98 Civic Ex, d16y8, 160k

I live up north and the salt and snow finally got to my brake lines. At least one of the 2 lines that go to the rear brakes developed a hole and I now have no hydraulic braking whatsoever. I took a look under the car and the leak is about dead center on the underbody in that plastic undercarriage with the fuel lines. I would like to replace them myself if possible as I have access to a lift and a warm shop to work in. I just had a few concerns before starting the project.

The brake lines are very close to the fuel lines and I'm worried I might disturb them and cause even more damage, is this likely to happen? can I do anything to avoid it?

The brake lines run above the fuel tank towards the back which from what I'm told will need to be dropped. I'm afraid doing this will be a little out of my depth and would like to run the lines around them. Is this possible/safe?

The cheapest price I could find in town was ~500. Do you think I would be better off just paying a shop to fix it or is this something I could probably handle myself?

Any input appreciated,
Thanks!

 

You can buy the lines new from Honda for not much more than $500 that's all brake and fuel. That makes it really easy. You don't have to drop the tank to do the rear brake lines but it's a lot easier if you do. And it's not hard to drop. There's an access cover for the pump under the back seat.

At the front you'll need to drop the subframe.

You can splice the existing lines but you'll need some unions (dirt cheap at any auto parts store) and a flare tool to flare the lines. It's not a very fun job and it can take some practice to start getting good flares that don't leak. New OEM or rust free used lines are the way to go if you can afford it.

 

If you do want to got OEM replacement of the entire line check out majestic honda.