Help! Can I cap off a rear brakeline with a bolt?

[elbringit]

I am in the middle of BFE 200 miles from a parts store and the hydrualics on the back drivers side drum decided to explode on me. I have some brake fluid to put in but I need to make it to town. Can I just cap off that line at the tee?

 

[pillen140]

i would say never! get it towed! but if you are going to do it anyway. if you have any kind of thread sealer? dont damage the threads, and it will most likely still leak. go very easy on the brakes keep the fluid up and remember it wont stop as well.... only drive this to the parts store if its apsolutly necessary! go slow! fourways on!

 

[fordtrucknut77]

you can take the brake line, the metal part and cut it and then kinda fold it over on to itself and CAREFULLY drive it home. or take a pair of vise grips and crimp the rubber hose off. again I DO NOT ADVICE THIS but it can be done in case of emergency

 

[kunar]

they make plugs that are tapered just like the flare on a normal brake line. i know napa here in town had them in stock when i needed a couple. you can they the "fold over and clamp with vicegrips" technique but i couldnt get it to seal at all.... and just like was said before, dont drive it more than needed and take it nice and easy. i would *never* try this on a front brake line but on one of the rears you probably wont notice much difference. just take it easy on it though.

you'll probably have to bleed that line too, just crack open the plug just like you would a bleeder screw if you were bleeding the brakes under normal conditions.

oh, and no, you cant use just a bolt. brake lines seal on the flare, not on the threads. thread tape or sealant wont do you any good either.

crap... just read the part about not being able to get to a parts store.... i dunno about that one man, i wouldnt risk it if you cant do a decent repair. not having rear brakes is one thing but leaking brake fluid is something totally different.

 

[HareRazor]

When I had my rear brake line rust off the last time I had my dad braze the end of a regular brake line fitting shut and I capped it off at the master cylinder. I only drove it the 15 miles home where I could actually fix the line. It probably wasn't the best way to go about it, but it was definitely safer than driving with no brakes. I just made sure I had plenty of time to stop and didn't follow any body real close.

 

[AllanD]

they make plugs that are tapered just like the flare on a normal brake line. i know napa here in town had them in stock when i needed a couple. you can they the "fold over and clamp with vicegrips" technique but i couldnt get it to seal at all.... and just like was said before, dont drive it more than needed and take it nice and easy. i would *never* try this on a front brake line but on one of the rears you probably wont notice much difference. just take it easy on it though.

you'll probably have to bleed that line too, just crack open the plug just like you would a bleeder screw if you were bleeding the brakes under normal conditions.

oh, and no, you cant use just a bolt. brake lines seal on the flare, not on the threads. thread tape or sealant wont do you any good either.

crap... just read the part about not being able to get to a parts store.... i dunno about that one man, i wouldnt risk it if you cant do a decent repair. not having rear brakes is one thing but leaking brake fluid is something totally different.

If you cut the metal line OFF about halfway along the axle tube, LEAVE the vice grips clamped on the "folded over line" and tie the vice grips to the axle tube with a bungee cord or a length of mechanics wire it'll hold for quite a while without leaking.

Losing ONE rear brake won't affect driving all that much...

Losing the pedal motion you need to make the front brakes work from having an open line in the back (as you do now) is a far bigger problem

Getting towed is an extreme solution compared to "limping" to where you can get it fixed.

I personally prefer "Self-rescue" solutions to getting my wallet raped.

AD

 

[Captain Ledd]

I used a plumbing cap on a brake line once. I NEEDED to have a 84 Subaru GL running by that night. It didn't need to drive far, but it still needed to drive. Think parts stores are going to have a passenger rear wheel cylinder for one of those sitting on the shelf? (and they are different from drivers side to passenger apparently). Not a chance.

Capped it off, bled it all, and drove it.

The vice grip thing can also work, the way I did mine allowed me to unscrew the cap and just put it all back together.

 

[TomB1269]

I had a 72 Mercury Cougar and could afford / did not want to replace rear drum brake cylinders (both sides started leaking). Removed the lines from the backside and place small pan head screw in that fit the tapper and bolted it back up. Drove the car over 2 years and from Pensicola Fl to Boston, Ma to San Franscisco, Ca. Never an issue, however I did not have to deal with snow and ice either, in which case you need the rear drums to stop the tire from turning over in gear. The drums do very little braking under normal load, a bed full of cows*!t is a little different. Oh ya, the motor was a 351 cleveland with a ton of torque in the bottom end and enough horse power to out run most others. (estimate HP to be 250 to 300 with torque to match or exceed)

 

[KimmyD]

Ok so I have this 2008 Did he Ram 1500.Ex husbands former work truck. I have been driving it for 3 years and the brake pads were squeaking so I had paid a mechanic staying at my hotel to fix them for me. He takes back driver side off and the fkn brake line is cut and capped with plumbing cap and you can so tell it's been that way for years. I do not get how I'm even alive to be honest. Well I take that back. I work nights and I never drive except at night. I have horrible night blindness so I literally pray myself there daily, I believe maybe this is the only explanation on how I managed to drive it like that for so long.

I used a plumbing cap on a brake line once. I NEEDED to have a 84 Subaru GL running by that night. It didn't need to drive far, but it still needed to drive. Think parts stores are going to have a passenger rear wheel cylinder for one of those sitting on the shelf? (and they are different from drivers side to passenger apparently). Not a chance.

Capped it off, bled it all, and drove it.

The vice grip thing can also work, the way I did mine allowed me to unscrew the cap and just put it all back together.

 

[KimmyD]

2008 Dodge Ram

 

[19Walt93]

If you do it drive VERY CAREFULLY on the way home, if you get in a wreck and they find plugged off brakes you'll be crucified and the lawyers will eat your eyeballs.

 

[pjtoledo]

9-1/2 years later,,,,,,

 

[adsm08]

If you do it drive VERY CAREFULLY on the way home, if you get in a wreck and they find plugged off brakes you'll be crucified and the lawyers will eat your eyeballs.

Kinky

 

[Snoranger]

9-1/2 years later,,,,,,

I hope he made it home by now.

 

[19Walt93]

Kinky

Crows eat eyeballs and they're about even on the food chain with lawyers.