I have a 2001 F150 Supercab with a rotten brake line next to the fuel tank. I tried making new connections but after several attempts they just wont come out straight so I want to buy new premade lines and a coupling but i have read one of the connections is metric but not sure which one or what size and thread to buy. I have been to oreillys and Napa and they didnt have anything metric in stock and i dont want to take the line off and bleed the system dry.
thanks in advance.

 

Rubber line or hard line?

 

Mine was a 1990 F150 so older than yours. At that time the brake fitting from the hard line to the rear brake cylinder on the driver's side was a different fitting from the passenger side. I replaced the lines and hoses, got all the fitting/lines/hoses at the local parts places - except that one on the driver's rear. The folks at NAPA told me it was a Ford proprietary fitting and I'd have to go to a Ford place to order one.

The hard line was the same size on both sides. No idea why they felt the need to throw that one oddball threaded fitting onto those trucks. Engineers? Or a way to tie you back to the dealer for some parts?

Oh, in 1990 mine had drum rear brakes, so the only brake hoses were on the front calipers and the hose from the hard line on the frame to the tee on the rear axle.

 

Simply put a vacuum cap over the brake line when you take it off and it will not gravity bleed all the fluid out
If the line has a double flare it should be regular US pipe thread
If it is an inverted flare or bubble (rounded) it is most often metric on Fords
Here is a few pics and hit sNAPA for the line
Yes you are right the new chinese crappy line has a tendency to split when double flaring it with a flare tool
Do what I do and look for new old stock brake line on ebay made in the USA baby

 

 

 

 

I have had/have 02, and two 03's and that line rotted on all of them. It sits in rubber clips along the frame rail and rots out. I actually wrote down what I used because my 03 will probably rot again. I bought regular 3/16's metal line at O'reilly's....the ones in the large display of different lengths. I bought 1 at 60" and 1 at 20" and screwed them together....short one to the front (easier to get in). The back fitting on the axle was the same as the regular line I bought but the front fitting is the odd one. You need an adapter that screws onto that front line coming from the engine bay so the line you bought will screw in. I used an adapter from O'reilly's that worked perfect, their EDE number is 267000. Do the best you can to get the line back into at least a couple of the rubber clips. Kinda' hard with the tank in the way. I left the back fitting loose and put a drip pan under it and let it gravity bleed slowly for an hour and after tightening it down and couple pumps, pedal was solid. If not you need to bleed at wheels. At no time did I let the master go dry. I put a big gob of red grease on the front fitting where it sits in salt all winter and has been good since 2017. Good luck!

The brake line EDE was 360pvf and 320pvf.

 

They (Ford ) must have started using the cheap china crap brake line way back then
I never see any brake lines rust out on the older ones
Good luck

 

It sits in a really bad area. The snow gets packed in there and stays there all winter long....mixed with a salty paste that just keeps getting replaced all winter. Those rubber clips along the frame barely keep it away from the frame most of the way back. As the frame ages and rust scabs, it forms on the lines....kind of a perfect storm. I try to get under there every spring and hose that area out.