Leaking brake pipes

Reedler · Post by **Reedler** » Tue May 01, 2012 9:03 pm

Hi All,
Just discovered a wet patch on driveway. After some hunting and a lot of swearing I managed to trace it to a corroded brake pipe under some plastic covers. It's on a bend as it rises from a securing clip. This may be a really silly question......but would the car be safe to drive???? The "check brake fluid" warning flashed up this afternoon, can I top up and use until I can get it into a garage on Friday morning?
Many thanks

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Tue May 01, 2012 9:18 pm

The 'correct answer' to your question is of course "no it's not safe". If you have breakdown cover get it trailered.

You would definitely be taking a chance on it as you would likely be losing maximum pressure in one circuit, which if memory serves correctly, would be two wheels unable to provide the required full braking effort.

If you do have an 'incident' you'll get clobbered for knowingly driving a defective vehicle. I would think hard about driving a two-tonne car about with unserviceable brakes.

Just my humble opinion of course........

dirtymonkey29 · Post by **dirtymonkey29** » Tue May 01, 2012 9:30 pm

+1 you would be mad to drive knowing you have faulty brakes.
Not only putting your life at risk but other road users and pedestrians too

Reedler · Post by **Reedler** » Tue May 01, 2012 9:44 pm

Thanks Guys. Thought it was a silly question, but thanks for confirming this. Car is off road till Friday!!!!!

Reedler · Post by **Reedler** » Thu May 03, 2012 9:17 pm

Silly question time again. After much hilarity at work due to the fact that my "flash" motor was off the road till Friday, a few people have mentioned that the problem should of been picked up in the mot which was about a month ago. My opinion on this is that due to the position of the leak under the plastic panels it would only be noticeable if there was signs on leakage from the panel (which at the time there wasn't). Am I right in saying that during an mot the brake pipes on show get a visual check only and that pipes not on show are taken to be fine. The cost of an mot would suggest that visual check is fine as the labour cost to strip out paneling would be quite a bit I would imagine. Apologies to any mechanics out there, just checking as a few people have been shocked that this was not picked up. I myself think that it's just unlucky with the timing. Many thanks

dirtymonkey29 · Post by **dirtymonkey29** » Thu May 03, 2012 9:54 pm

Yeah they won't strip off parts to check during an mot. It's pretty common to go where yours have. Bit of a moisture trap.

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Thu May 03, 2012 9:58 pm

As he says....unlucky, but a 'known' trouble spot.

barnowl930 · Post by **barnowl930** » Thu May 03, 2012 10:07 pm

Hi,

No dismantling is allowed in the MOT to inspect components..

That said, you do have to pay extra attention to BMW brake pipes because there are a few common areas which seem to catch the dreaded rot.

On E46's where the flexy from the rear trailing arms joins the steel pipes in front of the coil springs, on E53's above the rear subframe going from the n/s to the o/s and on the rear upper wishbones the flexible/steel pipe which is clipped to the top corrodes badly and is almost impossible to inspect with the wheels on.

If you have one corroded pipe make sure your garage check every pipe thoroughly.

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Fri May 04, 2012 11:44 am

Thanks for the tips.....I'll keep an eye on the ones on our E46 now I know there a potential problem site..

shadrack · Post by **shadrack** » Fri May 04, 2012 1:19 pm

I would just get the lot replaced, if your going to the hassle to do one, replace them with copper ones and that will be them done, I had to have all new pipes right round on last mot and mines 55reg, if you want to save abit of cash strip all the plastic covers yourself, this takes as long or longer than doing the pipes!!

Reedler · Post by **Reedler** » Sat May 05, 2012 6:10 pm

Thanks again for all the advice guys, yet again I have found this forum great for answers to all the problems that I have encountered. Got the car back on Friday morning from our mechanic who is a family friend, he was a bit miffed at the work involved just to get to the pipes, he managed to break a few of the "pop fasteners" in the underside trim. Are these easily available on the likes of flea bay??

X5Sport · Post by **X5Sport** » Sat May 05, 2012 7:02 pm

Possibly, but more likely from your local Dealer. If you have a look on Realoem for the part numbers you may find that they're cheaper than you might expect.....well we can all hope...

amacman · Post by **amacman** » Sun May 06, 2012 4:13 am

The part number for the cill , that is the undertray cover rivets is 5 11 11 944 537 at about 15 pence each or usually sold in packs of 25 .
alternatively you might be able to use the wheel arch rivets , 51 71 7002 953 , cost a bit more and in 20 packs but dealers usually have all the different types in stock to sell individually
use a pop riveter to install them or press the flat washer part tight to the tray with a spanner and use pliers to pull the tab tight ( you can grip the tab and sort of fold the pliers over the spanner to make this smooth and easy ) then snap off the tab at it`s weak section by hand .
did someone mention copper brake pipes . copper is fragile and does not like vibration . kunifer is a much stronger copper alloy and is only very slightly more expensive but your garage probably used this anyway .

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=16&hl=15

macky · Post by **macky** » Sun May 13, 2012 9:27 pm

I noticed my brake pipes were corroded at the same area as yours when I was changing the rear control arms, I scraped off the worst of the corrosion to check they were sound and then applied silicone grease before refitting in the plastic housing.
I certainly wouldn't expect to be picked up on MOT unless examiner had previous X5 experience of the problem.

Nige · Post by **Nige** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:06 am

Mine failed on the way home from collection when I bought it.

Lost ALL hydraulic fluid and braking. As already said, you`d be stupid to drive it knowing there was an issue with this.

I ended up with new disks, pads, flexible hoses and hard pipes all round, they really did look after me. There were photos, but they were lost when the forum switched.

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