Brake lines play a key role in the function and performance of your car’s brake system. So, when your brake lines are leaking, bad, or are just ready to be replaced, you may be wondering how much time you need to set aside for the process.
How long does it take to replace brake lines? Typically, a competent mechanic should be able to replace all four brake lines in two to three hours or less. If you’re replacing the brake lines yourself, the process should take anywhere from three to eight hours, depending on your experience.
Regardless of if you’re going to get your brake lines replaced by a competent mechanic or if you’re going to give it a go at replacing them yourself, we’ll walk you through the approximate times it takes to replace brake lines, and just how expensive the process can be.
How Long it Takes to Replace Brake Lines
The time it takes to replace brake lines depends on a few factors, like the make and model of the vehicle, how many brake lines need to be replaced, the type of brake lines, and just how rusty the brake lines are.
Brake line replacement time will also differ depending on if you plan on getting your brake lines replaced by an experienced mechanic or if you plan on replacing them yourself.
Let’s look at the average time it takes to replace brake lines from both ends of the spectrum – whether you’re passing the job on to a mechanic or taking on a DIY project.
How Long it Takes to Have Brake Lines Replaced by a Mechanic
Brake lines are important. They play an integral role in the function of the brake system in your vehicle, and any experienced driver knows you need your brakes to be functioning well to stay safe! The brake lines are what turn the pressure you put onto the pedal into the stopping power you expect from your brakes.
Because brake lines are so important, you may choose to have your brake lines replaced by a competent and experienced mechanic. Doing so will allow you to trust that your brake lines are diagnosed and repaired properly. Getting your brake lines replaced by a mechanic also tends to be a much speedier process than if you replace your brake lines yourself.
According to Jace Davis, an experienced mechanic at Addictive Behavior Motor Works, A competent mechanic should be able to replace all four brake lines in two to three hours.
Davis notes that mechanics may require a little more time to replace the brake lines if:
- They have other vehicles that need to be serviced first
- The parts are not on hand and need to be ordered or picked up
- The brake lines are especially rusty
- The brake lines are metal
Metal brake lines are unable to be repaired because they can’t be cut, and need to be completely removed, replaced, and reattached.
However, even if mechanics require a little more time to replace brake lines due to one of the reasons outlined above, it’s still likely that it will take much less time to get the brake lines replaced by a mechanic than it will if you replace the brake lines yourself.
How Long it Takes to Replace Brake Lines Yourself
Replacing your brake lines is indeed a repair project that you can do yourself. However, depending on your level of experience with automotive repair and brakes, the process will likely take a bit longer than if you had chosen to get your brake lines replaced by a mechanic.
You’ll also need ample space as well as some tools and equipment to replace brake lines yourself. For example, to replace brake lines, you’ll need to elevate the vehicle – whether that be on ramps or jacks.
Replacing brake lines yourself also involves removing the wheels before proceeding to work on the brake lines – and that’s all before you get to the brake lines themselves.
If you’re replacing brake lines on your own and you’ve got all the necessary tools, equipment and space needed, and you’ve got some decent experience with automotive repair, the process is likely to take anywhere from three to five hours.
However, if you don’t have as much automotive repair experience and are lacking some of the necessary tools and equipment, the process of replacing your brake lines may take up to eight hours, and sometimes even more.
Circumstances that may add on time to replacing your brake lines yourself include:
- Needing to acquire more tools and equipment
- Needing to move to an area with more space
- Not having much automotive repair experience or requiring some assistance
- Running into any issues you aren’t sure how to diagnose
Allowing your brake lines to be replaced by a mechanic may generally take less time, but if you’re confident in your abilities, replacing your brake lines yourself could be the DIY project you’ve been looking for.
For a full tutorial on how to replace your brake lines, take a look at this informative video by 4DIYers on YouTube.
Are Brake Lines Expensive to Replace?
When you know that parts of your vehicle need to be repaired or replaced, alarms probably go off in your head as you start to wonder how much everything is going to cost.
To quiet those alarms in your head, and maybe even to prevent them altogether, we’ve compiled a breakdown of the average costs of replacing brake lines. It’s important to remember that costs will vary widely depending on if you’ve chosen to have your brake lines replaced by a mechanic or by doing it on your own.
Having the work done through a mechanic typically costs more, because labor needs to be paid on top of parts and equipment. On the other hand, it can be more cost-effective to replace brake lines on your own as you’ll only have to pay for parts and equipment.
It’s also important to note that costs may vary from mechanic to mechanic and from Automotive Repair Shop to Automotive Repair Shop. Likewise, the costs of parts and equipment will vary.
Either way, replacing your brake lines tends to be relatively affordable. While costs may get up to the lower triple digits, when compared with other auto repair costs, it’s not too expensive to replace your brake lines.
Brake Line Repair Cost Estimates and Samples
If you plan on getting your brake lines replaced by a mechanic, you will pay for both labor and cost of parts. Although you might think the parts will be more expensive—the labor will be over 50 percent of the total cost. For example, on a Nissan Altima, the low end estimate of labor costs is around 100 dollars. Estimates for the parts are around 35 dollars.
Or take a Chevy Silverado. Labor costs at the low end will be around 120 dollars and a low ball estimate of the parts might be 70.
In both cases, the labor costs are almost double to close to three times as the parts. When you’re at the parts store, shelling out 50 dollars for the brake line replacement parts, remind yourself that you might be saving 100 dollars.
The article “Brake Line Repair Cost” from Auto Service Costs has a chart that breaks down brake line repairs by models, labor, and parts estimates.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to replacing your brake lines, you’ve got several different options that may incur different lengths of time and costs.
If handing the job off to a professional sounds like your preferred option, you may be looking at a wait time of two to three hours and a cost of anywhere from $132 to $249 and above for total costs.
If you’re a dedicated DIYer and want to replace your brake lines yourself, the process may take anywhere from three to eight hours or more, but you’ll probably save some money – costs are only about $32 to $104.
No matter how you decide to get your brake lines replaced, when it’s time to do so, you have no time to lose. We all need functional brake lines to stay safe in our vehicles!