help replacing rusted brake lines on a '91

[krullj]

I was about to pull out of the driveway the other day when the brake pedal went to the floor. I backed up and tried it again and the same thing happened. Looked under the truck and found puddles of brake fluid and dripping near rear axle. When I press the pedal it shoots out like a high powered squirt gun. It looks to be from either the metal (or should I say rust) brake line that runs between the frame and fuel tank, or the hose that runs from there to the splitter on top of the rear diff. I'm away from home and haven't been able to pinpoint it yet.

So, I plan on replacing some brake lines, maybe all of them assuming they're in just as bad of shape.

What tools do I need?
How much brake line and what size do I need to buy?
Is there a kit to replace all of it?
Are all the brake lines the same size?
What about fittings? Do I need new ones? How many? What size?

Thank you for your help.

BTW-when it happened it seamed as if I had almost no braking power. If it's just a leak in the rear, shouldn't I still have had full front braking and therefore most of my braking power? Granted, I was in my driveway only going about 10mph and only tried it a couple times, but it sure seemed as if I had next to nothing in brakes.

thanks again.

 

[marragtop]

The first thing you should do is squirt all the fittings down with PBlaster and let it soak for a day or so. Don't forget the bleeder screws. Then you need to determine which line is leaking. Once you know that, you need to get that line disconnected from both ends without without messing up the connectors that the lines go into. If it's the rubber hose that's leaking, the replacement part will be specific to the vehicle. If it's a metal line that's leaking, you can buy straight metal brake lines (male fittings will already be on them) and bend it to the proper fit. Not sure what size it is, so take the old one into the store.

Keep in mind, that you may need to bleed all 4 wheels if you ran the master cylinder dry.