Dad’s is a 97…it’s Dad that is 93…soon to be 94.
Sorry. We old guys get confused by too many numbers.
Your dad’s '97 won’t have ABS either.
I think a '97 would have ABS, my '96 did and a '94 Dodge truck that I had did.
But you cannot fix a brakeline with tape.
What does your truck have to do with a Dodge Neon?
You know what? This is really easy. Have your dad watch you tape the brake line. Put as much tape on it in any way he likes, and do whatever it takes to make him happy. Then have him watch the fix and get in the car, start the engine and step on the brake as hard as you can. Ask him if it leaks.
There is simply no way that any tape will seal the leak. Not even for one single application of the brakes. By pressing hard on the pedal you may even blow the failed line apart even worse, but it will surely prove to your dad that tape won’t stop a brake line leak.
I don’t think he believes it will “stop” it, just slow it down where he can “monitor” it and refill as needed. Again since he doesn’t drive much or long distances he thinks this plan would work.
BRM7675,
Do you know if it’s the metal brake line that runs from the front of the car to the rear of the car that has the leak, or if its the rubber brake line that connects to the metal brake line to the wheel that has the leak?
If its the rubber brake line, I will buy you a new one for each rear wheel, and send them to you, and you can pay someone to install both of them if you can’t do it yourself.
If its the metal brake line, you’re on your own.
I recommend going to a salvage yard, and seeing if there’s one available from a junked car there.
Sending you $40 worth of rubber brake lines seems like a way better idea than you guys putting tape on a brake line, and possibly killing someone, yourselves included.
BC.
Elly, the '97 Neon did not come with ABS. I checked.
Dad says he knows where the leak is coming from, he did not go into detail so I am not sure exactly.
brm7675
As parents become very elderly, it is frequently necessary for their adult children to engage in role reversal, and become parental in regard to the parent. To say that your father would defy you and do what he wants to do anyway is just a cop-out. If you had a teenaged son or daughter who told you that he/she was planning to do something dangerous to himself/herself as well as others, I am confident that you would intervene, rather than just copping-out and rationalizing that they would just do what they want to do in spite of you.
I’m sure that you would find a way to prevent this hypothetical teenager from doing harm to himself/herself and to others. Your situation is actually the same thing, only with the ages and the roles reversed. You must now become the parent of your father, and you must find the proper leverage point to prevent your father from acting out his irrational, ill-advised plans. Everyone has a leverage point, and the trick is to find it and utilize it.
As StrongDreamsWaitHere stated, “stop being your Dad’s codependent enabler”.
And, as circuitsmith said, “This is more a case for Dr. Phil than Tom & Ray.”
Having experienced the aging process with two proud, independent, stubborn elderly parents, I can tell you that what you need to do isn’t easy, but it needs to be done. If I was able to successfully play the parental role with two stubborn elderly parents, you can find a way to do it with just one. Stop rationalizing and copping-out.
At 93 years of age and with the attitude about the brake line it’s time to stop driving; voluntarily or by force.
If he wants to kill himself fine, just don’t take X number of innocent lives while doing so.
Many years ago an elderly man (mid 80s in age) was attempting to parallel park downtown here. The curb was artificially high due to the way the street was laid out.
Due to hitting the wrong pedal multiple times, panic, and age this area more closely resembled the Basra Highway than a public roadway.
(Six cars damaged, 5 parking meters wiped out, curb busted up where he jumped it and rolled down the sidewalk, 2 businesses with storefront damage, and debris all over the place. The one good thing out of this is that by sheer chance he did not hit anyone on the sidewalk.)
According to the police, “he didn’t mean to do it”.
"What does your truck have to do with a Dodge Neon? "
Nothing except it was a Dodge. Usually when something is available one year in one vehicle, it is available in the rest of the line 3 years later.
Hey, guys, of course tape will not fix the line, and it is not safe, BUT he will have front wheel brakes. Cars have been that way since about '67
I dunno, some of you folks are really being judgemental. Dad is just from a different era and got by doing things to make do. There’s a bunch of old farmers in South Dakota duct taping and wiring their equipment together all the time. First off, you folks will be there yourselves sooner than you think so don’t be so quick to judge whether a person should drive or not simply because of their age and desire to fix things cheaply. If the State of Indiana and the insurance company don’t have a problem with him, I’d back off a little.
I’m sure Dad doesn’t realize that the brake lines are high pressure hydraulic lines and tape won’t hold. He’s just looking for a cheap way to solve the problem. This is where sons usually step in and pick up a brake line from the junk yard and take care of it. Because of the split system he’ll still have two wheel braking. I’ve had to stop at Walmart and buy some tape too to slow a radiator hose leak down to make it the rest of the 150 miles home too. We’ve all had to cobble once in a while to get by.
The guy has been through four or more wars, and I think deserves a little more consideration than just take his keys because he doesn’t understand why it won’t work. I’m sure he’s not going to mow anyone down but its time for son and daughter to step up and get it repaired-that’s all. IMHO and been there done that.
Doesn’t the dual braking system give you diagonal corners, not front or back?
The original dual master cylinders (circa 1970s) had a front circuit and a back circuit.
At that time, Saab was the only one with diagonal hydraulic circuits, which are superior.
Later on, many other manufacturers adopted the diagonal arrangement, but whether this old Dodge Neon has diagonal circuits is something that I can’t answer.
brm7675: “I don’t think he believes it will ‘stop’ it, just slow it down where he can ‘monitor’ it and refill as needed. Again since he doesn’t drive much or long distances he thinks this plan would work.”
I am beginning to suspect we might be dealing with a troll, either that or RG is the OP’s father.
Bing: “There’s a bunch of old farmers in South Dakota duct taping and wiring their equipment together all the time.”
That’s fine for use on the farm, but not for public roads.
Bing: “First off, you folks will be there yourselves sooner than you think so don’t be so quick to judge whether a person should drive or not simply because of their age and desire to fix things cheaply.”
I plan to give up the keys gracefully when the time comes, even if I have to move to a place where there is adequate mass transit.
Also, this isn’t about a “desire to fix things cheaply.” It’s about a repair that won’t work and will put others in danger. If he wanted be be cheap and repair body rust with metallic tape, or use duct tape on tears in the upholstery, nobody would be worried. If he was willing to drive around with a dead battery because of a “desire to fix things cheaply,” we would say, “carry on, but make sure you have a good set of jumper cables.” This is about safety, not frugality.
RG?
Please refresh my memory, Whitey.
If the State of Indiana and the insurance company don’t have a problem with him, I’d back off a little.
Neither the state nor the insurance company knows about the brake tape plans. I guarantee you that if the dad went to his insurance company and told them he was gonna drive around in a car with duct tape on the brake line, they’d revoke his policy.
As for the war comment - I don’t remember reading about the dad’s service history anywhere (and if you just meant he was alive when 4 wars were fought, then I’ve been through 4 wars too and expect the same weight to be given to my opinions as you wish to extend to his 
). I also fail to see the relevance of experiencing war, whether as a civilian observer or as a soldier, to the intelligence of a proposed car repair.
Well according to dad the problem is “fixed” as he fixed it, drove around the block a few times and all is good, so he will be “driving” himself down to the VA hospital on monday for his 6 month check up…so if you live in Indy I would advise you to stay off the roads on monday.