pflaming Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 I took forum member's advice, bought me the tools and started making my own brake and fuel lines. If you relocate something or add, then you now have a one off line. It is not a difficult skill to learn. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDaddyO Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) I just had to do the brake lines on my 2002 Dakota and it's only 12 years old. DIN/ISO Bubble Flare M10 x 1.0 NOT to be confused with British/Girling 3/8" x 24 Inverted Flare. When did it change to 'inverted flare'? Bubble flare...really? It's just half of a double flare. Anything to save time and money on the assembly line. See; www.fedhillusa.com Edited January 1, 2015 by BigDaddyO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave72dt Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 and then you have also the standard thread,, bubble, metric thread inverted plus adapters that go from one to the other and adapter lines with two different size fittings on them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDaddyO Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Yeah, you been there eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave72dt Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) I sell them. Try figuring out what the customer wants when they ask for a brake line on the newer cars! Whomever said the guy behind the counter had an easy job hasn't been behind it. Edited January 1, 2015 by Dave72dt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordkustom Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Just from personal experience, when it comes to making your own brake lines, PLEASE grab a good quality pipe flare kit from snap on or other quality manufacturer. The ones at most "auto parts" stores are complete junk they will flare the line to a degree but they wont flare evenly wont seat and you will have leaky brakes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted January 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) I've been watching videos on brake line flaring and bending and I think I am going to try doing this myself. As mentioned, I will buy a good quality flaring tool as that is one of my concerns.......having flares that will leak. To be continued............... Also, beside replacing the lines in the '48, I am restoring a '51 Dodge and will need to do the lines in that also. My '53 Plymouth will likely need doing as well at some point so investing in some good quality tools is worth the expense. Edited January 1, 2015 by RobertKB 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 RobertKB, on 01 Jan 2015 - 2:32 PM, said:I've been watching videos on brake line flaring and bending and I think I am going to try doing this myself. As mentioned, I will buy a good quality flaring tool as that is one of my concerns.......having flares that will leak. To be continued............... You will do fine. Use your old tubing to do a few practice flares and bends. And when you do the real thing don't forget to place the flare nut on the line in the right direction prior to making the flare. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted January 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 You will do fine. Use your old tubing to do a few practice flares and bends. And when you do the real thing don't forget to place the flare nut on the line in the right direction prior to making the flare. Using the old lines to practice is a good idea. One thing they really stressed in virtually all the videos is not only to make sure you put the flare nut on but put it on in the right direction. I am going to go down to my favourite automotive store tomorrow and see what they have in the way of tools. They are very good about telling me if what they have is good quality and if not they will tell me where I can get a better tool. Not many places like that left and that is one reason I support them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDaddyO Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) And when you do the real thing don't forget to place the flare nut on the line in the right direction prior to making the flare. This is important unless you need more practice making flares... Also, nice clean straight 'ends' with no burrs inside or out. Edited January 1, 2015 by BigDaddyO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDaddyO Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 (edited) I've been watching videos on brake line flaring and bending and I think I am going to try doing this myself. As mentioned, I will buy a good quality flaring tool as that is one of my concerns.......having flares that will leak. To be continued............... Also, beside replacing the lines in the '48, I am restoring a '51 Dodge and will need to do the lines in that also. My '53 Plymouth will likely need doing as well at some point so investing in some good quality tools is worth the expense. Robert, check this out; or go to Fedhillusa.com and take a look at their 007 flare tool.It is by far the easiest flaring tool to use I've ever seen. Pricy, yes, but they also have a rental program. Also a good place for info and parts. It seems odd that he doesn't show the finished flare... Edited January 2, 2015 by BigDaddyO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) So......................time for an update. I did buy myself a double flaring kit like the one shown by Don Coatney. I bought some flared lines that were the right length and used those where I could. I also bought 25 feet of 3/16 inch line and after much practice made some lines myself. I now have all lines bent and in place. Bending was pretty straight forward. I would take the old lines and bend a new one in approximately the same shape. I used a mixture of a tube bender and good old thumb in place and hand pressure to bend them. None were exactly the same as the original but I found that once one end was secured it was easy to make minor adjustment as you install the lines. I am happy with how everything turned out with the flaring and bending. I will tighten everything down shorly, install the pistons into the wheel cylinders, attach brake springs, and proceed to fill and bleed the system. I will give a final update at that point. At times I w ondered why I was replacing the lines as quite honestly all the lines looked pretty good. That was until I removed the last line that I replaced. It was the line that ran from the brake junction with a line from the MC and a line to each front wheel. The last line I removed ran from that junction to the passenger front wheel. It travelled over the front cross member and dipped down to the bottom of the crossmember. The lowest point was sitting in caked dirt and had probably been like that for years. The pictures don't show the full extent of the deterioration of the line but I am sure glad I replace it. I had had no problems but may well have had in the future. I would guess the line was eaten through at least half its thickness in places. So I would advise people to check their lines very carefully and replace if in doubt. I will be doing the lines on my '53 shortly, likely next winter. Replacing the lines is a dirty and at times a sh*#*y job but worth the effort. Final update to follow. The culprit The deterioration Edited May 12, 2015 by RobertKB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgeb4ya Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 I too say do your own lines. No one has the 100% correct line kit for our old MoPars. They sell em and hope you will make do with what they send you... at an unreasonable price to boot I have plenty of brake line flaring tools to be able to do any type of flare up to 1/2" stainless tube.. Good quality flaring tools are a must for leak free double flaring of brake lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) My flaring kit is like yours on the left of the picture. Once I got the hang of it I was pretty satisfied with the results. Edited May 27, 2015 by RobertKB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted May 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) Final update. I am finished my brake project. I had the car out today (see picture) and everything seemed good. I can detect no leaks so far and the brakes work well with an excellent firm pedal. I worried about the flares I made but they must be good as all fittings were dry when checked. I watched some You Tube videos and followed instructions and it is really quite straight forward. I did a lot of practice flares before doing the ones for the car. I would recommend going this route to others rather than buying expensive pre-bent lines from suppliers. I did find one line that was compromised and am glad I did this project. I am now very familiar with the underside of my car and did a few other jobs while doing the brakes. Picture shows the car out today. No hubcaps in case I had to pull wheels and/or drums but things are looking good so far. I started by driving around the block and then I went and got some gas. After that I thought I might as well put a few miles on the old girl so I took her out into the country. It had been on stands for about the last eight months so it was really great to drive the car again. I had the front floor board out when I drove it for easy access to the master cylnder and front junction box to check for any possible leaks so it was plenty hot inside the car. That is why all the windows are down and the cowl vent wide open!! Edited May 28, 2015 by RobertKB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulu Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I ask the same question years ago about brass vs stainless and was told the brass alloy has less friction than stainless thereby saving the rubber cups. Most hydraulic cylinders are sleeved with a brass alloy, not just brass. Actually, brass is not a chemical element like iron or gold. All types of brass are alloys of copper and zinc, with other stuff often added for special uses. All types of bronze (copper+tin+etc) are also alloys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mlindblom Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Final update. I am finished my brake project. I had the car out today (see picture) and everything seemed good. I can detect no leaks so far and the brakes work well with an excellent firm pedal. I worried about the flares I made but they must be good as all fittings were dry when checked. I watched some You Tube videos and followed instructions and it is really quite straight forward. I did a lot of practice flares before doing the ones for the car. I would recommend going this route to others rather than buying expensive pre-bent lines from suppliers. I did find one line that was compromised and am glad I did this project. I am now very familiar with the underside of my car and did a few other jobs while doing the brakes. Picture shows the car out today. No hubcaps in case I had to pull wheels and/or drums but things are looking good so far. I started by driving around the block and then I went and got some gas. After that I thought I might as well put a few miles on the old girl so I took her out into the country. It had been on stands for about the last eight months so it was really great to drive the car again. I had the front floor board out when I drove it for easy access to the master cylnder and front junction box to check for any possible leaks so it was plenty hot inside the car. That is why all the windows are down and the cowl vent wide open!! I have a leaking brake line from my right upper to my right lower wheel cylinder. Do you have and tips for bending this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted August 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Those were the only lines I did not replace. I had several spares from parts cars and picked the two best looking. They are not likely to collect moisture as they are vertical. If I was you, I would look for good used ones or maybe have an old-time brake shop bend some. There are companies that make brake line kits as mentioned earlier. They may sell you a couple of those lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mlindblom Posted August 30, 2015 Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Sounds good. I just replaced all the wheel cylinders I'm going to flip the line and see if that works and make sure the taper is machined right in the wheel cylinder otherwise, I was thinking of having a line made. I did get a few short sections of line and might try to make my own. Thanks again for replying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertKB Posted August 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 Good luck! Make sure that those short lines are really tightened well. I had one that seeped a tiny bit. I managed to get another 1/8 turn on the nut and problem gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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