Hello fellas. Im in on doing my brakes on my truck and of co**** everything is all original. New mc with power booster. So im looking at my lines and i feel i want them out of there. What do you guys thing or know about that (nicopp) brake line?
We call it cunifer (copper, nickel and iron) and it works great. Strong and flexible. Leaking oil? No, sweating horsepower
Yea i guess the look will be kool i will be the only one to notice and and i need something that last and easy to do.
More expensive but totally worth it. One tip I picked up from a brake shop is not to squash the second flare right down with the flaring tool, instead put a little brake fluid on the end, bolt it up and tighten and back off the flare nut a couple of times - the conifer is soft enough for this to 'seat' the flare and give you a really decent leak free seal. Especially good for those of that don't have a $600 flaring tool in the garage
Never understood the "you need a million dollar flaring tool mentality"..................done all my flares over the years with a parts store flaring tool. Never had an issue if prepped right. The trick is in proper prep and getting the tube lined up in the tool the right way.
I get 25 feet of 3/16 line on Amazon.com for about 38 bucks. It's usually plenty to do a car or truck with. I have a nice flare tool but the key is a square cut and deburring the end. Highly recommend the stuff.
most of the parts stores are keeping it in stock at least in my area. I use it with stainless fittings to keep all of it looking nice
NAPA sells it by the foot and in pre made lengths. The other trick to doing double flares with a cheap tool is to put a drop of lube on the second flare.Clean any excess lube with either alcohol, acetone or laquer thinner and blow air through the line to make sure it is open.
I've done two of my cars front to back with the fitted length lines and I was pretty impressed by how easy it was to hand bend. It also can be (carefully) straightened and rebent if mistakes are made. NAPA and Autozone had most of it in stock. It does take a little extra planning but the best approach is to first find out what the "true" lengths that are available. My experience was that they don't come in standard lengths, such as 12, 24, 36, 48 inch lengths, IIRC, they were like 10, 20, 30, 40 inch etc. Finding what's available for connector fittings will also make a difference in planning the layout. NAPA has books in store and online that show the various straight and angle connector fittings and adapters available (may have to order). After that, it's just a matter of laying under the car with a tape measure studying the potential layout. These were the blackish/greenish ones and I was very pleased with how they turned out.
Ok all good advise and the price seem like it will be well worth it because of the rust issue and to mold it seem easy enough vs steel. This is my first atempt to do brake lines.
Ordinary steel line will last 10 - 20 years under the worst conditions, much longer on a car not used in winter on salted roads or on muddy roads. How long do you plan on keeping the car?
That is the point of why im asking and considering the nicopp lines. Because i plan on keeping it forever and p*** ot down to either daughter if she wants it or if she has a kid maybe grandkid. But i have alot of years before that hapens.
I've seen ordinary replacement steel lines rust badly in one year and fail within two. Quite often. The price of the cuprio nickel has come down so much that the cheap stuff doesn't make sense even on a beater.
The only reason I have one is that I needed to to a lot in my shop, and I have a fair amount of arthritis in my hands. Prior to that, the KD Tools one that I got at NAPA worked just fine.
One thing to note, when using a conventional "parts store" flaring tool is that the centering pin on the mandrel sometimes gets stuck in the tube, especially on 3/16" tubing. Take care to remove it by twisting it (think unscrewing), and not rocking it. They break off fairly easily, and that will wreck your day, big-time.
In my case I am building from scratch. Might as well use the best product. Sent from my SM-G900V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Glad this thread came up ,Cuz I need to do my brake lines soon. Good info here. I read what shivasdad wrote about getting a 25' roll for 38 bucks off Amazon.com. being Canadian I went amazon.ca and it's 137 bucks a roll, or 339.55 a roll with a small ***ortment of fittings. Wtf. I think I need to move to the USA for decent prices!!!!!
Dude. Get off the internet. I retail a 25 foot roll for $45.95. I pay $25 my cost. My supplier is Napa. Shoot. I could drop off a roll to you on my way to Peterborough this weekend!!
I read your post and just about **** myself. Since I could not believe it I looked for myself. You might want to sharpen your search skills.
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