Creative Brake Line Bending

Dan, Im about to go thru that this week. I won an auction on e-bay for a complete set of lines detailed for a 1975 cj5 already flared with fittings but not bent $40.00 I bought a bender at harbor freight for $8.00 Ill let you know how it turns out.
Steve

 

used a hose clamp with clear tubing (to prevent wear) to hold on the tubing.

 

Dan a flaring kits only about $30. I bought hte cheapie Eastwood unit and it worked fine. You can get a decent one from Harbor freight for $13
[FONT=arial, sans-serif]ITEM 40878-4VGA[/FONT]

 

i had the same problem with the cheap flarring tools...
finnaly broke down and used the premade stuff at NAPA....



they will get held down soon, i havent finished with all the lines yeat...
ill probly bend them closer to axel once finished to clean it up a little and paint them black...R)

 

dan, are you talkin about the flarring tools, or the bending tools? I have doine several with cheap tube benders and they all worked out great but you have to be albe to flar it /. aS for a bender, weven with two 1/2: rinches I still made some pllloook preety good, but you have to be albe to cu t and flar e iut. watermelon. but You can do pretty good with nchaeap too.olls if you just have the pashuns to tdo ti.

 

Dan Dont give up on flaring mine looked a little rough bt work fine so I believe you can do it with out a problem

 

Get a flaring too...even a cheap one and about 4 feet of scrap brake line....PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

 

I guess I was lucky. I practicd on some scrap tube for my first couple flares just to get the hang of it. I did make kind of a fixture on my bench to hold the thing, that helped. I also was told to champher the end of the tube a little. I think I gave 15 or so for the tube bender and 45 for the flair tool. I am very pleased with the results. I made the braided lines too, but dont tell anyone... Here is the rear on Black Jeep.

 

just noticed that orange RTV is really ugly. glad I am almost out of it.

 

There really isn't a good substitute for double flaring. If you don't or can't double flare the lines, I'd take it to a brake shop to have them do the job. Double flaring is easy -- you need the tool and a vise. The thing you have to remember is to chamfer the end of the line before flaring and to put the fitting on the line before flaring.

Cut, remove burrs, chamfer, install fitting, double flare, wire brush, install.

After all you bet your life andd the lives of others on those brakes.....

Now, for bending, I found a tool at Harbor Freight tools for around 7 - 8 bucks that is around 4 - 5 inches long and works wonders. It looks like a set of oddly shaped pliers, is blue and works sort of like a snake's mouth in that it is "dougle hinged" and will open very wide.

With this tool you can do 180 degree bends in two seconds and they'll look like factory.

Beyond that, you just need some practice in bending the lines.

Look at it this way...

A set of 'pre-formed' brake lines for a cj is around 150 - 170 dollars. You could buy the tool for 8 dollars; that leaves 142.00 that you could spend on brake lines for you to break even on the job.

I don't know how much brake line 142.00 will buy, but surely you'll get the hang of it before you use up anywheres close to that much brake line.

good luck

kamel

 

Dan: I will be the first to admit that I did sort of a spiral to make my brake line fit in the rear. The line was too long by about 4-5 inches and I didn't want to put the money out for the double flaring tool. I am too embarassed to put up a picture but the bad thing about spiraling the end to take up the slack in the line, is that it will easily get hung up if I give it a chance. It does work great though. Would love to save up and get that double flaring tool. Maybe the reason you had a hard time with it, was because it was a single flare and not double. Just a thought!

 

Wow! Until I read this post, I had no idea that there were any really expensive flaring tools out there. I can't believe how much some of the brand names charge, considering how simple a tool they are.

x3 or x4 or whatever on the cheapie version. Mine gets okay results if I take my time. I think brake and fuel lines are probably my least favorite job, though.

Just curious, if you've got a nice one at work, would your boss let you sign it out for a night?

 

I have used a less-expensive "Pep-Boys" bought tool to do my hydraulics also--
One challenge that I have had with Double flaring is doing the flares on the very thick walled tubing. I bought a roll of 20 foot from NAPA, it was so thick walled that first flare step of the double flare ended-up off centered. The thick walled hydraulic tubing is very hard to work with--- and I do not know where to get tubing that is of a regular thickness that would be easier to work (that is that comes in long lengths)

Using the NAPA thick stuff, lead to a distorted flare and fluid leaks. With the thiner pre-flared lengths that you buy from any auto parts store, the flaring is easier, with less to no distortion (out of round-ness)-- and no leaks.

Curently my 11" brake system has the thick tubing-- and tends to leak a little a couple of fittings. This means that I will have to re-do the whole hydraulic brake line system with some store-bought flared stock-- and use fittings to join several short lengths to span the long runs. I did not want to have to have extra fittings-- but if I cannot find a 12 foot solid length-- to go from the Master Cyl, all the way to the rear of the Jeep- what else can I do!?. I suppose it does not hurt anything to have three or four extra fittings in the hydraulics anyway-- but I just want to build brakes that are reliable and stop those 33" tires on a dime.

The quest continues...

 

Inline Tube has some good advice on making your own flares...look under "tools". http://www.inlinetube.com/

Quick Tip: How to Flare Tube

Tips for a Perfect Flare - When flaring tube, it is important to read all the instructions carefully. Before you flare the tube, deburr and chamfer both edges of the tube, allowing the tube to roll over and create a smooth edge. To deburr the inside edge, use a drill or file and rotate the file in the opening of the tube. The outside edge can be done with a standard file. Tube cracking is caused when the tube is not properly deburred. Do not cut tube with a tube cutter. When the cutter becomes dull, it hardens the end of the tube causing flaring to be very difficult. Flaring tube takes practice and an understanding of how the tools work. Once the practice is put in, the understanding will come. Over tightening the tool will break the flare button. Replacement flare buttons are available. Call (586) 532-1338 for details.