I have an Econoline E150. I need to tee into the brakeline; the only convenient and accessible place I've found is under the driver's seat.

There is a union there with a male and female inv. flare connnection. From what I gather, Ford brakelines are now metric.

What I need is to tee a standard 3/16" SAE brakeline into the existing brakeline at this point.

I've been all over the place, and no one can find the right combination of fittings to do this. We did find some metric tees with an SAE branch, but when they tried to order them, they were told 'no longer available.'

Does anyone know the correct metric size of the Ford brakelines? Is it M10x1.0? And does anyone know where I can find an appropriate tee for this?

Thanks,

--Yan

 

You may be smart enough to do this right (and maybe you don't even have ABS brakes), but it's generally not considered safe to modify the fluid volume in modern ABS systems. That may be why no one will supply parts.

 

Just curious. Why do you need to T into the brake line?

 

I'm installing a Brakemaster kit - it's a kit that allows the towing vehicle brakes to work the towed vehicle brakes. Basically, it's an air-over-hydraulic system - there's a proportioning valve in the towing vehicle that modules air pressure based on the hydraulic pressure. I need to cut in the proportioning valve. It should be a 'simple job' - a tee, 12" of brakeline, and the proportioning valve, except for the bloody metric fitting fiasco.

--Yan

 

Yan,

Knowing what I do from your last post, here is what I suggest.

Make a cut in your brake line BEFORE the RABS unit inside your frame rail. Install a three way female hydraulic union (SAE). Flare the brake lines with SAE fittings. This union is rated for 5,000 p.s.i and can be found in the N.A.P.A. hydraulic catalog. You might even be able to find your special fitting in that catalog. On double flare fittings you do not need teflon tape for the seal, only to prevent galling, so use some pipe fitting sealant. On my brake lines I use anti-seize instead on the threads and between the fitting and line, your mileage may vary.

If you have some extra metal in the form of a ridge on the seat part of the flare, gently scrap or smooth it off with a dremel wheel. Usually the ridge is on the outside of the flare where smoothing it down can not cause a leak. The fittings may be metric on your lines, the line itself is very close to if not a standard SAE size, from my experience of using lines from Autozone on my trucks.

Reason for suggesting the rear line is it is before the modulation of the RABS and it leaves the primary (disc) brake system untouched in case there is a failure in your aftermarket part or your handy work.

FWIW: Every RABS system I have seen on a Ford works on pressure and not on volume.

 

You are obviously very knowledgable and I will defer to you, however, while the systems do work on pressure, a change in volume can affect them because the master may not be able to accomodate the necessary displacement and/or the ABS may not operate properly.

Tapping in was commonly done 20 years ago with no ill effects. I'm not sure that's still the case.

Why don't you at least talk to the manufacturer about your situation?

 

Where are you located?