Quick brake question

[Sillyoldman]

I'm on break until the wife gets home before I can make a run to the auto parts store. I put a few new brake lines on today. Even though my bends are not real pleasing to the eye the are free of leaks. After pumping up the pedal I did a quick walk around. It appeared that one of the lines I have not replaced is leaking. It turns out that the fitting that the line goes into is the culpret. I took it apart and cleaned it up and reassembled it. I is still leaking. My first thought is to replace the copper/brass washers to achieve a seal. Am I over looking anything?

Thanks Don

[vin63]

Is the leak coming from the flare fitting going into the banjo fitting, or is the leak coming from the banjo fitting itself?

For the fittings that use a copper washer, I do tend to use new copper washers since the previous crush on them can sometimes permit leaks if the surface is distorted or uneven, etc.

[Sillyoldman]

The flare fitting is fine. The banjo fitting is leaking. The washers are not bent up. They are impressed with light rings on one side of each from the original seal. I flipped them but that did not help.

[vin63]

Originally Posted by Sillyoldman

The flare fitting is fine. The banjo fitting is leaking. The washers are not bent up. They are impressed with light rings on one side of each from the original seal. I flipped them but that did not help.

Unfortunately, the visual appearance is not a good indicator if the copper washer will re-seal - particularly in high-pressure applications. If there is a slight uneveness to either surface/side, and if the fastener is not in exactly the same spot on the washer, it could leak...especially if the fastener is cross-threaded or bent.

[markeb01]

Those are the things that can drive you nuts. I had the same issue many years ago. Everything looked perfect but leaked. I had spares and did some switching around and it didn't help. Put a new one on that looked exactly the same, and it worked fine. I only hope a new washer fixes your problem.

The other possibility is there's a mismatch in the parts, although this is unlikely if it worked okay the last time it was driven.

[Sillyoldman]

I took the banjo off because it appeared to be leaking there. This afternoon I took the part completely off to replace. Turns out the po cross threaded the nut. I don't remember it leaking before. Strange how leaks appear in places other than they appear. I could see it squirt out through the back window as I pumped the pedal. Problem solved. Next step is talking the wife into pumping the pedal for me so I can bleed them. It's going to take a lot of fluid to get the nasty stuff out.