Replacing brake lines... suggestions?

I'm going to need to replace all of the original brake lines in my 52' hudson hornet... None of the local auto parts stores have what I need, just small sections. I found "AGS zinc plated brake lines" on JC whitney but I'm unsure of using "zinc plated" and I am on a fairly tight budget... I've also thought about heading down to the junk yard and pulling some already straight lines as opposed to trying to uncoil 25 ft. of fragile line. Can someone please point me in the right direction as to where to buy some quality lines or a kit that doesn't break the bank... prob around 25 feet. Also the master cylinder and all the wheel cylinders were replaced 5 years ago but have sat for 3 of those five in a garage... I was told these should be replaced? Thanks for any help!

 

buy new! napa carries everything you need. get a roll, buy a cutter,and a flaring tool. this will give you the best results. not talking a lot of money, maybe, c-note for everything, small price to pay for something this important.

 

You can buy a kit, with a 25 foot roll of 3/16 or 1/4 from either CL***ic tube, or Inline, along with a variety of fittings, including the odd ones that are bigger size threads, for smaller tube. Either regular coated steel, or annealed stainless.
Just a little work straightening the rolled tubing out!

 

Ditto on NAPA they can fix you up with everything you need!

 

I dont like uncoiling the lines myself and never can get them as straight as I like so I buy the 60" straight pieces of brake line and a few flare unions. Usually only end up with one union in long run.

 

the trick is to unroll the coil moving your hands down the roll in small increments, or unroll it on the floor or work bench.

 

Unrolling it on the inside a piece of angle iron works well also.

 

Yup my sentiments exactly. Rolled tubing will never look as good as the factory straight replacement tubing. The only place where you may need a longer line is going to the rear and a brake line coupling will solve that.

I measure the approximate length of each section that I need to replace, add a few inches and buy that length of tubing required to reproduce it. I can see no point in paying for a 60" piece when a 30 " piece can be cut down to replace a 26" piece that I need. I make a list and go to the parts store. I start with the short inverted flare nut and copy the original tube using a good bender that I clamp in the vice. I hate the long nuts that come on the tubes so I buy some short flare fittings to replace the long ones after the final length is determined, cut but not yet flared. You may not care and just put he long one back on....before you flare it!

 

If you drill a straight hole in a 2x4 piece of lumber the short way and the long way the same size as the tube you are using , you can get the coil straight. P*** the line thru the short way , then p*** it thru the long way. It will come out pretty straight. If its really cobbled up to start a slightly larger hole for the first p*** could be used. If you plan on doing lots of lines you can make the same tool they sell easy enough.

If you really want to get crafty you could hinge the lumber thru the hole and get pieces with ends in there to be straightened.

The absolute easiest brake line job was when I used inline tube pre bent kit. Not cheap but had all the lines in in less than 1 hr. And they fit perfect. Bet they got your pre-bent kit.

Bone yard lines is a bad idea if you ask me for anything other than practice and trial, wouldn't use them unless the car is there with obviously brand new lines.

Measuring what you need and buying straight sections isn't a bad way to go, at least 1/2 of the flairing work is done already for you and no straightening is needed pretty rare to have a very long piece of dead straight run most any vehicle anyway. Your unions should be bent out from the frame and then back in for wrench clearances.

 

If you go to NAPA get the new dark green looking line it's much easer to use.

 

I would never use brake parts, other than maybe bracket or the occasional odd connection like a "T", from a junk yard. You never know if the part has sat for a long time and has already started to deteriorate from the inside.

I redid the entire system on my '37 Buick using the newer easy bending brake lines from Advance Auto, any other McParts store should carry it. The hardest part was dealing with the pimple faced kid behind the counter who didn't know, and didn't seem to care, what he was selling. The line came in a 25' coil. I also bought a few premade pieces for a few of the shorter runs. The added bonus of buying a premade piece is if you don't have a lot of experience making double flares use the premade one to compare yours. I don't think I've ever made my own double flares, or it had been so long I don't remember, but I didn't want to use couplers, I wanted one complete line. I don't think couplers look good and it's another place for a leak.

Get a good flaring tool, I bought a pretty nice one from NAPA for around $35. Some might recommend you go out and buy a $400 flaring tool but if you're only going to do one or two cars that's an extra expense. Just buy a good hand one.

 

They are all zinc plated, or galvanized.

Summit racing will have everything you need, rolls of brake line, double flair tools ends. Or NAPA or your local parts store, just have them order it, you are not confined to what is on the shelf but you have to ask.

 

some where in this thread a guy made a tool to take the curve out of rolled brake/fuel lines..happy hunting!
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235784

 

"I dont like uncoiling the lines myself and never can get them as straight as I like so I buy the 60" straight pieces of brake line and a few flare unions. Usually only end up with one union in long run. "
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That is what I do too. But I buy my stuff usually at Farm and Fleet. Here they are cheaper than napa, they go on sale regularly, closer and i'm in there all the time. Tractor Supply has them too, but a little more. i buy there when i need it right away and f&f is sold out of the size i need.

 

Sorry, but they're not ALL zinc plated (galvanized). There's galvanized, stainless, and the plastic coated (black or dark green) ones.

Galvanized are least expensive, basic stuff that's most like OEM lines. Stainless offers corrosion protection but is harder to bend and flare. The plastic coated stuff bends and flares easy but doesn't look OEM on older cars. I went with galvanized because my car only sees fair weather and the OEM ones lasted longer than 60 years anyway.

This is one job where saving money shouldn't be your first consideration. It's just not that expensive whichever route you choose.

Just about all auto parts stores sell this in straight lengths up to about six feet, or 25' rolls. A cheap double flaring tool is about $30.00 and a tubing cutter even less than that. Make sure you get a good little file to deburr your cuts before flaring and above all MAKE SURE YOU INSTALL THE FITTINGS BEFORE YOU FLARE THE ENDS .

 

"MAKE SURE YOU INSTALL THE FITTINGS BEFORE YOU FLARE THE ENDS ."

Sounds like I'm not the only one that does that and don't put them on backwards, I did that already too. <!-- / message -->

 

Another easy screw up, you put the fitting on, flare it, bend it but you forget to move the fitting back to the end and now you can't get the fitting through the bend. Time to grab a new peice or unbend it.

 

I've been doing lines this weekend. Speedway has a pretty good kit also. I bought a coiled line and with a little patience you can get it to run straight. Double flares are a piece of cake with a little practice. Youtube has some good videos of guys doing double flares.

 

I had to cut off a few of my best double flares because of these goofs, very easy to do.

 

I would stay away from the galvanized tubing. They split at the seem line.
I've had them leak at 90 degree bends (with the proper tube bender) or split at the ends while I'm double flaring them.VERY frustrating especially after working on a section with multiple bends and then that **** happens.

 

Here's another option...
http://www.fedhillusa.com/

 

Wow, Thank you guys for all the responses... bone yard is out of the question. There is a ton of insight on here and definitely am learning a lot on here... I've never replaced brake lines before so it's all pretty new to me... not rocket science but all the insight is awesome. I can rent a flaring tool at auto zone at no charge (just a deposit) and I'm going to start with the pre made shorter sections at the rear end and work my way forward.

 

we have bulk rolls of line at oreillys too, and probably cheaper than napa. just make sure you use a double flare tool, single flare wont seal right...

 

a helpful hint; cut the lines off at the fittings with side cutters, so you can use a six point socket on them to keep from stripping out the head.

 

The best way to straighten tubing is to pull it thru a piece of wood with resistance. A tight hole thru 3/4 plywood or a tapered hole thru a 2 by 4.

Also aluminum and sheetmetal can be bent the same way.

 

Another suggestion. Just my 2cents.
Get extra material. You will mess up a flare or two. You will make an incorrect bend or two. If this is your first time you will make mistakes. Just make sure you practice flaring and bending before you get into the middle of the roll.
Another thing I found helpful to get it straightened, besides the 2x4 trick, was to get it somewhat straight, then roll it on the garage floor, slowly working your way down the line.

 

If you do not know what you are doing, consider a kit from inline or send the car to one who knows. I have had to do too many brake line jobs done poorly and dangerously by guys who tried to save a buck. I just bent and flared all new lines on a model a on deuce rails in less than a day, all neat and done right. The previous owner did them and every fitting leaked and a few were cross threaded

 

Brake line is seamless, I definitly wouldn't use seamed brake tubing

 

Just picked up some seemless brake line from auto zone and rented one of their double flaring tools. I'm having trouble getting a double flare... single no problem and I'm following the instructions precisely. Onto searching the forum on "double flaring" Thanks so much everyone!!!

 

I've been working on cars since I was a little kid chasing tools for my dad at his repair shop but, as I stated before, I don't remember ever making my own brake lines. The first ones were on my '37 Buick last year. I also went to my local McAutoparts, in my case Advance Auto, where I bought the line and used their loner tool. That was a mistake, the tool was a cheap tool to begin with and having dozens of people use and abuse didn't make it any better. In the clamping bar you will see grooves in the holes that are suppose to grip the line, the one I got had smooth walls in the holes for the popular size lines. I took it back and my neighbor said I could use his flaring kit, it was a little better but not much. It worked OK if I used a C clamp to clamp the middle of the clamping bar, because the two sides spread out in the middle when the clamping bar screw is tightened, but I still had trouble. I ended up going to NAPA and buying their $35 kit' I had a lot better success rate making the flares. I still clamped the center, I figured that would have prevent premature wear of the gripping groves. $35 isn't back considering you're saving $$$ by doing the job yourself.

I also agree with buying more than you need. In my first attemps I most have gone through 3' of tubing. I was also very fussy on the flares, I checked every one under a magnifying gl*** to make sure there wasn't any deformities or cracks.

Also, watch the Youtube videos, they were a big help.

BTW, if you buy a good flaring kit you can also do the bubble flares for modern cars. I did my wife's '96 Monte Carlo a couple of months ago without a problem.