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[Alex W]

I have to replace/repair corroded brake lines to get through my next MOT. I haven't been underneath to have a look yet so I don't know the full extent but last years MOT advisory was warning of "slight corrosion" to :

Nearside Front to Rear
Off side Front to Rear
Near Side Rear
Offside Rear
Offside Front

It sounds like the lot need replacing/repairing. My local independent garage has quoted just under £300 to do the job but it looks like something I might be able to do myself.

What diameter are the pipes? All the ones on fleabay seem to be 3/16 copper at roughly £12 for 25 feet. Is that the right type?

Are the connectors Metric or AF or do I have to choose? Are they a particular type of connector?

Apart from pipe and connectors it seems I will need:

On-Car flaring Tool
Pipe cutter
Pipe bender?
Flare Nut Spanner
Brake Fluid

Anything else I've forgotten/need to know about.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Nick W]

Don't buy copper pipe, you want kunifer. Your local motor factor will have that, at about the price you mentioned. 3/16 is the size.

Omegas use metric fittings, buy a pack each of male and female; they're only a few quid.

You don't NEED flare spanners, they're just nice to have.

The cheap flare-on-the-car tools are very tricky to achieve consistently good results with. A good tool is by Automec, but it does cost about £100.

You don't need a bending tool either, although a good one makes nice tight bends close to the fittings easy. Avoid the ones that Machine Mart etc sell as they're hopeless. Automec do one that looks crap, but works very well. I''ll dig out some links when I get home.

Whatever tool you use, the pipe needs to be cut square, and deburred inside and out. A small rotating pipe cutter is about a fiver from B&Q etc and is recommended.

Bear in mind that the advisories could just be the tester covering his arse; you might not need to do anything.

[Bigron]

Testers vary in their opinions! I was told once that as long as you cover the pipes with grease, they will assume that the pipes have been protected and will look no further.
Is there still a debate about copper vs steel, Nick?
Copper was frowned upon once because it was thought not to be able to withstand the pressure of modern hydraulics, then steel was discredited because of corrosion issues so copper came back in favour!

Ron.

[Andy B]

...
Is there still a debate about copper vs steel, Nick? ....

Nick suggested Cunifer (Cu-copper/Nickel/Fe-Iron) 

[Bigron]

Thanks for the clarification, Andy. That just shows how out of date I am; the last time I replaced any brake pipes was on my 1938 Morris 12!
Er - I did NOT buy it from new.......

Ron.

[terry paget]

I have been putting six Omegas/Senators through MOT every year for ten years. Testers often advise rusty brake pipes, but hardly ever fail them. When they do I check myself. I find some surface rust, but when I wire brush them and clean them with emery cloth they come up shiny and bright. Then the tester passes them.

I think there must be an instruction in the tester's manual that a well greased brake pipe is OK. I once witnessed a tester testing the car before mine, belonging, I presumed, to a friend. The tester smeared grease on the brake pipes wherever he could see surface rust.

In my pre-MOT preparation I always inspect brake pipes, and grease any that look dodgy.