Blown 97 Steel Brake Line… (size question)

[David Suesz]

Looks like rust got my long rear brake line right at the beck end. Can't find pre-bent replacement, so I guess I'll have to make one. Before ripping it apart, are the steel lines SAE or metric? What size?

 

[drdoom]

I think it's standard 3/16".

 

[koda2000]

I think it's standard 3/16".

that's what i was thinking too. the only thing you want to check is the fittings on the ends. sometimes i find that the OE fittings are special (in one why or other) and i end up needing to reuse them. i don't know whether you'll find this to be the case, but examine/test fit them. if you do need to reuse the old fittings you'll need to cut and re-flare (double flare) the ends.

 

[DjDom]

Also, get yourself a pair of these wrenches to save yourself from a huge headache..
I used a regular open end wrench to tighten my fittings.. it leaked and needed to be tighter.. I ended up stripping the fitting and had to force it off with vice grips. Which meant redoing the flare again..

 

[MINERALGSVT]

I just did this last night on my '99 XP8 - I used the Poly Armor PA-351, 51" long 3/16" tube with 3/8-24 ends. Very easy to bend with hand, but the tubing bender works better.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...leIdSearch=39615&searchTerm=pa-351&showTitle=

 

[rb142]

I don't know what you have on your 97, but Ford does use some strange combinations of fittings, and it can be very confusing figuring out what exactly you have. I was just working at the master cylinder end where I have (as best I can tell) regular 3/16" lines and double flares (not bubble flares), but with metric (12X1.0 and 10X1.0) fittings. Good luck finding that combination, so making a new one of those would need to reuse the fittings. The back end may well be different, but check carefully before destroying or throwing away your old fittings. (I think I am going to have to do that job soon too.) Brake/suspension stuff on these trucks has a much larger percentage of old-school SAE fasteners (while the engine end is mostly all metric), so the back may well be 3/8-24.

 

[bill06447]

Just did this on my 97, 3/16 with SAE ends. I was under a time constraint so I ended up dropping the front skid plate and cutting and flaring the old line where it bends near the fuel filter and installing the replacement line with a coupler at that point. Definitely a challenge running a single piece front to back...

Bill