brake line bending and flaring for a dummie

[Mater]

any one know of a bood brake line bender and a flare tool that is also inexpensive (not cheap) and have any pointers?


last time i messed with brake lines was a good 12 years ago now and figure i might as well replace the brake line that is left on the grand am sense i am replace every thing else

[DanStokes]

The coil springs are a pretty good deal and work really well. The downside is that you have to remember to bend BEFORE you make the flares! Otherwise you can't get the springs over the line.

I don't know if anyone (Advance/AutoZone/O'Riley's, etc.) rents the hydraulic flaring tools but I understand they're the cat's a$$. Worth a few phone calls to find out.

Dan

[Mater]

i'll look into it

[tardis454]

I use a Made in USA New Britain double flaring tool kit that I bought at a flea market many years ago for $18.

Like this one; http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-New-...-/331813285533



The Chinesium kits Hawbaw Fwate and Autozone sell ain't worth a shit. Blue Point (Snap-On) ones last ok, but they fail too, under warranty though..

For line bending I use my bare hands, and any available hard round or curved surface. Sockets, pieces of wood, casters, small wheels etc work fine.
Do yourself a favor and use easy bend (Nickel/Copper) line. With Nickel/Copper you do the job once and you're done. It don't rot and it's easy to bend.
Also, invest in a good tubing cutter. Home Depot, and Lowes have decent ones for cheap. I bought the ones that have replaceable cutting wheels.

[Mater]

i need to go through my grandpa's tools i got last year.. i think i saw something like that just thought it was a single flare for fuel line

[CTX-SLPR]

I like my Rigid brand flare kit for 37º flares. My OTC brand 45º flare kit works pretty well but you have to be careful to really get those clamps tight on the tube or it'll push out.

[BlueCuda340]

I always make the lines about 1" too long. That way when I forget to put the nut on I can cut the flare off, put the nut on, and re flare.

[Mater]

for 37* i just have a cheap summit one i modified... it;s not that great as it scores the tubing

[Mater]

I always make the lines about 1" too long. That way when I forget to put the nut on I can cut the flare off, put the nut on, and re flare.

that sounds like me when i made AN lines for the lebaron

[Huskinhano]

I think I got my double flare kit from Eastwood about 25 years ago. I don't do a lot of bending but out of all benders, I like the one with 2 handles. Put the tube in and draw the other half over. It's marked where to put the tube and with the instructions you can bend the tubing to the dimensions you want pretty easily. This was my most recent job when I installed disc brakes on my 66 along with a adjustable proportioning valve. I did goof a few times but it was do to not being able to know how to use a ruler, lol. Tubing is cheap.

[SuperBuickGuy]

what is "cheap".... what price range? I finally broke down and bought the eastwood flaring tool.... no leaks at all on my FJ40... not terribly cheap, but certainly not the most expensive.

[hauen]

I like the Mastercool 71475 hydraulic kit. If you look around you can get them for under $300 it will do most types of brake lines and fuel injection lines and you can get the 37* dies to do AN lines too.

[anotheridiot]

simple stuff, nice sharp cutter wheel, do not over do the deburring of the line, it ends up too thin. a drill bit for the tube size to deburr has helped more than using the chamfler tool on most cutters. I love the suggestion of making them long for reflaring when you forget the nut, but also when it leaks, you can have more room to redo it. But like any custom builder will tell you, make it look like you meant to route the tube that way if they work the first time and they are long.

[Mater]

what is "cheap".... what price range? I finally broke down and bought the eastwood flaring tool.... no leaks at all on my FJ40... not terribly cheap, but certainly not the most expensive.

Under 100 if I can as not sure how much I will use it after the grand am

[SuperBuickGuy]

It simply depends on how much your time is worth.... I've spent days chasing leaks, so I figured the extra money spent = time saved... and I think they're more like 170