Exhuast pipe burning hole in brake hose

[HuntingtonSpider]

The leak smells like motor oil. It's the size of a Texas pancake after less than 2 weeks of sitting.

[124JOE]

dab your finger in the puddle and rub your fingers together
oil is smooth brake fluid feels different almost gritty
try doing this with clean brake fluid and fresh oil so you can tell

if theres a leak in your brakes,gravity will let it out
but if you pump the pedal it will make a puddle that you can track
yes its a mess
if you replace your lines it may cost $100
if you have a shop do them it will cost $300 or so

ps theres no oil behind the motor.all oil should be in the motor,and only leak under the motor

hope this helps
id just stand on the pedal and blow the bad line,then replace

[Kent124]

Is your Fiat named the Valdez by chance?

Mysterious leaks are frustrating to say the least. I'm chasing one that wets the underside from the fly wheel to the back of the transmission. Let us know what you find out.

[dantye]

Is your Fiat named the Valdez by chance?

Mysterious leaks are frustrating to say the least. I'm chasing one that wets the underside from the fly wheel to the back of the transmission. Let us know what you find out.

Kent124: IMHO, Your leak sounds like it could be a cam housing rear bearing cover plate or the gasket between a cam housing rear corner and the cylinder head. The latter is a bear to fix - and almost impossible to find if it is on the intake side of a FI car, but the rear cover is just a bit tedious to change because of the proximity of the firewall. Either of these leaks can easily result in engine oil showing up around the oil pan and all the way to the back of the transmission, possibly even slung around the drive shaft tunnel by the coupling and drive shaft if the the leak is bad enough.

I slowed my cam housing corner leak down a bit by re-tightening the rear corner cam housing bolt, and decided to leave it alone for now, since it looses less then 1/3 quart of oil in 500 miles.

[Kent124]

dantye, the rear cover plate is a good idea. I hadn't thought about that area leaking but it makes sense. Thanks for the help

[Kent124]

I tried to make Huntington's pictures more viewable. Not sure this helps at all.

[dantye]

My exhaust used to contact my e-brake cable as well - I tried over the top and under, and also wrapped the cable with heat shield. Then I went to see my exhaust guy and he was able to add a clamp and raised the whole run back of the converter about an inch and a half - problem solved. I'll try to post a pic or two this week.

Yea, I need to do the same soon. I may replace the center resonator with a short glass-pak at the same time.

Finally had to have a Glass Pack welded in to get clearance from the parking brake cable.


Even with aluminum duct tape around the brake cable sheath, the old exhaust position had started to burn it. Still some of the protective fabric to trim away.

Sounds about the same - you can almost count "1-2-3-4" at idle! Video: http://youtu.be/xP7cV4qkk8U

[dantye]

My newly modified exhaust was never touching the rubber "guard" around the parking brake cable, but the radiated heat still burned right through to the rubber "guard" and the plastic cable sheath on the new cable I installed just months ago. It was down to the internal wound metal sheath which was already beginning to rust.

Disgusted, I think I finally came up with a way to protect the E-brake cable from exhaust heat. First, I treated the rust where the sheath had burned through. Then I cut some thin stainless steel from a dept. store waste basket, (Wal-Mart bath accessory, etc.) to the same width as the (laughable) rubber "guard" on the cable, bent it around a 1/2" dowel or the like, then crimped it into a "tube" shape using sheet metal vice grips. Drilled 3 - 1/8" holes in the remaining flanges for stainless steel rivets. Folded a piece of fiberglass cloth in on itself (to reduce fraying) about 1/4" narrower than the width of the guard, then wrapped it 2-3 times around the cable at the guard location.

Just snap the stainless piece over the fiberglass cloth insulation and the cable, clamp it to install the rivets, and Bob's your Uncle!





Maybe that will fix it. BUT OH! I FORGOT: ITS A FIAT!

[RRoller123]

very clever!

[aevansgatech]

Just found this thread and I have the same problem coming...

I replaced the center resonator/muffler and that all went in fine but now I can't seem to adjust either the exhaust or the right rear handbrake cable so that they are not touching. I'm definitely concerned it will melt with time.

Can anyone confirm if you can simply remove the right half of the handbrake cable without affecting the function of the left side? Honestly I don't rely on the handbrake for anything (don't park on any hills normally) but I'm not sure if removing the cable from the right rear caliper has any effects. I could look into a clamp to raise the exhaust, but again that would give roughly an inch between the exhaust and the cable.

[Warren]

Hello:
I had the same problem and had to fabricate a lower hanging bracket to avoid the clearance issue; made from some scrap metal plate and bolted to the original bracket.

[Nanonevol]

Can anyone confirm if you can simply remove the right half of the handbrake cable without affecting the function of the left side?

On my '77 the right and left e-brake cable are the same cable and is tugged at it's midpoint by the lever, so I would think if you disconnect either side, the other wouldn't work either.

[aevansgatech]

I opted to use a racing plug wire shield (recommended on another fiatspider thread) to slip over that section of the handrake cable. It's basically a two-layer fiberglass sleeve rated for 1200F

https://flic.kr/p/WGyAnV

[RRoller123]

THAT is brilliant.

[aevansgatech]

It should work very well, the only painful part was slipping the handbrake cable out of the rear caliper!

Shameless sales plug:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NM ... UTF8&psc=1