$300 E46 Wagon | Ep.4 | Replacing DANGEROUS Rusted Brake Lines

Time to sort out the largest safety issue with the $300 E46 Wagon: rusty and ruptured brake lines. Certainly not a fun job, but a necessary one. Jeremy helps out with the camera work.
See the whole $300 E46 Wagon series here: • $300 E46 Wagon
Parts Used:
-Bracket retaining spring: amzn.to/2LTV95z
-Brake Pipe Bracket (2): amzn.to/3b7zKyq
-Bracket bolt w/ washer (2): amzn.to/3s2XAlP
-Brake hose retaining Clip (2): amzn.to/3u4HWYE
-Brake Pipe (2977mm - Left) (1): amzn.to/3didRzc
-Brake Pipe (1206mm - Right) (1): amzn.to/3puLGQ0
-Brake Pipe (3075 - Right Mid) (1): amzn.to/3qo19Tb
-Brake Pipe Union Type 1 (2): 34326757282
-Brake Pipe Union Type 2 (1): amzn.to/3rXSVRX
-Exhaust Gasket (2): amzn.to/3poMhCG
-Exhaust Nut (4): amzn.to/3rWCsNP
-Rear brake hoses (2): amzn.to/3jQeVeC
-Brake Fluid (1): amzn.to/37zvFCf
2004 BMW 325xi Touring Wagon

[@VNEMUS]

I just did this exact job on my 22 year old e46 330ci with 205k miles on it. New England car, so the rust was bad. Knew the brake lines were not going to be easy to get at, so I decided to completely refresh the rear subframe bushings and diff bushings, so dropping that all out made it more doable for me. It took me approximately 2 hours to completely remove them both. Then it took me about 2 hours to bend up the lines as close as possible to the old ones. The bending tool was useless for me, bending by hand and taping the new line to the old line as I went along achieved a very good result, if I say so myself. It took me another 2 hours to to get the new lines installed. The subframe refresh was very time consuming too, especially with the rust removal prep, primer and paint. Probably another 25-30 hrs to do it all on Jack stands in my home garage. I easily saved myself thousands in labor doing it myself. It was your video that convinced me it was time and that it could be done. Thank you!

[@Darthvolvo]

Think of all the memories you are making with that $300 BMW. One more thing crossed off the to do list.

[@jackharvey9808]

Now imagine laying on your back on a driveway doing this

[@peterking2561]

This video is an absolute life saver

[@thomasvarney723]

Your E30 series inspired me replace a bunch of brake parts recently and I was incredibly disappointed to find that the genuine BMW lines I ordered weren't pre-bent. Thanks for the video!

[@jah2mon]

Awesome work, would have liked to have seen you using the bending tool and your review of it.

[@raf530i]

It looks a lot safer with the new lines. :-)

[@andrethib]

looks good! do you have a to-do list for this car yet or are you still discovering issues?

[@PracticalEnthusiast]

I start with a mental to-do list, which turns into a physical parts order, but both things continue to grow as I work on the car and uncover more and more issues. Old cars are like onions, and there's no accurate prediction of what work it will need until you start peeling back the layers.

[@triniman151]

By any chance, do you what size pipe you used for the one over the rear diff.

[@sgomez3047]

3:57 😆

[@Dare2DreamMotorsports]

You have to spice up things every once in a while!

[@cineminded]

I have to do this exact job unfortunately on the bmw e39 I bought turned out at the inspection. Thanks for the video , hopefully I can pull it off

[@PracticalEnthusiast]

You can do it, just give yourself plenty of time.

[@niklasnaper6596]

How did it go man

[@cineminded]

@@niklasnaper6596 I bought the lines and was ready to take the old ones of. But it turned out that after cleaning, there was no rust at all , just sort of a white layer. Even the paint was still on there. So I brought the car to a different garage and they didn't mention the brakelines at the inspection at all : )

[@Loski187]

Where can I find a diagram for the lines? How did you figure out exactly what to order? Your links are no longer working

[@johnroos5807]

Sgt. Roos, John T. (Ret.) Hello, Practical Enthusiast!:) Semper Fidelis

[@PracticalEnthusiast]

Good morning!

[@Julian-xo1ii]

Who else misses the e30):

[@DorksandBolts]

We do! But this is pretty epic as well!

[@ALXG]

Like! 👍 Even before I started to watch the video. BTW, I was asking about 240/260/280Z as your next project last time. I think I have just spotted a nice candidate 😏 🤤

[@PracticalEnthusiast]

If only it was mine!

[@DorksandBolts]

That really sucks that they sell the brake lines like that... but I do have to say that your bending is not bad at all ( reminded me of elementary school arts and crafts comparisons of the teacher’s example vs. mine ) 😂

[@PracticalEnthusiast]

Haha, it's exactly like that. As long as your parents (viewers in this case) say it's ok that's all that matters.

[@465painkiller465]

I need this done to my car. At least the left side. The shop wants $750 for it. Is that a scam or just what it costs? 4 hours of work estimated

[@PracticalEnthusiast]

Honestly, that sounds reasonable if they do an equivalent job as seen here. It's a real pain.

[@465painkiller465]

@@PracticalEnthusiast Thank you!

[@brandonlee8445]

I have a 325i sedan which line shown is the one that runs from the rear above the differential? The one that connects on the two rear brake hoses

[@user-qz6ix7od3b]

good thing the car was running low on gas :)