How to Change the Brake Line on a 1997 Mercury Marquis

You need to replace any of the brake lines on your Mercury Grand Marquis corroded, leaking or otherwise damaged. It is a good idea to inspect the condition of these lines every six months to check for such damage. Replacing a line on the 1997 Grand Marquis is much like any other vehicle, making sure the replacement lines are bent in the same shape as the old ones were. Always use steel brake lines, never copper.

Instructions

Changing the Line

1

Raise the car at the front or rear end--whichever one corresponds to the brake line you are changing--and support it on jack stands. Remove the wheel for the correct brake line.

2

Unscrew and disconnect the metal brake line from the fitting for the rubber hose by gripping the hose's fitting with an open-ended wrench as you turn the metal line's fitting with another wrench.

3

Disconnect the brake line at the line's other end with your wrenches and remove the line from its brackets.

4

Install the replacement brake line to the fitting near the main line to the master cylinder; many auto parts stores carry brake lines that are already flared at the ends and bent in the shape needed for your model. TIghten the fitting with your wrenches.

5

Check and make sure the new line is secure in the brackets while still having enough clearance from all hot or moving parts on the car, and then connect the brake hose fitting to the line. Make sure the there are no kinks in the rubber hose as you tighten the fitting.

6

Bleed the brake system at the wheel you changed the line for as described below.

Bleeding

7

Fill the master cylinder reservoir to the max with fresh brake fluid and close the cap on the reservoir.

8

Loosen the bleeder valve on the brake caliper and connect a length of 3/16-inch tubing to the valve. Submerge the tube's other end in a bottle partially filled with brake fluid.

9

Open the bleeder valve while an assistant presses down on the brake pedal from inside the car. Look for air and fluid to come out of the hose into the bottle and then close the valve and have the assistant release the pedal.

10

Repeat until there is no more air coming out the tube--as in no more air bubbles in the fluid--and then close up the valve and remove the tube.

11

Reconnect the wheel to the car and lower it off the jack stands.