How can you replace a brake line in a 92 Bonneville ssei?

Answer 1

I just finished replacing the brake lines on an '89 Bonneville LE...it's not hard to do, but make sure you plan it well.

You have two main options. You can cut the damaged section of the line out and splice in a new piece of line. Or, you can replace the entire line. Of course, if the end of the line is damaged, you have to at least replace that end.

First of all, check the end of the line to see whether it uses standard SAE inverted 45 degree flare or the metric bubble flare. The '89 used bubble flare. You can either look at the end of the line itself(compare to lines found at a parts store, they should have both types), or if the nut is seized in the hose and you can't see it, ask to look at the hose connector...if it is built to accept an inverted flare, the center of the fitting, around the hole, will be pushed out. You will need to put the same ends on the line you make. Long pieces of bubble flare can be hard to find, so it may be worth buying a piece of inverted flare and connecting bubble flare sections. I definitely recommend buying Cunifer, or alloy, lines instead of steel. They bend more easily, and if you have to tweak minor details once you start installing, it's nearly impossible with traditional steel lines. If you can't find a piece long enough with bubble flare, you can purchase an inverted flare tool fairly cheap from Sears or a parts store. Cut a bubble end in half and flare the cut end with the tool. Then use an end to end connector (found at parts store) to connect the bubble end to your line. Measure the length of line you need. With a tubing bender (or by hand with Cunifer, though a tubing bender makes the bends more precise anyway, and they're cheap) bend it into approximately the same shape as the line you're replacing. You can only splice in straight sections with a decent amount of clearance, so be sure to plan your splices ahead of time if you are patching (and if you needed to splice bubble ends...the connectors do take up a bit of space) and use the flare tool on the lines under the car if you are patching. Put the line in the car, tighten any end to end connectors you used, tweak the lines if they don't fit the original layout properly, and voila, you're done. Connect the hoses and bleed the brakes! (yes, I know that is a whole extra procedure, but this is already a ridiculously long post and there are plenty of brake bleeding threads out there)

Any time you flare a line, be SURE to put the fitting on first. If you don't, you'll have to cut off your new flare, put the fitting on, and then re-flare it.

Oh, and this website: www.fedhillusa.com is really useful. They have pictures of fittings, explain the flare and fittings (with pics) and describe Cunifer lines compared to steel.

Good luck...once you start, you'll see it's not that hard. It's just easy to realize you're missing a connector or fitting or something, so it can mean trips to the Auto store if you don't plan (or drop something, or whatever...)