i have a 2002 cav, was driving down the road today and the brakes went squishy. i pulled over and checked around, found that the rear metal line that runs from what looks like one side to the other of the rear up near the gas tank was pissing brake fluid and rusted to hell and back. i limped it home and im trying to figure out what the hell its called or what to replace it with. i picked this up as a daily and winter beater to keep miles off my trans am, so i need it back on the road pretty quick since the t/a is shut down for the year. i know my way around fbodies pretty well but im new to jbodies. all i can tell so far is that GM really went cheap on parts quality since ive been fighting rust since the day i picked this up lol.

if needed i can grab a pic or 2 of what im talking about

i looked at a diagram for it, it looks like its the pipe that runs to the passenger side axle. im guessing a parts store will have what i need. now the question is can i get away with replacing just that piece of the pipe or will the entire line need to be replaced. the underbody looks like its been in russia sitting on a pile of salt for 12 years

Roger Vanbibber wrote:i looked at a diagram for it, it looks like its the pipe that runs to the passenger side axle. im guessing a parts store will have what i need. now the question is can i get away with replacing just that piece of the pipe or will the entire line need to be replaced. the underbody looks like its been in russia sitting on a pile of salt for 12 years

I would do the entire line, It will eliminate any possible leaking that may occur and look a lot cleaner. Also you may want to do the other brake line in the rear too. Both usually rust right above the axle and behind the gas tank.




On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.

Having done this myself you're going to want to do all 4 brake lines in the rear. Both coming from the proportioning valves in front of the left rear wheel and the ones running between the axle hoses and the wheel cylinders themselves. And also look at the front lines as well, especially the one running along the engine cradle for the front right wheel. You may want to save money for fuel lines in the future as well. Be careful with the line clips under there to make sure you don't crack one of the fuel lines while doing the brake lines (been there, done that).

i wound up replacing the whole line. turned out to be a bigger pain in the ass than it needed to be thanks to the location of the connections near the doors and the fact that the bleeder valve was rusted to hell and back as well. i didnt do the drivers side yet, it'll probably bite me in the ass but at least its easier to get out compared to the passenger one. hopefully if it does go it'll wait until spring when the trans am comes out of hibernation. thanks for the input though guys.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but can you show me what diagram you looked at to determine which line was the one that blew? I have the exact same issue you did, brake fluid sprays out from somewhere in the middle of the car under the trunk area and I've been looking for a diagram for a month now to find out what line would be there for the brakes. Doesn't make sense to me, but if you found a diagram, I'd really appreciate if you remember where you saw it so I can see for myself. All of the lines under the car look to be in pretty great shape, almost like they were maybe all replaced recently, so if I can get away with fixing whatever it is in the middle that's leaking at least for inspection, it'll buy me some time until the weather warms up. Thanks in advance man!

Lost everything I typed when I hit "preview". Guessing I took too long...
Here is the condensed version:

For TJ and whomever comes looking next because of this rust prone spot in the break line.

Things I found on the web (besides here) before starting:
www_reddit_com/r/Cartalk/comments/2y28ch/98_cavalier_brakes_project_cannot_figure_out_what/
autoforums_carjunky_com/Automotive_Repair_C1/General_Discussions_F5/03_Chevy_cavalier,_Brake_Lines_P125580/

IMHO:
Trace the brake line/tube using your figures from the rear passenger side to the fitting under the care in front of the rear driver's side tire.
At both ends, cut the tube using a diagonal pliers close to the fitting so you can use a socket to back the fittings out. In front of the drivers rear tire, carefully bend down the line coming from the front of the care just enough to put a wrench on the body that you are backing the fitting out of.

Cut back the old tube to a convenient spot. I don't think it is worth trying to remove the middle part of the old line/tube.

Buy a 60" 3/16 line with bubble flares and fittings (no flaring tool needed!) (If the guy behind the counter hasn't seen both kind of flares and knows the difference move on.)

Push the line forward (along side the other break line) from next to the rear tire to the line coming from the front of the car. Screw the fitting in and tighten.
Make gentle bends to shape the line until the other fitting can be screwed in (but do not tighten all the way).

Take hoses off black box and push line above them and reattach hoses to black box.
Zip ties to get line close where the old line ran.

Bleed using the fitting that was not tightened. (My actual bleed valves were rusted in place.) Then tighten this second fitting.

Not "A" quality work but I was able to get this done in an apartment parking lot during a break in January weather without ramps.
I will inspect and follow up on the brakes when I can work inside a garage.