Ls400david

Hello,
My name is David and I am a proud owner of a 1992 LS400.

I sincerely need this forums help in order to get my baby back on the road and in order to save a few hundred dollars.

My front driver side soft brake line that goes to the caliper is ruptured and leaking brake fluid.

I have ordered that soft line, the 2 crush gaskets, and the retainer from Lexus and will get the parts in tomorrow morning just in time for the 3 day weekend.

I am decent with tools/understanding of cars but I haven't worked on the brakes before but have done a fair amount of research on how to replace this rubber line but I honestly need a little more guidance.

Only article I found to do the job is here:
http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/brake/SSbrakelines.html

Can someone kindly tell me what tools I will need/walk me through this or atleast share another article on how to do this as this would save me hundreds of dollars and I already have too many things I need to focus (aka spend on).

thank you for your time and any guidance you may provide.

cyfi66

It will be pretty straightforward. My only advice is definitely buy the right size flare nut wrench (it looks like this one on the right) and do not use a standard open end wrench or pliers. They will round off the fitting and make your life a lot more difficult. Always use a backup wrench (one wrench on the fitting, one wrench on the line) or you can end up twisting the metal brake line and ruining it.

Make sure you take your time bleeding the brakes (this is a two person job) as it is the most important part of the job. If you don't feel confident or mechanically inclined enough, just give the car to someone who knows what they're doing. Brakes are not the best thing to learn on considering your life depends on them.

Ls400david

Hey cyfi66,
Thank you for the quick reply.
I will be picking up a set of flare nut wrenches (metric) and a good set of pliers.

Bleeding the brakes is straightforward for me, my only snag is not having a step by step guide to do the job but maybe I'm just spoiled from Ih8mud.

Hoping once I jack it up again and have the tools there it will be more straightforward.

If anyone is kind enough to give me dummy proof(ish) instructions I would owe you one and thank you all for your time!

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

There's really hardly anything to it. That tutorial tells you all you need to know.

Here are some "tips" though.

If one failed, the other 3 may not be far behind. I had my front left one start leaking a year or so ago and just replaced all 4.

The flare wrenches vs. standard open end may not be a big deal for a CA car. I have flare wrenches and yes, probably used them, but had no problems.

I'd hose down the area where you'll be opening up the system (i.e., at least both ends of the hose you'll replace) and let it dry - before opening anything up. You don't want dirt falling in anything.

#1 tip ... Make sure the brake fluid reservoir does not run dry, ever. Keep it topped up now, and then during the job. Try not to let much fluid leak out. If the reservoir ever goes dry, bleeding will be more difficult.

DOT3 or DOT4 brake fluid to top up the reservoir and bleed that caliper. If you're trying to keep things simple for now, there is no need to touch the other 3 wheels.

dicer

Bleeding brakes is not a 2 person job if you have the right tools. I like to suction bleed them. If the system gets a lot of air in it, there aren't many that can bleed the ABS unit, and the trac system if it has that.