Brake pipes!!!!!

TopCat1127

TopCat1127

Club Member
Sep 25, 2006
12,431
6,618
Middle of a field..........nr Huntingdon
Hi All,
Been meaning to post this for a while now, so here goes.......

Somewhere in the depths of the backend of our beloved Cougars is something which quite possibly could cause us a lot of aggro, and I mean right up to the full checkout syndrome!!!!

The design engineers in their infinite wisdom, decided to hide the rear brake pipes up above the rear subframe which, to be honest is very difficult, bordering impossible to inspect!!

The two rear brake pipes run down the right hand chassis rail and up along that rail all the way back to the rear subframe, both pipes then go to the centre of the car where they cross from front to rear of the subframe, then back out to their respective wheel arches.

Now the worst bit i came across was the front side of the rear subframe, in the corner of the chassis rail above where the fuel filler enters the tank.

Couple of pics to show.......

In this one you can see the brake pipe crossing the chassis rail in the top left of the pic, it then follows the chassis forward and centre before crossing the lightweight box section before returning to the chassis rail and going forwards

14192170_10205835634564826_6909706358598311765_n.jpg

This one shows the right hand chassis rail by the fuel tank, note the connector unions on the right........

14344786_10205889908961652_1465226910734029171_n.jpg

.....which are on the left here........both pipes in this corner were not only just fragile, but with a minor......and i emphasise MINOR movement, one of the pipes actually cracked in two, with instant fluid loss!!!

14322698_10205889909241659_4167846163318112401_n.jpg

Check your pipes people.......one day you may need them!!!

- - - Updated - - -

I'm hoping that this is waved under the noses of all newbies and current club mechs........this is not something to be ignored!!

If mods can sticky or make public then please feel free to do so
 
TopCat1127 said:
.....which are on the left here........both pipes in this corner were not only just fragile, but with a minor......and i emphasise MINOR movement, one of the pipes actually cracked in two, with instant fluid loss!!!

View attachment 7265

Check your pipes people.......one day you may need them!!!
Click to expand...

Tony, if you don't mind I'd like to add something:

Beause of the inaccessibility of these pipes, they do not show up on an MOT so although the MOT is a safety check, it has its limitations. The testers know this so, depending on your tester, they may just fail the car anyway if the bits they can see are in any way corroded. The assumption they make is that what they can't see may well be worse.

In the case of Jinxy - much like Goblin - this was very much true. My tester passed her, but advised that the journey home should be the last one before a suspect section was replaced. When Shirtyzeus and I got her up in the air and chopped the section out, it literally fell in half. Literally a few brake applications away from puncturing.

Kate wasn't anywhere near as bad in terms of imminent failure, but the corrosion was far more widespread. The same tester failed her until several feet of pipe were replaced by me and Procomm.

Now, these checks and replcement are within the ability of a competent home mechanic - though I strongly recommend doing this as a 2-man job, with someone who has done it before. Practice flaring on some scrap pipe first. It only requires a mini pipe cutter and joint flarer, which you can get for around £30.

Get under there and have a look. If you're in any doubt, call out! We're a family and like any family we want its members to be safe.


Lastly, the truth is that if you own a car that's the thick end of 20 years old, you really need to be a competent home mechanic. Or make friends with one... quickly. You're on borrowed time otherwise.

Like Tony, you need to be proactive, not reactive to problems.
 
just an agreement with Tony and Chris, helped a mate on his mk2 mondy failed on brake pipes front to rear (we had a pit so did mostly by feel above tank) when we touched the pipes above the tank put slight bend to aid removal and they broke away, think that an emergency stop would have finished them at any time
 
Agree with this 100% , its one of those things that can be taken for granted. Everybody might be thinking of brake pads and discs but the lines often get forgotten about.

Had one snap before on a megane when changing a caliper, looked in good condition near the caliper but further up the line where it snapped was rusted to nothing
 
They are a pain. I did mine on my old Mk1 mondy but i put a union joint in there. Threading the pipe around the subby is doable but a lot of blind work involved, much better doing it with the subby out of the way. Iirc the job was done on S97 when i had her and checked on DG but they were ok. Definately one to check on.
 
Spring approaches followed by a long hot summer. Ideal times to get these pipes checked over. As Tony said, if you've recently bought a cougar, get it up on the ramps or jacks/stands and have a meaningful check of these pipes. They'll save your life.
 
I'd not seen this before so it is an excellent reminder. I once had a pipe that someone had inadvertently 'touched' with an angle grinder. MOT testers missed it and it too cracked in two.

What I find a little odd these days is that the MOT people are always moaning about something on the pipes. I can understand underseal covering stuff, but I was always taught to show care and respect of brake pipes by inspecting them and cleaning with wire wool / oil / grease before an MOT to make their life easier and to demonstrate that I had taken the time / care to inspect them from end to end. It seems counterproductive these days...
 
I agree with you Noel, insofar as it's true that they put a lot of focus on them. Kind of understandable if you think about it though... Trouble is, you have two types of people:

1) Knows the pipes are corroded; just throws some grease on to cover up the rot knowing that it will end with an advisory of "Brake pipes contaminated preventing inspection." Slaps on magnetic taxi logos and heads off into the night.

2) Checks the pipes, glasses and cleans where necessary, replaces sections where necessary, greases to protect. Presents an honest and safe car to the tester and hopefully survives another year without being hit by anyone in category 1).

To the tester (assuming s/he doesn't know you), that's the same thing even if the intent and end result is different. And they have a license to protect. My tester knows me and trusted me to get Jinxy home and inspect everything. And he was absolutely right - I drove that Tomcat home like she was about to spit brake fluid at any second, and it turns out she nearly did. But I don't think that most people would get that latitude, and nor should they.
 
Basically if you suspect a pipe may be a bit suspect, ask yourself, do you trust your life on it?
Replacement is way easier than the alternative!!

From memory you can yank the old pipes and reroute with the subby in situ, but route them through the subby, just be aware that when you drop the subby later that those pipes will have to come out to aid removal of the subby, but still good for mot
 
This is something ive never done before and this seems like a good place to ask & also have the information for people from the future ;)

I can see the obvious remove the old pipe, bend new pipe to shape and reinstall and bleed down the brakes but

What special tools are required and how do you use them?
 
Dan, are you going to be at Combe? If so I will bring the tools and some scrap pipe/fittings if you'd like to have a go?
 
I had mine replaced with Cooper ones when I had my subframe changed, false economy if you do not, must get the forward set changed over at some point .
 
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