I bought a new MTB that came with SRAM Level disc brakes. As expected the lines on them were way too long so I decided to shorten them to tidy things up. On the front brake I cut the front line from the lever end to shorten it about 3 inches, installed new barb/olive, reinserted into lever and had good lever feel and didn’t need to bleed… lost maybe 1 drop of brake fluid during the process. Followed same exact process for the rear. However, when finished when I pulled the brake lever and expected all to be well it was as if the lever was frozen. It moves maybe 1 mm. Feels almost like it is a mechanical issue. I thought somehow the new olive.barb must of restricted any fluid movement so I pulled them off to check and replaced them just in case. after reassembly same deal. Handle is rock hard doesn’t move at all. Figured I’d ask what to do next before trying anything in case this is an easy save. Was scared to pull the handle with it detached from hose as this would purge lots of its fluid, but would prove if issue is up/downstream of the lever.
You’re using the SRAM screw-in barbs? After you cut the line, you need to jam something pointy in there, like a nail, to make sure the passage is open. If you don’t, when you put the olive in, you’ll just crumple up the liner.
Try it again, cut another 5mm off the line
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You need to tighten the compression nut more or you didn’t use a red olive. The rear brake lever probably has a “connectamajig” valve in it, which prevents fluid from leaking out when the lever is disconnected. If you don’t tighten the compression nut enough, or use a red olive, the valve wont open