DAAAMMNN!! That was scary!!

[NSTG8R]

If it's not one thing, it's another on the car. I just got it back from the muffler shop ($600) with a manifold back, Magnaflow exhaust...sounds a little "ricy", but I don't mind. Found a back road to open it up a little and see how she's running....very nice! Had to hammer the brakes for an upcoming curve (90 deg), pedal goes to the floor!!! Parking braking and drifting through it, THANK GOD no one was coming the other direction. Got it home and found the hard line on the left rear brake blew, looks like corrosion did it in. So I ordered all the brake lines, front, center and rear, and a set of SS lines to the calipers. Has anyone replaced 'all' of the brake lines before? It's looking like it's going to be an absolute nightmare.

[smc]

Good gawds, man! Just reading that made my heart jump! Im glad your alright

[NSTG8R]

Still pulling seat leather out of my a$$!
I imagine I'm going to have to pull the whole rear end out, and half the engine compartment to replace them, put I've kind of lost faith in the 20 year old "flight critical" [I build airplanes] equipment on this car. Glad it didn't happen on one of my "$hit, running late, haul a$$ to work days".

[B 4 You]

My rear brake lines recently bit the dust (not as bad as yours), but I was able to rerout the new lines around the gas tank. Took the shop only a little over an hour, and now they're totally accessible for and future repairs. Doesn't really help your whole issue, but it'll save those 6 hours to take the rear end apart!

[NSTG8R]

Yeah, I guess stuff like this is to be expected with a 20 yr. old car, especially in the midwest. I already ordered the lines, but what you did sounds like a good idea. And for any members that haven't taken a look under there for iffy looking components in awhile, I'd HIGHLY recommend it.

[B 4 You]

Originally Posted by NSTG8R

Yeah, I guess stuff like this is to be expected with a 20 yr. old car, especially in the midwest. I already ordered the lines, but what you did sounds like a good idea. And for any members that haven't taken a look under there for iffy looking components in awhile, I'd HIGHLY recommend it.

The lines are flexible aren't they? To an extent at least. The shop COVERED them in undercoat stuff too, just to make them even more secure. They debated doing it that way with my fuel lines, but they said it's not as smart with fuel to be exposed like that. They cut the brake lines as soon as they go into the back seat, and put all new ones all the way to the rubber ones to the calipers.

[1986nate]

I'm dealing with the same thing for a local customer's SVX. Only 75k miles and relatively rust free. I took it for a drive the other day and had to do a hard stop for a light changing to red and the pedal went to the floor. Luckily was able to stop and limped it back using the transmission to engine brake as well as the handbrake. Using the service brakes only enough to signal the brake lights.

[Austin]

Holy poo!

This is not encouraging. I'm currently down with an assortment of fixable problems, but the one that's really got me stumped is a brake leak somewhere. When I am able to drive it, I have to refill my resevoir about every other day or so, and that's with me driving in ways to minimize using the brake pedal.

Thing is, I can't track down the leak - there's not a drop on the driveway. There's none around the master cylinder where it connects to the brake booster. There's none on the firewall inside or out.

I saw on here once that the lines run in the rocker panel, but I don't see any access holes under the plastic trim. I know that at some point they're exposed under the back seat, but like I said, there's no pooling of fluid anywhere. Although it's sidelined now with tranny issues and I can't drive it, when I was driving it I had gone through several quarts (maybe a couple of GALLONS!) in the last few hundred miles (or less?). So the fluid's got to be pooling somewhere... eating my paint, etc.

Hearing these brake line stories scares me.

Oddly, I've owned 4 XT6es and never EVER had brake line issues with any of them. In fact I don't recall even hearing about brake line issues with an XT6 from any of my fellow owners. WTF, Subaru?!

[NSTG8R]

Actually, once I got it home, it was dark. The next morning I figure (read:hoped) that I'd see that one of the calipers had let loose...no such luck, all wheels bone dry, nothing on the ground. Popped the hood, 1/4" of brake fluid left in the resevoir...has to be somewhere . It wasn't until I started bleeding the brakes (one man vacuum thingy) that it reared it's ugly head. Just to the right of the rear diff, and directly above the fuel inlet tube. Tons of undercoat still didn't protect it, and I'm not taking anymore chances...new stuff on the way. I've got 3 '70's Porsche 914's, and the reason I bought a SVX in the first place was to jerk the engine, and drop one in my '73. Got to liking the SVX and didn't have the heart to do it (got an extra engine for that ). I just know, just like the 914's, as soon as I tear into it I'll find more and more stuff that needs replaced. Not looking forward to this at all.

[smc]

Time to get your svx man rated again and back on the tarmac!

[NSTG8R]

Originally Posted by smc

Time to get your svx man rated again and back on the tarmac!

Agreed! Got my SS braided lines from Planet SVX (plus a TCU and Stage I from ECUtune), but going to custom make the hard lines. They definitely won't be going the original routing. Tearing into it this weekend.

[pearlm30]

Good luck with the project and some pics will be nice,too

[NSTG8R]

Originally Posted by pearlm30

Good luck with the project and some pics will be nice,too

Going to have Isaac rolling up here this weekend, so I'm going to limp it up to a buddy's garage, and get started on it Tues. (next Tues. that is). Doing the ECUtune TCU and Stage one while I'm at it. I'm no photog, but I'll try to get some pics of the new install, and definitely one of the "Watch out for this section of brake line! " for fellow owners.

[SVX_MY_BABY]

Originally Posted by Austin

Holy poo!
Thing is, I can't track down the leak - there's not a drop on the driveway. There's none around the master cylinder where it connects to the brake booster. There's none on the firewall inside or out.

Could well be where they go over the gas tank.

[sabin]

Same thing happened to mine, leak was up under the subframe