Ok, so "hate" is a little strong, but right now it is somewhere up around severely dislike.

So every time I touch this old bucket something else breaks. Case in point, I had asked some questions about replacing the brake lines and bleeder screws in this thread since my lines had rusted through:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=499335
I made the lines and go to try bleeding the system and the stupid bleeder screws on the back of the wheel cylinders just BROKE OFF! #$&*@!

What happened is: I ordered some stainless line from Jegs.com and none of it showed up straight. Poor packing + stupid FedEx = lots of bent lines. So I get them all as straight a possible to make new lines from the MC back to the drums. That all went ok until I went to put them on. Ford used a different size flare nut on the drum end of the line, as well as the flare nut on the MC end. Did the parts store have new ones....... NO. Yet all the other connections between the MC and drums are normal 7/16". Do you think I noticed this before, or after I tried to put them on? So now I have to cut the lines even shorter to re-flare them. Of course a couple of them were in a bad spot that had a FedEx bend in it so the flare wasn't perfect, but I thought it would pass. I guess not since I have 2 spots (I think on the same line) that are leaking between the nut & line. I am assuming this is because of the flare end. Yes, no?

Oh and as a result of the stupid screws breaking I ended up changing everything. I was already at the parts store so I just loaded up on new shoes, hardware, wheel cylinders, etc... The worst thing is my rear brakes were not bad, but I was not about to replace just the wheel cylinders that require you to pull everything out anyway only to find something was going to break on me going back in. It never fails.

/endrant

So can anyone tell me for sure if you see fluid leaking around the line then it is a problem with the flare?

Does anyone know where I could have bought some replacement fittings in the proper size? Stainless if possible.

 

You double flared the ends right?

It has to look and be perfect or else it won't seal. I ran into the same problem replacing lines on my old Bronco 2. What was suggested was to just keep tightening the fittings until they stopped leaking. Make for a real pain to ever remove them again though, but that did stop the leak.

And when I bought the lines, I specified for Ford so I got the correct fittings.

 

Well, I couldn't find any place that sold pre-made or vehicle specific lines. They were all just generic 3/16 lines with 7/16 ends. I even took the ends I wanted to replace to the local parts store and they said they didn't carry anything in these sizes, so I had to reuse the old ones. Of course that meant cutting the lines I had just made.

Yes I double flared them, but they were shipped to me looking like a monkey handled them. So I had to try make them straight. Unfortunately one of the lines I had to flare in a bad area. All but 1 or 2 of the connections turnned out good, but this one has a bit of an angle to the flare. I thought like you mentioned I could crank it down and it would be ok. I guess not.

 

The flaring tool didn't help reshape the bent brake line?
That's odd - my flaring tool is pretty forgiving about reshaping slightly out of round sections of brake line. Try pressing just a little harder on the flared section of line with the flare tool - it may help reshape it a bit ...

Except, I've never touched stainless steel brake lines, but I think it might help.

 

The SS lines are a bit more brittle than the regular soft steal lines. I had 2 ends split while I was making them so you have to be careful of how much you crank on them.

No it didn't straighten out. The one real problem flare end had a slight angle to it, so I am pretty sure it will need replacing. I called Jegs and told them I couldn't straighten out the one line enough to use so they are shipping me yet another one.

 

Might try finding a Parker store for the fittings. They seem to be wide spread.

That's also who we use (my company) when building hydraulic testers and production machines for "our" customers.

I believe they also cater to the Suppliers of our automotive makers. I know they handle a lot of the OTR truck stuff for CAT and others...

Grab a fitting or note the size and head on into a store, JIC or non JIC, offset swivels...you could make sure you never have another brake line issue again...
You may get lucky... !

 

I have never heard of that place...??? We have some of the major chains - NAPA, Advance Auto, Auto Zone, PepBoys and local parts places that are better for things like this, but they said they don't carry them. I didn't even bother with the national places since they hardley ever have odd stuff I need.

I was just thinking if some local brake repair place would have these or not. Anyone think it's worth a shot or waste of time?

 

Just a shot in the dark, but have you tried a Ford dealer? And to possibly save frustration, they might even have the prebent lines, or special order them for you. I know you already bought the stainless, but with the headaches involved, it might be worth it. Then, you could sell the stainless tubes to some rice owner who doesn't know better.

 

If you have the time to spare (w/out a headache) may want to check it out. www.parker.com They also have a "location" search window, to help you look for a local dealer or Parker Store. If its hydraulic and having to deal with fluid movement or connections, Parker has it or can get it...or something similar that should fit your application.

Note: the web addy will probably direct you to the Int'l website, be patient... there is quite a bit of stuff on there.

 

If you double-flared it right, which I'm sure you did, I can't imagine what would make it leak. But yeah, unless the fit is nearly immaculate, you're going to have a leak. Lots of pressure on those connections.

 

So I found the source of my leaks..... The right rear connector did in fact have a less than optimal flare put on it. Yes I did it, but I couldn't really help it. The kinks in the line from shipping were in all the wrong places. Anyway, the other end of the line was leaking too. Why, you might ask? Apparently some bonehead managed to cross-thread the fitting into the end of the flex line.

New flex line and new stainless line should be going in over the weekend. Every thing else looked good. No leaks and fit along the frame just fine.

 

I case anyone cares, it was the flare on the right rear end. It wasn't a bad leak, but to me any leak is a bad thing. The leak on the other end..... you know the end that some bonehead cross-threaded into the flex line , I got a new flex line from the auto parts store for no charge.

All that seemed to be fine for state inspection. Too bad the rest of the truck didn't pass. Apparently if you try to be helpful by removing your wheel locks before you get to the station, the guy will fail you for a missing lug nut.

 

Whoops....!

 

i had a line fail as i was leaving the local fairgrounds after the 4rth of july fireworks, rusted and split out at the connection right before the rubber flex line to the rear axle. not much fun in heavy traffic with only front brakes and very little pedal. spent 4 hrs the next day running new line and bleeding it out. its a real pain triying to feed new line down the framerail with the fuel tank in the way. had to re-use the fitting at the proportioning valve, it was diffrent thread from what i got at the parts store. i just went with std steel line, figured that was what was in it before and it went 13 years, this should go another 10. idid paint all my lines after this, maybe that will help. also the flaring tool you can buy at autozone for $25, dont , get a good set from sears or somewhere, this cheap junk just wanted to push the tube through the clamp when i was trying to flare it. chinese junk! found out after i got it all done that dad had 2 flaring sets! (i took the junk set back)

 

Yea, I got the flare kit from Sears. It worked fairly well...... when there were no kinks in the line where I am trying to flare it.

Actually the easiest part that went back in was the 6' piece that I bent up to go from the MC down the frame rail. Not too bad at all. I also didn't have any kind of proportioning valve in-line so like you mentioned, the tank was the hardest part. I also see why it took more than (2) 6' pieces of line to get to the back. After all the bends and kinks there was about 4" - 5" left to get to the flex line. D'oh! No problem, I had extra pieces from what I cut off.

The hardest part was bending the rear lines to go on the clips and up around the diff.