a bit...

[Charley]

I only use my car to drive to work which is literally about a five minute drive

5min drive? then you can walk to work. Safer for you and everybody else.
Plus since this is R3V ITS CHEAP.

Charley

[Smelser]

well, I had my old Grandprix (my Bimmer is strictly a track car)

when the rear brakes blew ( I live in a place where they put about 400, 000 tons of salt on the road every winter)
I just crimped them with the side cutters and watched my brakefluid level. also I have seen it in racing where you dont want it known or seen you have a brake cut off, you take a tiny screw with what i call a panhead (widens out to the top on a nice sloping angle) You can insert that into the brake line at the output of the master cyl and bleed at the master like a brakeline. this will prevent fluid from flowing.
If its only for a bit BUY the bubble flare kit, some fittings and just run the new line with a roll of 3/16 brakeline its not that long of a job, one day, a buddy to help bleed the brakes and a micky of Cpt Morgans Dark rum.

Its no big deal if you know what you have, My silverado has an ABS problem where the brakes completly shut off when low speed braking, just drive like your a 90 yr old lady and go slow and easy!

[E30 Wagen]

Since my rear subframe is completely rusted, i've decided this is a good excuse to finally replace it with the one i saved from my parts car (325is), including the rear springs and sway bars. Since my calipers are also rusted bad I will be swapping those with the ones from my parts car, and installing new pads and rotors since those could stand to be replaced as well. I ordered the OEM brakeline, along with the splitter and the rubber lines, too. I will also take the opportunity to sandblast the underside and POR15 what I can, and then hit the entire area with some rubberized undercoating. Hopefully I won't have to do any welding.

I hate Michigan.

[fartingfool]

Where did it blow out exactly? If the line has rotted out enough, I doubt plugging or capping it work too well. If the brake fluid was never changed, it's probably rusted it from the inside-out as well; you did say the whole line is bad, but it may be possible to cut back until it's solid again (a good test is whether or not it will flare properly which is the main problem with bad hard brake lines) and crimp on a new fitting and continue running hard lines like others have said...This is fairly affordable (<$50? if you can get a double bubble flare, ebay has em for reasonable sometimes), but time consuming. It all depends on where it failed.

I'm with the majority of the people here, if you live 5 minutes from work grab a bicycle and tough it out until you get the time or come to a decision.

The engineer inside of me takes the challenge and suggests you try capping it at the master cylinder (maybe your ABS line that's fouled?) with an appropriate plug and thread. I imagine a bolt of the proper diameter with a bit of teflon tape would hold up there. I don't know how this will interact with the ABS pump though.

I will warn and say this though, about ~30% of your braking capacity still comes from the rear wheels; never mind if they lock up :(

Them's the "brakes" sadly :(

Edit: I guess you replied while I was typing. I'm assuming the T junction is where it failed and you have the right solution :) Good luck with the bushings and don't be afraid to replace them while you're there. You won't regret it.

[erik325i]

I ordered the OEM brakeline

Just in case you didn't already know, when you buy new brake hardlines, they don't come pre-bent. Now would be a good time to buy a small tubing bender.

[E30 Wagen]

Just in case you didn't already know, when you buy new brake hardlines, they don't come pre-bent. Now would be a good time to buy a small tubing bender.

Yeah, I came across a couple threads about this when i searched r3v. I didn't even know you could buy OEM lines still so I'm just really happy about that. My grandpa has a pipe bender I can borrow, so so far this project might not turn out to be as horrible as a thought.

I had given up hope of ever autocrossing my e30 because it wouldn't be worth doing all this work. Now i'm really glad I saved that rear subframe and i'll look forward to taking my bro autocrossing this summer.