jmoss5723 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 This seems like a pretty common issue on the oldest of the "New Gen" cars, and one they've issued a recall for on the newer ones. This little 4 way connector and its associated lines rust out BAD and leak. This isn't my picture, but it shows the part. Mine actually looks worse! This is where the hard lines exit the cabin under the rear seat and go off to the right and left rear wheels. It seem like everyone cuts the old lines off inside the cabin and couples new lines onto the old ones to keep the couplings in out of the elements (like it should have been from the factory...) I'm wondering if there is a good write up that I haven't been able to track down myself for repairing this. If not, maybe I'll have to make one. I wish I knew approximately how much brake line to buy at least. Anyone have any idea, or am I going to have to tear the car apart and figure it out for myself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 i've just sort of guessed - car is so many feet wide - roughly note where end point is and subtract/add for that - add one foot for a significant bend - has always got me close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Was your car part of the recall for rustproofing of the brake lines? My 05 and 08 were recalled twice for this condition. Check with a dealer or better yet, call SOA to see if there is any remedy. While the area for recalls may be regional (the rust belt states) you could always make a case that the recall didn't go far enough and that you/your car often make trips to areas where road salt is used?? edit: just saw you are from Pa. surely part of the rust belt there. Edited June 8, 2015 by brus brother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmoss5723 Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 Was your car part of the recall for rustproofing of the brake lines? My 05 and 08 were recalled twice for this condition. Check with a dealer or better yet, call SOA to see if there is any remedy. While the area for recalls may be regional (the rust belt states) you could always make a case that the recall didn't go far enough and that you/your car often make trips to areas where road salt is used?? edit: just saw you are from Pa. surely part of the rust belt there. I have an annoying issue - My car was made for and originally sold by Subaru Canada. The original owner lived in Canada before moving to the US. In the past when I've called SOA, they tell me I'm SOL unless I can get help from Subaru Canada. One time Subaru Canada paid for recall work at a US dealership, which was nice. I called them today to see if they could help me with my brake lines and they basically said that it was not covered under the recall and very unapologetically let me know that there was nothing they could (would) do. They suggested I take it to a dealership and see if they'd help me out. I'll just fix it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I have an annoying issue - My car was made for and originally sold by Subaru Canada. The original owner lived in Canada before moving to the US. In the past when I've called SOA, they tell me I'm SOL unless I can get help from Subaru Canada. One time Subaru Canada paid for recall work at a US dealership, which was nice. I called them today to see if they could help me with my brake lines and they basically said that it was not covered under the recall and very unapologetically let me know that there was nothing they could (would) do. They suggested I take it to a dealership and see if they'd help me out. I'll just fix it myself. Batsards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmoss5723 Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 A good tip for anyone tackling this or other brake line replacements: Buy online! If you look hard enough you might be able to find this stuff even cheaper, but I got this 25' roll of copper nickel alloy brake line with 15 fittings on amazon for $40 including shipping, which beats the heck out of the closest comparison at Advance for $75! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 A good tip for anyone tackling this or other brake line replacements: Buy online! If you look hard enough you might be able to find this stuff even cheaper, but I got this 25' roll of copper nickel alloy brake line with 15 fittings on amazon for $40 including shipping, which beats the heck out of the closest comparison at Advance for $75! Advance has tremendous discount codes online - $40 off $100 and gobs of others - your $75 order probably could have been $50...still more expensive but local. What I often do on a $75 order is get $25 of other stuff I need (brake fluid, shop towels, air filter, sealant, grease, MMO) - to get to $100 - then use the $40 off coupon for a total of $60. Only $20 more than Amazon but you got $25 more additional stuff. Not perfect but local is sometimes nice and you can still get a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) yeah, i was always envious of folks who had AA near them and now, it seems a carQuest I have used in the past is AA so, I should be able to take advantage of their discounts in the future! um - do you order on-line for shipment or store pick-up? how's it work? Edited June 9, 2015 by 1 Lucky Texan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) yeah, i was always envious of folks who had AA near them and now, it seems a carQuest I have used in the past is AA so, I should be able to take advantage of their discounts in the future! um - do you order on-line for shipment or store pick-up? how's it work? you order online and you can choose either one, have it shipped ($75+ is free shipping) or pick it up at your local store. if it's in stock - you order online, enter the code for a huge discount, and drive over there and pick it up, i think they request 30 minutes for processing. i suggest not paying with paypal - it's confused some returns i've had in the past. i met a friend on the interstate last year with a blown radiator. limped it to the off ramp where an advance auto parts was. from a cell phone i bought a radiator for $90, added some antiseize or coolant to get it to $100, then got the $40 off for a total of $60. all done from the cell phone in the parking lot, walked in and picked it up and installed the radiator in the parking lot. he was only an hour late for work. you can only choose "local pick up" if the store has it in stock. which it readily shows you on the computer screen if they have it or not. Subarus are common here so they have most things in stock. if they don't have it in stock - they can order something you want - get it in - then you place the order online. they can get most parts in a day. but it is a very convoluted process for them, so I'd be surprised if they do it more than expect them too. probably depends how nice they are, how well you know them and how busy the store is. it's somewhat of a convoluted process on their end for a few reasons. one of the other AAP in town i can nearly promise would never do that, they are much busier and much more picky about things - like letting friends pick up parts for me, or i pick up parts someone else ordered, etc. the one i go to lets me do darn near anything and are super nice. Edited June 9, 2015 by grossgary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmoss5723 Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) The thread is pretty well derailed now, so I'll just stay for the ride! I pretty much only buy from Advance if I have NO other choice. Even with their discounts, they're WAY more expensive than Rock Auto, they don't seem to have as many different brand options as I'd like, and it drives me nuts when I need something like a caliper bracket and they only have complete calipers. Don't get me wrong. For picking up stuff for an oil change, or a part that I need right now, I'll always go to Advance, but overall I'm not that impressed. Plus, I hate going in there and they all act like they know more than me (and I wish they did!), but they are so often wrong or believe the computer over me when I know exactly which parts I put on my car and I'm yes I know that it is not the stock part. My bottom line is that Advance is nice to have right down the road when I need something today, but if it can wait, I'll always ship it in from somewhere else that is cheaper, has more options, and lets me pick what I need with no hassle or condescending. Edited June 9, 2015 by jmoss5723 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comatosellama Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 The thread is pretty well derailed now, so I'll just stay for the ride! I pretty much only buy from Advance if I have NO other choice. Even with their discounts, they're WAY more expensive than Rock Auto, they don't seem to have as many different brand options as I'd like, and it drives me nuts when I need something like a caliper bracket and they only have complete calipers. Don't get me wrong. For picking up stuff for an oil change, or a part that I need right now, I'll always go to Advance, but overall I'm not that impressed. Plus, I hate going in there and they all act like they know more than me (and I wish they did!), but they are so often wrong or believe the computer over me when I know exactly which parts I put on my car and I'm yes I know that it is not the stock part. My bottom line is that Advance is nice to have right down the road when I need something today, but if it can wait, I'll always ship it in from somewhere else that is cheaper, has more options, and lets me pick what I need with no hassle or condescending. Rock auto's shipping is it's killer for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 pardon the derailment. the advance i go to is super cool. rockauto is good and cheap and having stuff show up on the doorstep is fantastic. and sometimes the closeouts are sickly priced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) Rock auto's shipping is it's killer for me ha ha ha i just deleted that comment from my response. shipping A, B, C, D, E, F, G....what do you mean it's a convoluted time sucking juggling process!??!?!? i get why it's like that, but it does take time to manuever and orchestrate a large order without getting 4 huge shipping charges. Edited June 9, 2015 by grossgary 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmoss5723 Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 ha ha ha i just deleted that comment from my response. shipping A, B, C, D, E, F, G....what do you mean it's a convoluted time sucking juggling process!??!?!? i get why it's like that, but it does take time to manuever and orchestrate a large order without getting 4 huge shipping charges. Coordinating shipping to get items from the same warehouse can be a little bit frustrating. My shipping prices from them are usually just a few bucks and even with the shipping cost it is so much cheaper than buying from anywhere else. Plus the time I spend coordinating warehouses in my living room is time I'm not spending in line at the store, or waiting at traffic lights on the way there. And the 10% that I get off of every order generally offsets the shipping cost anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Was just under my car earlier replacing the rusted out filler tube ($4.99 junkyard pull looks like "new") and was grimacing looking at the brake lines back there. I like that kit on Amazon. Rockauto often has very cheap shipping on some parts, then sometimes it's just outrageous! For some reason I can get a 3ft long 15lb exhaust pipe shipped for $6, but to get a box of 2 camber adjustment bolts it costs $9.50?! I hate to pay more for shipping than the fergin part costs. With RA it kinda depends on how far you are from the warehouse the parts shop from. I've often ordered multiple items and had the order show up in 6 different boxes from their different warehouses in Texas, New York, Florida, etc. Sometimes its cheaper to combine shipping by ordering parts from the same warehouse, sometimes its cheaper to pay an extra dollar for the part and get it from a closer warehouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comatosellama Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Was just under my car earlier replacing the rusted out filler tube ($4.99 junkyard pull looks like "new") and was grimacing looking at the brake lines back there. I like that kit on Amazon. Rockauto often has very cheap shipping on some parts, then sometimes it's just outrageous! For some reason I can get a 3ft long 15lb exhaust pipe shipped for $6, but to get a box of 2 camber adjustment bolts it costs $9.50?! I hate to pay more for shipping than the fergin part costs. With RA it kinda depends on how far you are from the warehouse the parts shop from. I've often ordered multiple items and had the order show up in 6 different boxes from their different warehouses in Texas, New York, Florida, etc. Sometimes its cheaper to combine shipping by ordering parts from the same warehouse, sometimes its cheaper to pay an extra dollar for the part and get it from a closer warehouse. I guess I'm just spoiled when it comes to shipping because there's a place in town that can deliver pretty much any import parts to you within hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmoss5723 Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 Brake line update (sorry to derail the auto parts store debate!) I got both lines replaces with little incident. Everything came apart easily (because I just cut he old lines off and used a socket to remove the flair nuts near the calipers) and went together without incident. And only had to redo one flair because I forgot to put a nut on. Just one! Let me just say that the copper nickel lines are SO easy to work with. They flair nicely, bend nicely; I love them. I was going to do a write-up on this fix, but it is so simple that one is not needed. I'll take a few pics of my finished product when I bleed it all out and check for leaks tonight. If you see the pictures, it is all pretty self-explanatory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.