the "right" brake line flaring tool

[ryf]

so now that my ex is play only... my brake line on my rear axle caught a snag... since they are all kinda rusty, I was thinking of retubing the whole truck, hard and soft lines on the brakes.

when I was playing with it realized how bad it was.

so we all know brake line flaring tools are not equal, and since I'm doing more than one line, the HF tool is out since from my readings here its not the best tool to plan a job like this around.

what is a good tool, not the best most expensive, but a good quality, workable unit to get me through the job.

my ex is currently not driveable from this, but since I have a DD its not a 911. thnx for your help.

my soft lines are ok.. but its not that much more money to do it all at once, so why not, and its over with!

 

[IZwack]

I used the HF tool (the one u mentioned) when I did my SAS and it worked fine. Of course the inverted flares arent the best but so far, my brakes have held up fine. Just practice making a few flares beforehand.

 

[ryf]

fair enough... they are cheap, maybe I'll buy two, what I don't want is to have to get another halfway through the project.

 

[Brian_B]

I am going to have to put new lines on my 56 when I add the booster. The HF store is a long way from here (shipping is usually more than the tools). Is there another brand that I might be able to purchase locally or do part stores "rent" the tools for this when you buy the supplies?

 

[IZwack]

Good idea on buying two... if u have the $$

The only problem I ran into was the clamping device (the thing with the two wingnuts). Sometimes, when you clamp it down, the two halves dont always line up properly with each other so the flares look odd and oblique. You just have to make sure they are lined up before you start flaring tho.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You could buy metal lines that are preflared with fittings in the auto parts store, and use a tubing bender to make the turns.

 

[Brian_B]

Ahhh...that would work. Didn't know they came pre-fab. Thanks.

 

[IZwack]

You could buy metal lines that are preflared with fittings in the auto parts store, and use a tubing bender to make the turns.

Thats what I did but the lines are sometimes too long - hence the cut and re-flare.

Just as an FYI, the fittings at the ABS controller and brake master cyl are sometimes oversized. So say the hard line is the typical 3/16, the fitting is still for the 3/16 line but its thread is larger than normal. So sometimes you have to reuse the fitting that was originally on the brake master cyl/ABS controller.

 

[BrooklynBay]

They make adapters if you don't want to flare. There is always a way around it. I guess if you have to flare one side, it's not too bad. As far as cutting the lines down, you will need a very small tubing cutter.

 

[ryf]

hmm.. that explains the "wrapped around a pipe coil" look I've seen (like something you'd see on a still) must have been to use up the rest of a length.

prefabbed sounds really good. I've never done brake line work, but lots of pneumatic and hydraulic work... are aluminum lines worth looking into?

 

[IZwack]

hmm.. that explains the "wrapped around a pipe coil" look I've seen (like something you'd see on a still) must have been to use up the rest of a length.

The coils on the brake lines is because the body flexes relative to the chassis (the body interfaces with the chassis with a set of rubber mounts). The brake system runs on the chassis while the brake master cyl is mounted on the body -- so the brake lines must have some flexability or else they will eventually fail after a bit of bumps, sways and what not.

I've never done brake line work, but lots of pneumatic and hydraulic work... are aluminum lines worth looking into?

I'm sure you'll pick it up in a few minutes.

 

[BrooklynBay]

If you are familiar with hydraulic lines, and have the proper tools, you could crimp your own hoses, and fittings. They look similar to A/C lines.

 

[CDW6212R]

Check on eBay for a good quality double flaring tool. I have a cheap kit, and I used a friend's quality tool when I added ABS to my 95 Crown Vic. I salvaged more than half of two sets of lines from donor cars, and flared the ends where they met in the middle. The two joints have never leaked. Take your time, good luck.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Home Depot, and Lowes sell a flaring tool.

 

[ryf]

I replaced my line to the rear, and the side to side lines on the rear end... is there and easy way to get air of the ABS device? I'm not interested in paying ford to bleed it, so if not I'll take it out, since it doesnt work as far as I can tell.

I plan on running new lines to the front as well, if I can't bleed the abs myself.

 

[IZwack]

I dont remember seeing any bleeder screws on the ABS controller -- but Ive only seen the 2nd gen's controller so the 1st gen's may be different.

Anyways, a few bleed cycles should get all of the air out of the system -- including the controller. In other words, any air bubbles in the controller should get "flushed" out to the calipers after a few bleed cycles.

 

[CDW6212R]

The 1st gen. models may not need to have the ABS unit bled specially. Bleed the truck very thoroughly from the back to the front, check for leaks. Test drive carefully, and look for leaks often for a while. Good luck,