Rear brake line replacement tips please

[Countax]

My 2001 MGf has MOT advisories for corroded rear brake lines. This looks like a real challenging job due to poor access.
I would welcome any tips on the best way to do this in a diy home garage environment. I have access to a set of ramps, axle stands, brake flair tool, brake pipe spanner’s etc.
It looks like the NS wheel needs to come off and arch liner removed for better access. Not sure about the OS pipe access though. Does it help to remove the engine cover behind the seats and get access from above eg air filter box removal? How much needs to be done from underneath with car on ramps?
Any tips greatly appreciated.
Nigel

[Charless]

Hi Nigel, Challenging but rewarding! I have replaced two OSR brake pipes with the tools you list so it is very doable with nothing more. The NSR run looks to be easier and is obviously shorter, but I don't know if you need to lose the air box as I haven't had to do NSR...yet!
You definitely need to remove the engine cover as the OSR runs above the wheel arch and is clipped there(where both of mine corroded). I jacked up both ends of the car for clearer access but I suspect ramps would do - just less space for moving around underneath.
I removed the old pipes (*sounds easy*) and used them to make up a rough copy in cunifer with the flare joints and union nuts. You will need to bend the new run to navigate 'obstacles' when offering it up so don't try and make a perfect copy. Cunifer is very forgiving so you can make it look smart once in.
Tips: Reseal the 3 way union as soon as you release the old pipe runs to prevent air ingress.
Protect your body, the car's body and driveway from brake fluid!
Have plenty of blue roll on hand.
Best tip: Wait till summer.

[Countax]

Hi Charless,
Many thanks for the reply. I’ve removed the engine cover and it looks like the OSR may be the easier of the two. It does seem there is an advantage to removing the air filter box to give alternative access to the tee piece if the NSR wheel arch access is restricted.
Hopefully I will have a go next week once I get some Cunifer tubing.
Nigel

[Notanumber]

I ordered a ready made front to rear pipe in cunifer from an Ebay seller as I didnt have the flaring tools. It was only five or six pounds more than the materials would have cost.
I dont remember the job being particularly hard, just a bit time consuming and fiddly as I had to remove the underbody plate, which needed a lot of 10mm bolts undoing. I put the car on axle stands front and rear which gave enough access. Once the old pipe was removed I replicated the bends in the new cunifer pipe and refitted. Inevitably some of the plastic clips broke and as I didnt have the foresight to order replacements I repaired with small cable ties whilst running the pipe. My advice would be buy some clips to have at the ready. This was on my previous TF which was a non ABS car, not sure if the pipe runs are significantly different for those with ABS.

[Rob Bell]

This thread might be helpful:
https://www.mgfregister.org/forum/viewt ... 9&p=201117

I need to do the same repairs on my old '95 MGF - it basically needs everything aft of the front bulkhead replacing. It should not be too difficult, but I foresee removing the unions from the rear T-junction as being the most painful part - and thinking about it now, it may be a good idea just to buy a new one just in case ready for the job!

[Countax]

Many thanks for all the tips. I finally got the new flex pipes today and finished off the job.
Here are my key learnings for my 2001 MGf.
The unions on the tee were 11mm and the ones connected to the flex hose are 10mm.
As pointed out by Rob in the link above, the flares on the pipes differ at each end. At the tee they are DIN whilst at the flex pipe end they are SAE. I was lucky to have a friend who owns the local Land Rover independent and he allowed me to use his flaring tool to create my flares.
The unions on the tee were incredibly tight and access with a pipe spanner was not easy due to the sound proofing material behind the tee. I was able to remove the feed pipe to the tee, then remove the tee from the bulkhead and pull it with the two old pipes still connected closer to the NS wheel arch. Here I had better access to use a set of pipe pliers to hold the tee firmly whilst undoing the old pipe unions.
Old pipes were carefully removed from the clips, luckily none of them broke. NS pipe came out through the NS wheel arch, OS pipe came out through the OS wheel arch.
New pipes made up using Cunifer 3/16 tube. Getting an exact copy of the pipe bends and direction is a bit of a challenge, but the Cunifer is quite forgiving. Access to clip the pipes into the clips is a right pain. I used the rubber end of the MGf wheel brace to push them in.
Bled the system with fresh dot 4 fluid NSR first, OSR second, OSF third, NSF last.
I would say it’s not the worst job to do on an F, but it’s well up there due to pipe clip access and the Tee location.
Thanks for all the tips and links to other posts, especially the flare link as this had me stumped until I found it last week whilst researching why my flare looked different to an SAE flare.
Nigel

[Countax]

Just to clarify the union sizes, I meant spanner size for the unions, not the thread size.
Nigel

[Notanumber]

Thats a good write up. I like the neat deployment of the wheelbrace to push the pipe into the mounting clips

[talkingcars]

I used a premade kit on mine too, much easier than trying to guess.

I had my engine lowered at the time making access a bit easier but this is defiantly an engine cover off job.