old car

[kahjdh]

I just bought a 90 estate wagon and it have some issues. When driving it home the brake light came on the i discovered the drivers rear brake line blew. Then the fan was on to defrost and then it just shut off. Now i only $100 on the car so after a brake line im not willing to dump that much $ into it. When i replace the brake line will the light go off? Also what can i do to fix the fan? Any ideas would be great.

[yogi_123rd]

You should really inspect the underside of the car in order to size up how big of a job it will be before sinking more dough in it. You seem to think replacement of a brake line is no biggie. It may be more than you expect. The brake + fuel lines tend to rust out and leak in these Buicks. Fully replacing all the rear lines runs a grand at shop prices.
As for the brake light, it should go off when you get your rear brakes back. The sensor is on the master cylinder. When you lost the rear brakes, the fluid level in the compartment of the master cyclinder for the rear brakes lost it's fluid. Loss of fluid level trips the light.

Fan problem: There are seperate circuits for high speed blower operation or low/medium speed blower operation. Check if the blower works on one speed, but not the other.

Only works on high speed: It's usually either a blower motor resistor unit or a bad relay ($15)
Only works on low speed: It's usually a bad relay
Works on neither high nor low speed: fuse blown or console switch bad (wiggle it), or wiring.

[Smith1000]

Usually rusted out brake lines aren't too difficult to deal with. I usually just cut out the bad section and piece in a new section from the auto parts store. Usually have to flare the ends and piece it all together with connectors. Sometimes it is easier just to add a new long section and just leave the old there. It helps to take an old section in so they can match it up. If the piece is a long, it is better. All the bends in it really shorten the lines down quickly. The light should go off once the brake line is fixed, the lines are bled and the master cylinder is full.

For the fan, might check the fuse for it first. Also, check under the hood to make sure the wiring is connected good to the fan motor.

['97ventureowner]

I have to agree with Yogi on this matter. I replaced the brake and fuel lines on my '90 Lesabre last fall, and I can say it was very labor intensive. The parts (lines) aren't that expensive, it's the labor to bend, and install them. It might be easier to replace the lines with new ones rather than patch the old ones. You might find that you patch one line, only to have a new leak develop somewhere else on the line. If those lines are original, they are 15 years old, and if you live in an area where the winters are harsh or they use salt on the roads, then the lines will fail sooner. In addition, the way these cars are designed, moisture gets trapped along the lines and accelerates their demise due to rust.

[Gocart879]

just finished my brake job on my 89 limited sedan, new lines for both back wheels to the rear were installed by myself. while the parts may not cost much, if you dont have a decent tool set and tube bender you could be in for a real treat. use the correct tools like a flared nut wrench and common things to make life easier. as for the old sections i wouldnt cut them, i would try to loosen them at the unions(where line is placed to line) while of course being careful of the fuel lines while run parallel to the brake lines.once you free the lines up which shoudnt be that bad(take your time) you should be all set to just take the new one and match with the old one. if you have jack stands etc, go for it, the last thing is to take it to a shop which im sure you dont want to do, but replace what looks bad, +

good luck, keep us updated

[kahjdh]

where is the blower fuse? it is hard to get to the fuse panel on this car so i cant tell.

[kahjdh]

Also where is the open door switch for the tail gate?