Is it okay to replace a leaking brake pipe with custom copper one? cars failed MOT

dimension7

Ford Fiesta 2006 Diesel.

Took my car for MOT at the Coventry Council Center after a thorough test the tester spotted offside rear brake pipe (metal) was burst and brake fluid oozing out. Epic Fail!

Don't live around Coventry so not knowledgeable about local garages. Not knowing any better I called up Ford dealerships, one quoted £270 . Others said "Book it in and we'll tell you only after we have seen it".

Had a chat with couple taxi drivers having their MOT done at the same time and one recommended a small garage that also did MOTs. Called them up and they said bring it in, will cost around £60 :money:. Went there and not a fancy posh garage, but the guys were cool. They had a look and said they could remove the leaky one, build a custom copper brake pipe and get it sorted in 1.5 hours, £60 all in. Given my choices at the time, I decided to get it done as I didn't want to be driving a car leaking brake fluid. They did the job while I waited and watched. They seem to know what they were doing, were pretty confident. I asked a couple of question towards the end, guy explained me what he had done, flared the ends of the pipe etc etc... Again pretty confident.

Okay so the car should pass MOT now, re-test booked, but for now I have a copper pipe fitted instead of a original ford pre-bent pipe. Is that a big deal? I don't know. Should I order an original ford part and ask my local garage to fit it replacing the copper job? Or should I leave it until it becomes a problem again?

How much would you normally expect to pay for this kind of job?

nologo

be no problem, although it's probably a copper/nickel pipe , made hundreds myself & as long as it's secured properly ,doesn't chaff of foul on any surrounding parts or leak.its a pass.

salubrious

Agree with the post above - This is the general practice when replacing corroded brake pipes.

MX5huggy

Its job done don't think about it again, just expect the pipe on the other side to go sometime.

EdGasket

The problem comes when you get the long run pipe fail from front to back; then you are in the realms of maybe dropping the fuel tank to get the pipe run in or cutting and splicing onto an existing steel pipe using compression joints (legally OK but the MoT boys don't like those type of repairs).
Anyone repaired petrol fuel pipes with either copper or plastic? Be interested to hear as I have some steel ones gone rusty.

caprikid1

Most Classic cars have not option regarding the pipes.


I would argue that the copper ones are better !!!!.


Regarding Fuel pipe, Austin A30/A35 owners club supply these are standard, mine had rusted.

EdGasket

The copper ones are better in the sense that they won't rust but worse because

1) The walls are thinner and can take less pressure than steel
2) The copper will work- harden and break if there is any movement

The best option is steel pipes properly protected with a corrosion-proof covering of some sort. Though for most normal use, copper pipe is fine so long as it is not flapping around.

s_b

EdGasket wrote: »

The copper ones are better in the sense that they won't rust but worse because

1) The walls are thinner and can take less pressure than steel
2) The copper will work- harden and break if there is any movement

The best option is steel pipes properly protected with a corrosion-proof covering of some sort. Though for most normal use, copper pipe is fine so long as it is not flapping around.

if you buy the proper stuff from your local motor factor then it will say on the wrapper that it far exceeds the requirements for the braking system
remember this copper pipe is NOT the same stuff that gas fitters use
oh and it corrodes so i always film them with basic grease after fitting and also sheave it in any clips liable to cut into it over time

EdGasket

Not sure what the proper 'stuff' is? Maybe you mean cupro-nickel or kunifer? Anyway the OP was discussing copper so that is what I answered.

As an aside, cupro-nickel brake pipes were first introduced by Volvo as a response to corroding steel lines. Various tests in Sweden have proved that it's virtually as strong as steel (within 10%), doesn't work-harden, and doesn't corrode. One test used a length of 30-year-old pipe taken from a rotten Volvo in a scrapyard, and it tested as good as new. There's a reason it's still used by Volvo, and now Porsche, Audi, and many others...