During a routine oil change back during the summer I saw that the line going from the distribution block in the front and back to the rear of the car was damp in an area. The section of line that was damp was badly rusted and flaking apart in that area. I quit driving the car except to move it around the driveway at times while I looked for replacement lines. Since the car sits outside all the time and isn't driven regularly I would prefer stainless steel so I wouldn't have to worry about this again. I started researching places that could supply the lines. Inline Tube had what I needed. They carried a 7 piece set of preformed brake lines for 1977-1987 Impala (Caprice) wagons. I ordered the stainless steel set, part # SCFB7702, for $180. I could have gone the OEM route for $155, part # CFB7702, but I didn't want to have to worry about this problem again.

The lines showed up several days after placing the order and I just had to wait for a good weekend to tackle this project since it would have to be done outside. Labor day weekend turned out to be perfect.

Here's the wagon raised up outside in the driveway. Having a lift would have been nice for this operation. I did this as safe as I could do without a lift since I'd be spending quite some time under there. I drove the car up the ramps in the front, they would hold the heaviest part, the engine. I had bought 4 identical jackstands at Sears months ago, so after raising the back of the car I placed them under there......all 4! Once the rear wheels were off they were stacked under the rear bumper as added insurance. You observant people may notice that I had welded "pads" to the bottom of the jackstands. This is so they don't sink into the driveway. Craftsman just leaves the ends of the angle iron for feet.

 

 

 

Here's the new line that goes from the front to the back. It's all CNC prebent and has all the ends installed. This made it easy for installation, not having to try to bend and flare the stainless steel tubes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a close up of one of the preformed ends. They all came with the plastic protective caps so the threads wouldn't get damaged and also keep any crap out. Right before being installed I still blew the lines out with compressed air jus to make sure nothing was in them, a good practice to do when doing this type of work.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the leaking line (no kidding!). As soon as I began removing it it broke and brake fluid REALLY started coming out. With a pan underneath I let it drain until it stopped before I finished removing it. Using my flare nut wrench set the lines came off easily, I was surprised. If you're using regular open end wrenches you run a much greater chance of rounding over the nuts with this type of work.

This picture is looking at the inside of the drivers side frame rail looking forward. That's the drivers front wheel visible on the ramp.

 

 

 

This photo was taken from a slightly different angle than the one just above after the new line was installed. I fed it over the cross member, screwed both ends on loosely and then resnapped it into the clips. I then tightened, loosed slightly, and retightened the nuts several times. I did this since I was using the original junction blocks and wanted to make sure the new flares seated themselves.

 

 

 

 

This is a closeup of the new line installed on the proportioning valve located under the drivers side front.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the rear portion of the same line as above. This is where it connects to the adapter. Connected to the otherside of the adapter is the rubber line that goes to the rear axle. The line next to it is the fuel line, they share the same clips. The bolt and plate in the center is where one of the rear (2nd seat) seatbelts is fastened.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a closeup of one of the lines from the rear axle. It's a little blurry but the line is rusted and weak where the bend is. They were the next lines I replaced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the best shot I could get of the new axle lines since they're run on top of the axle housing. You can see the rubber line coming down from the top left of the picture to the junction block mounted on top of the pumpkin. From there the new lines go directly to the wheel cylinders. As I did before, I loosened and tightened them several times to make sure they seated. The line going to the passenger side had to be tweaked slightly to line up to the wheel cylinder. It was about a 1/2" short. I eased the bends a bit and it reached with no problems.

 

 

 

Now all that was left was to bleed the brakes. I made sure the bleeders weren't frozen and preceded to fill the reservoir with fresh DOT 3 fluid. I had just bought one of those hand pump bleeders and decided to try it out. When bleeding brakes you have to start from the furthest wheel from the master cylinder and work closer which means in most cases the right rear goes first, then left rear, then right front, and finally the left front (drivers side). After 20 minutes with the hand pump I gave up with it. It definitely had a suction but I never got any fluid with it. I don't know if it wasn't working right, I wasn't using it right, or my best guess, that it would take awhile since most of the lines were dry since they were new. The fluid had definitely gone down in the master cylinder, as I kept refilling it,  but I didn't know how much longer I'd have to pump with my tired hands. Time for "Plan B".

I waited for someone else to come home. We would bleed them the old fashioned way. They got into the car and started it, the red brake warning light was on. I kept going around opening the bleeders as they pressed the brake pedal and held it until I closed the bleeder. Once I got fluid from the first one I went to the next. I kept an eye on the fluid level and added it as needed while doing this and also keeping an eye for any leaks underneath. I did have to retighten the main line at the rear block. This may also have been a cause for the hand pump to not have worked. Once they all were bled I went back and did it again several times to make sure there wasn't any air in the system. The first few times the warning light would flicker on and off but it didn't stay permanently off until I had gone back and forth a few times. The brake pedal also got gradually more firmer. The fluid was also darker when I started but it lightened up as the fresh fluid reached the wheels.

Next the rear wheels were put back on and the car was taken off the jack stands and ramps. I drove it around our street and it braked fine. The job was a success!

If you're not comfortable working on brakes or not sure what to do I advise to leave it to the pros!

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