Brake Line & Rear Suspension Drivers Side

[nicola8870]

Is anyone familiar with the rear brake line rupturing - brake fluid pouring out and no brakes... air bag on that side is also ruptured. Have been told this is a major job to fix... cab needs to be lifted of the chassis??? We have a 2008 Nissan Patrol 3.0 litre Ti. Are not keen to go ahead with any works until we get some more information. Travelling Western Australia so away from home.... we hit a little washout on the road a few weeks ago and suspect this is the cause.

[nicola8870]

Would have thought they could replace the brake line and fix the suspension... not have to dismantle the entire car - but what would I know. Still waiting for the mechanic to confirm that they think they need to pull the car apart... so looking to get a second opinion tomorrow. Meanwhile - stuck camping without a car. Hopefully get some answers tomorrow.

[Clunk]

Sorry im of no help but where on the break line did it rupture, I can't remember where exactly the brake line runs on the chassis but if it runs along the top of the chassis and that's where the rupture is, then I would guess the body would have to come off to repair it. And what exactly failed on your suspension, was it the suspension tower (probably wrong terminology) because they have been known to fail especially with airbags fitted and depending on how much damage there is, could be a big job from what I've seen.

Hopefully someone in the know will be able to shed more light

[nicola8870]

The brake line does run along the chassis and the rupture is near the drivers side rear suspension (they are still to put it up on the hoist and get all the red dirt off to see for sure). It has now been mentioned to us that fitting airbags can stuff the suspension - I wish we could be told these things before the process!!! We have a Kimberley Kamper Trailer and it drags the back end of the car down a bit, so thought we were doing the right thing - old man emus and airbags. Thanks for your reply... now that we have 3 responses around the traps saying that this is probably the case, and it is a major job, we feel a little more at ease to go ahead. We will ring another mechanic though in Broome to get a second opinion. (Thats where we are stuck - I guess there are worse places to be standard).

[MudRunnerTD]

Hi Nicola,

Sorry you are having trouble on your trip.

Head over to the intro section and post up for us if you could please, we like people to say gday.

I am not sure if you are being steered in the wrong direction? lifting the cab seems a little extreme! The brake lines are a Copper hard line and run on top and on the side of the chassis rail and i would have thought it far far cheaper to replace the line completely leaving the burst one in position but redundant and fit a new one the length of the inside face of the Chassis rail?? Surely?

While your sitting about give a Brake place a call in Victoria or somewhere metro and ask if they can fix a split copper line or can they cut a section out and replace with rubber? Bloody Hell Plumbers join Copper every day under pressure?

OK, the rear suspension! Yes it is true that Polybags can put a fair bit of strain on a GU spring hat. Damn it they are just not great in the rough stuff. They over compensate and cause massive shock load on a Known weak link in the Nissan drive train.

But! It can be fixed and they can be welded up. I know guys that have done this in the middle of the Canning with a 24v welder so you can do this without lifting the cab too.

If you have time on your hands and are prepared to spend a little cash and your going to tow your camper for a long time then check out this great bolt on product. Order it online and get someone there to fit it. It will be cheaper than them screwing you for lifting the cab.

http://www.superiorengineering - Nissan Spring Tower Brace system (http://www.superiorengineering.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=31_32_34_189&products_id=10673)

Or check this thread

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?7696-GU-Chassis-Tower-Brace-design&p=175755

Good luck with your fix. Take it to a car wash and blow off the dirt and then start ringing a few metro places on the other side of the country for some perspective. Post some pics here of the damage.

Good luck and cheers

An Intro would be great

[Clunk]

I wouldn't mind being stuck up their rather than being chained to my desk at work lol..............

And there you have it, some one who knows what they're talking about..... Good on ya MR

[happygu]

Hi Nicola,

It does sound like you have torn the drivers side spring tower off the chassis, squashing or tearing the brake lines in the process.

It doesn't help you now, but I normally get my spring towers reinforced / gussetted straight off the showroom floor whilst everything in clean and new, making it cheaper to do and to hopefully avoid any of these problems down the track.

In my mind, these airbags are a big no-no and you are much better off getting the right spring for the job, or at least putting in the re-inforcing kit before trouble strikes. There does seem to be a major pattern of problmes with the 'helper airbags' causing the shock load to be transferred directly to the top spring tower mount instead of being dissapated through the spring itself.

It seems like you have a wagon rather than a cab chassis - they may be able to undo all the bolts and nuts, and just jack up the rear portion of the body a foot or two to fix the problem, but it will involve a fair bit of labour to repair. As pointed out, there are off the shelf kits available now, which can be installed to prevent this happening. I have had 5 coil spring Patrols and never had any issues, but have done the pre-emptive strengthening on the last two just in case.

Lets hope for your sake it is an easy fix.

Mic