the other day i had almost complete brake failure on omy '90 integra ls, today i was bleeding the system and when i was adding more fluid i noticed that all the fluid was coming out from what i guess was the brake line near the passenger side front wheel, so im wondering what the best course of action is to fix this problem, also i do need a new rotor on this wheel and a brake pad, could have running on no brake pad on that wheel caused the problem? and should i have it fixed first? thast it for noww peacee

 

It sounds like the rubber line has sprung a leak. You can get a replacement from Acura or upgrade to some stainless steel lines for around $100.

As for the pad/rotor I doubt that was the cause of the issue. My assumption would be brittle, 16 year old rubber.

 

Are you saying that you were neglecting completely worn pads? If so, then I would deffinately have the front rotors turned and replace the pad's. You should always try to replace break pads & rotors in pairs.

 

Replace:
Front pads
Front rotors
Both front rubber brake lines.

This should prevent any problems in the future with your front braking system.

 

alright thats cool, thanks for the helpp, now im wondering how to change the brake line? is it a hard job? i have never done this before so detalied instructions would be a huge help thankss

 

If you plan on keeping the car for awhile, and doing the maintenance yourself, I strongly suggest going to helminc.com and getting the helms manual for your car. That is the factory service manual with detailed instructions on how to do everything you need to on your car.

 

It might help if you could confirm that it is the rubber hose (flexible brake line) which is leaking, and not the metal pipe (hard line) in front of it. The directions would be quite a bit different. Whether your car has ABS also makes a difference.

You really can't guess at a brake fluid leak, because the fluid travels, you have to clean the area, stick you head and a flashlight under the car, and find the leak. (Btw, use rubber gloves and safetly glasses, brake fluid is not a good substitute for eye drops... )

If you can do the pads and rotors, brake hoses are no more difficult. There are good directions in the manual for the brakes and hoses, but not for the hard lines (pipes). Replacing either one is fairly simple mechanically, but the hard lines are more involved, and you might consider letting a shop do that.

I downloaded a copy of the manual in pdf format before I started working on mine. Brake hose replacement is covered very briefly in section 19 page 27: Excerpt

Replacing the rubber hose is fairly routine. Aside from normal tools (sockets etc), you need a 10-mm flare nut wrench for the union nut between the hose and the hard line (from any part store or Sears), the hose itself, and a new brake line clip (not sure if a part store would carry those), and of course the brake hose.

The union nut torque at the junction between the hose and line is 11 lb-ft. The torque at the banjo bolt which connects the hose to the caliper is 25 lb-ft. If the connections are rusted, you will need a couple applications of PB-blaster (or Liquid Wrench) a few hours apart to break the rust. If the banjo bolt does not come out without destroying the head of the bolt, you will need a new banjo bolt. On an older car (like my '90 LS), you would also need new bleeder screws.