E46 coupe brake pipes.
Discussion
Front to rear brake pipes on a 330ci, mine were advised last year,had this on my e36 very dear job as well.
When you have an advise does it automaticaly fail the next mot, can i rub em down and put layers of grease on em, or will the tester be looking for this.
Can you put a joint in the brakepipe, if not why not, this would make it alot more diy'able.
When you have an advise does it automaticaly fail the next mot, can i rub em down and put layers of grease on em, or will the tester be looking for this.
Can you put a joint in the brakepipe, if not why not, this would make it alot more diy'able.
Two years ago the front to rear brake pipes on My E36 were noted as an advisory due to corrosion.
Last year there was no mention of the brake pipes at all.
This year the brake pipes have been noted as an advisory again.
All three tests were carried out by the same MOT examiner!, go figure!
An advisory is not a guarantee of a failure at the next MOT, it's an indication of a possible failure at the next MOT.
Last year there was no mention of the brake pipes at all.
This year the brake pipes have been noted as an advisory again.
All three tests were carried out by the same MOT examiner!, go figure!
An advisory is not a guarantee of a failure at the next MOT, it's an indication of a possible failure at the next MOT.
Its no big deal if you do replace them, needn't be expensive. Replacement pipes can be safely and neatly routed around the fuel tank (instead of dropping the exhaust, tank etc...) - I did mine myself in less than 2 hours, on my drive - £10 in pipes, fluid and unions.
Stories of £300-£400 to replace 2 brake pipes always get to me, just garages seizing an opportunity to rip people off! Its not even very difficult to pull the old pipes from the top of the tank.
Stories of £300-£400 to replace 2 brake pipes always get to me, just garages seizing an opportunity to rip people off! Its not even very difficult to pull the old pipes from the top of the tank.
crosseyedlion said:
Its no big deal if you do replace them, needn't be expensive. Replacement pipes can be safely and neatly routed around the fuel tank (instead of dropping the exhaust, tank etc...) - I did mine myself in less than 2 hours, on my drive - £10 in pipes, fluid and unions.
Stories of £300-£400 to replace 2 brake pipes always get to me, just garages seizing an opportunity to rip people off! Its not even very difficult to pull the old pipes from the top of the tank.
^Stories of £300-£400 to replace 2 brake pipes always get to me, just garages seizing an opportunity to rip people off! Its not even very difficult to pull the old pipes from the top of the tank.
This.
There is no need to drop the tank - in fact I preferred not to
s m said:
crosseyedlion said:
Its no big deal if you do replace them, needn't be expensive. Replacement pipes can be safely and neatly routed around the fuel tank (instead of dropping the exhaust, tank etc...) - I did mine myself in less than 2 hours, on my drive - £10 in pipes, fluid and unions.
Stories of £300-£400 to replace 2 brake pipes always get to me, just garages seizing an opportunity to rip people off! Its not even very difficult to pull the old pipes from the top of the tank.
^Stories of £300-£400 to replace 2 brake pipes always get to me, just garages seizing an opportunity to rip people off! Its not even very difficult to pull the old pipes from the top of the tank.
This.
There is no need to drop the tank - in fact I preferred not to
4rephill said:
s m said:
crosseyedlion said:
Its no big deal if you do replace them, needn't be expensive. Replacement pipes can be safely and neatly routed around the fuel tank (instead of dropping the exhaust, tank etc...) - I did mine myself in less than 2 hours, on my drive - £10 in pipes, fluid and unions.
Stories of £300-£400 to replace 2 brake pipes always get to me, just garages seizing an opportunity to rip people off! Its not even very difficult to pull the old pipes from the top of the tank.
^Stories of £300-£400 to replace 2 brake pipes always get to me, just garages seizing an opportunity to rip people off! Its not even very difficult to pull the old pipes from the top of the tank.
This.
There is no need to drop the tank - in fact I preferred not to
crosseyedlion said:
Stories of £300-£400 to replace 2 brake pipes always get to me, just garages seizing an opportunity to rip people off! Its not even very difficult to pull the old pipes from the top of the tank.
To be fair, the correct method of fitting the brake pipes to factory standard is by running them over the top of the tank and securing them. This takes time to do correctly and it's the labour rate that runs the bill up, not the materials.To say it's just garages ripping people off is not really fair. The method of installation they use is the factory approved method, to do otherwise is technically a bodge job as it's not how the pipes were designed to be fitted.
If someone pays a garage to have their brake pipes replaced they expect a professional job to be done to and for the vehicle to be repaired to the same standard as it was when new.
If a garage were to re-route the brake pipes around the tank and something went wrong (pipe coming loose and getting ripped out for example), the garage would be liable to prosecution for the poor quality repair (as it was not to factory standard).
For Me personally, I'd rather spend the money and have the pipes routed correctly as BMW intended (it's not like you have to have it done every year after all, My original pipes have lasted 15 years and depite the advisories, they still pass the MOT).
If I bought a car and found that the pipes had not been replaced correctly, I'd start to wonder where other shortcuts had been taken with the cars servicing.
4rephill said:
To be fair, the correct method of fitting the brake pipes to factory standard is by running them over the top of the tank and securing them. This takes time to do correctly and it's the labour rate that runs the bill up, not the materials.
To say it's just garages ripping people off is not really fair. The method of installation they use is the factory approved method, to do otherwise is technically a bodge job as it's not how the pipes were designed to be fitted.
If someone pays a garage to have their brake pipes replaced they expect a professional job to be done to and for the vehicle to be repaired to the same standard as it was when new.
If a garage were to re-route the brake pipes around the tank and something went wrong (pipe coming loose and getting ripped out for example), the garage would be liable to prosecution for the poor quality repair (as it was not to factory standard).
For Me personally, I'd rather spend the money and have the pipes routed correctly as BMW intended (it's not like you have to have it done every year after all, My original pipes have lasted 15 years and depite the advisories, they still pass the MOT).
If I bought a car and found that the pipes had not been replaced correctly, I'd start to wonder where other shortcuts had been taken with the cars servicing.
You pays your money you take your choice.To say it's just garages ripping people off is not really fair. The method of installation they use is the factory approved method, to do otherwise is technically a bodge job as it's not how the pipes were designed to be fitted.
If someone pays a garage to have their brake pipes replaced they expect a professional job to be done to and for the vehicle to be repaired to the same standard as it was when new.
If a garage were to re-route the brake pipes around the tank and something went wrong (pipe coming loose and getting ripped out for example), the garage would be liable to prosecution for the poor quality repair (as it was not to factory standard).
For Me personally, I'd rather spend the money and have the pipes routed correctly as BMW intended (it's not like you have to have it done every year after all, My original pipes have lasted 15 years and depite the advisories, they still pass the MOT).
If I bought a car and found that the pipes had not been replaced correctly, I'd start to wonder where other shortcuts had been taken with the cars servicing.
The pipes were only routed over the tank to help efficiency in the factory/an oversight.
As a mechanic and engineer, I would much rather have my pipework routed (very neatly and securely) around the tank and not out of sight, rather than one bursting out of sight and very rapidly leaving me with no brakes (the braking system on these is shocking if one line fails - even though it should be a split system)
I wouldn't call it a bodge job, just a revision. I do see your point with regards to the liability of the workshop, although they would have a difficult job proving that to be the cause of any mishaps.
If you're worried about things being done to factory standards, I would wager that and replaced brake lines do not use the original-type steel that BMW decided in all their wisdom to use, but copper items. (I strongly suspect this was down to reducing cost on BMW's part, but is also the cause of the corrosion) Rendering it pointless.
Still, if you think someone spending £300-400 on what is often a sub £2000 BMW is a wise move...
crosseyedlion said:
You pays your money you take your choice.
The pipes were only routed over the tank to help efficiency in the factory/an oversight.
As a mechanic and engineer, I would much rather have my pipework routed (very neatly and securely) around the tank and not out of sight, rather than one bursting out of sight and very rapidly leaving me with no brakes (the braking system on these is shocking if one line fails - even though it should be a split system)
I wouldn't call it a bodge job, just a revision. I do see your point with regards to the liability of the workshop, although they would have a difficult job proving that to be the cause of any mishaps.
If you're worried about things being done to factory standards, I would wager that and replaced brake lines do not use the original-type steel that BMW decided in all their wisdom to use, but copper items. (I strongly suspect this was down to reducing cost on BMW's part, but is also the cause of the corrosion) Rendering it pointless.
Still, if you think someone spending £300-400 on what is often a sub £2000 BMW is a wise move...
I agree the brake pipes are a pain in the arse. I had to have this done on my old touring. If I was to buy another BMW, I'd be giving the rear brake pipes in particular a good going over and if they were still serviceable, give them a good dose of waxoyl.. The annoying thing with my car and I suspect others is that the only bit affected is the area exposed to mud and salt thrown up by the rear wheels.The pipes were only routed over the tank to help efficiency in the factory/an oversight.
As a mechanic and engineer, I would much rather have my pipework routed (very neatly and securely) around the tank and not out of sight, rather than one bursting out of sight and very rapidly leaving me with no brakes (the braking system on these is shocking if one line fails - even though it should be a split system)
I wouldn't call it a bodge job, just a revision. I do see your point with regards to the liability of the workshop, although they would have a difficult job proving that to be the cause of any mishaps.
If you're worried about things being done to factory standards, I would wager that and replaced brake lines do not use the original-type steel that BMW decided in all their wisdom to use, but copper items. (I strongly suspect this was down to reducing cost on BMW's part, but is also the cause of the corrosion) Rendering it pointless.
Still, if you think someone spending £300-400 on what is often a sub £2000 BMW is a wise move...
If they were routed around the tank, surely some MOT centres would frown on it? It may be perfectly safe but it would be a bugger to have to rip it out and do it again the conventional way.
corvus said:
I agree the brake pipes are a pain in the arse. I had to have this done on my old touring. If I was to buy another BMW, I'd be giving the rear brake pipes in particular a good going over and if they were still serviceable, give them a good dose of waxoyl.. The annoying thing with my car and I suspect others is that the only bit affected is the area exposed to mud and salt thrown up by the rear wheels.
If they were routed around the tank, surely some MOT centres would frown on it? It may be perfectly safe but it would be a bugger to have to rip it out and do it again the conventional way.
I found that the placement of the original clips on the chassis mean the pipes can be secured very....securely - it is possible to do a crappy messy job of it or a neat and tidy one though, like most old-school things on cars (not straight forward parts fitting, which is what most mechanics/technicians really do)If they were routed around the tank, surely some MOT centres would frown on it? It may be perfectly safe but it would be a bugger to have to rip it out and do it again the conventional way.
Have you checked if your chassis is cracked at the rear subframe mounting as this often gets missed at MOT time? If it is then the brake pipes can be replaced whilst the subframe is off, if not then clean and protect the pipes and leave them until the floor cracks and replace when the subframe is off.
crosseyedlion said:
Still, if you think someone spending £300-400 on what is often a sub £2000 BMW is a wise move...
If you think that because it is a sub £2000 BMW then it's not worth doing the job correctly as BMW designed it to be, and that market value dictates the level of shortcuts you take and bodges you do in order to keep your vehicle on the road and safe then that's your choice (but I can't say I'd like to buy a car off you based on that theory!).Me, I'd rather know the job was done correctly to factory standards and no bodging was involved!
As for the £300~£400 cost, I blow that on fuel every 3~4 months without batting an eyelid, so spending that on brakepipes isn't really that big a deal, especially as chances are it's not like they'll need doing ever again in the cars lifetime!
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