Rear brake line
 

Hi guys am new here and this is my first post, looks like a great site! I just installed a new rear brake line on one of my E250 cargo vans(1998). It's the line that runs from the passenger side rear brake....along the axle housing and over the pumpkin/diff and goes into a small brass block that holds 2 other fittings I think. My problem is that I keep getting fluid seeping up through the threads where the fitting goes into the brass piece. I'm using the copper-nickel type of brake line. I've tried everything including installing a second new line just in case the first one had bad flares. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.....it's driving me nuts!LOL also could someone tell me if there's a mobile app for this site....like something on tapatalk? Again thanks

Welcome to the site..

What was the reason for the initial line replacement ?

If it wasn't leaking prior, and now weeps, possibly some debris is trapped at the flare on the junction block seat? Probably not, but..

If you've replaced the line twice (same brand?) shouldn't be a flare split or rough face, but maybe check the flare against the original.

No mobile, sorry..

Well I hate to admit it but yes it was leaking through the line before being replace.....I had just put a new muffler and tailpipe on it and I think that one of the hangers that are welded onto the tailpipe bumped the brake line that was running along the axel housing. Sad part is that I had the brake line on..bled...and it test drove fine...but when I went under the van to double check that the fittings were snug the fitting on the brass block made a quick easy quarter turn or so......then start dripping fluid through the fitting where the line goes through and up through the threads where it goes into the brass. I've got it to stop leaking through the fitting/line area but can't stop it from seeping/leaking through the threads.I just checked the reservoir and it's down about an 1/8 of and inch from where I filled it yesterday. Is there anything I can do to fix it....tape the threads...ect? This van just has to make it another few months..1-2 thousand miles and it will be headed off to the scrape yard. Or do you think it's just the matter of installing and reinstalling til I get a proper fit? Again...I'm using that soft/flexible copper/nickel brake line....it does bend nice....but I've never has this much difficulty installing a brake line.

If you haven't corrected the leak problem yet, might I suggest three items that you could check.
In light of the possibility of some damage to the brass fitting you might check he copper washer between the brass block and the axle housing and ,Also, the copper gasket under the special bolt head that holds the block to the housing.
It is possible the brass block could have a hairline crack and allowing the fluid to leak there. If those three items are good then a fast question, does the block have a metric fitting and the replacement line a standard nut?
Brakes are one thing we have a better chance at Atlantic City/ Vegas than gambling with brake reliability. If you would, let us know how you make out with this.

Well I took the day off yesterday from work on the brakes because that van was about 2 minutes from going to the scrape yard.lol Dad swung by and we went down to bros to do a little work on the farm. When he stopped over to pick me up my dad checked out the first new line that I'd used and as he looked at the fitting that went into the brass block he showed me how the last couple of threads were scuffed up and thinks that I might have messed up the threads in the brass part. He's 73 and his eyes are not quite as sharp as they use to be, but he did own a small chain of auto parts stores and still knows his stuff. He also told me that what I thought was a separate brass piece was actually part of the black rubber hose that goes into the brass (it all come as one unit). Also finally got ahold of my ford tech nephew, he's going to try and stop by and see if he can help....but with working 12hr night shifts and having a young family that's really iffy. So my question is....if the bottom few brass threads are messed up and that's what's causing the leak/seeping is there anyway of getting around having to remove all the brake lines/hoses on the back lines and replacing them with new ones? As I said earlier this van will only be in service for another 2-3months and will be driven 1-2000 miles. It also will never see a new owner.....it'll be striped for parts and taken to the scrape yard. Is there anything that I can use on the threads that will hold and stop the leaking....some sort of thread tape...thread paste....Anything? I'm not concerned about ever being able to remove the fitting again just as long as it stops the leak and holds for a few months.

Most people myself included will just replace the line going from the brass block to the wheel cylinder. The way I've got it done is buy the steel brake line and start with the brass block then bend the line in the right places so the line doesn't get a hole scraped or rubbed in it then start the other end in the wheel cylinder. then I'll bleed the brake system to remove the air

.maybe I wasn't clear...thought I was.....but maybe not?.... This^^^^ is exactly what I'm trying to do. I'm attempting to replace the line with a new line. My problem is the NEW line is leaking. I even reinstalled the new line with another new line just in case there was something wrong with the flares on the first new line, but it's still leaking where the line goes into the brass part. The brass part is part of the black rubber hose and is crimped on to the hose. I believe that the threads in the brass peice are messed up...it tightens down but the first few threads are scuffed up so it's leaking. I'm now looking for some sort of thread sealer that will fix this leaking....I don't care if it means that the fitting will nolonger be able to be removed...just as long as the leak is stopped/fixed. I'd post pics of the area but I use an iPhone so I can't do that since this site isn't set up for mobile devices. If there's an email I can send pics to so someone can post them for me, please let me know.

why not replace the rubber and brass block? have you tried loctite?

I think you are missing something here.
The seal is made by the flared end of the tubing sealing against the internal flare of the block. If you can tighten the nut tight enough the flare seals ! The threads are only to permit tightening the nut against the flared end. There has to be a crack either in the flared end of the tubing or the block it seals against. Did the replacement tubing end have the same double flare as the original tubing? Not being there to see the actual parts maybe the questions I'm asking seem dumb, but if we are to be of any worthwhile assistance all the bases have to be covered.
Something else, if the nut is cocked and doesn't go in squarely it can't seal the outer flare against the inner flare and the only way to correct this is to replace the hose with the block as grindman suggested. The replacement block will probably not be brass. There is no provision for shortcuts when brakes are involved no matter how little the vehicle will be used unless it is never driven off your property. One mishap from a jury rigged brake line and an attorney will take just about everything you own.

if and when you get it fixed the right way let us know and nothing or no one can take this away from you. You get the satisfaction getting to do something right the first time around and it will make all else seem that it was not something so difficult that need not be. I've worked on more cars and trucks than I care to remember and given that I was raised by an old school mechanic who always told his children that if we do our own work on what we own then we learn to appreciate what we've accomplished more than most. and , if it do it again then we already know how to fix it. What he taught me me when he was still alive is that every problem has a solution and the simplest solution is usually the right one in the first place.