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No advice other than practice, practice, and more practice. All tools are not created equal, so if the tool drags or scrapes the outside of the bend, try a single drop of oil at that point to make a smoother bend.
Make sure you have a double flare (two step) flaring tool, brake line pressure is too high for a single flare.
Whenever possible I will use the old line as a template for the new one, or bens some bailing wire in the shape I want as a template.
Don't forget to put the flare nuts on BEFORE you flare the ends. BTDT.
Leave some "wiggle room" in the new length of line, just in case you need to make last minute adjustments.
Get the copper/nickle brake tubing. Easy to work with, easy to flare and looks nice and makes nice bends. DO NOT buy stainless.
Yes, this! The copper/nickle is soooo much easier to work with. It won't rust either. You can bend it very easily by hand and it is much easier to flare as well. And you can buy it at any AutoZone.
thanks all! I ponied up for one of the nicer flare tools.... I also went copper etc.... going to try to hit this project in the morning, glad I got a roll of tubing
thanks all! I ponied up for one of the nicer flare tools.... I also went copper etc.... going to try to hit this project in the morning, glad I got a roll of tubing
Nice. Use the old brake lines as a template for the new ones. The closer you can match the bends and shape by taking your time, the better the fit will be (and less frustration).
Hopefully your good flaring tool in better than my cheap flaring tool. I have to clamp the tool in the vise so it'll hold the tube tight enough that it doesn't push out when I try to flare it
Maybe try putting a bit of grease on the mating surface, looks like its galling.
And as for why not stainless? Stainless is a lot stronger/harder and therefore harder to work with
thanks! I'll have to take a look at that... I used the compound that came with the flaring tool, probably didn't use enough...
think the flare will seat well enough like this? I've already taken the time to bend the lines around the pumpkin etc (not for corvette)... need to wrap up this project so I can get the z in the garage and start taking it apart
it's not perfect but good enough for a 64 mustang!
It's hard to tell in the pic, but it looks like there might be a bit of dirt or something in the flare. But I'm pretty sure it'll seal, just looks a little rough around the edges
yeah I did some test flares with the grease they provided, then used some wheel bearing grease, same results all around...
I cleaned up the flares I did and they looked as good as the stock ones...
I went with what I did, and we'll find out if it worked next week... thanks for the double flare tip, it's definitely better than the crap tool I had..
thanks again for all the input, even if it was for a stang
I think that's just the green poly coating flaking off the tube. I've used a lot of that tube in the past, nothing I haven't seem before with that type of line.
tips on bending hard brake lines
