Eastwood Brake, Transmission and Fuel line Tech Tips

Fabricating, routing and plumbing your vehicle for hydraulic brake, transmission and fuel lines is not a complicated task, and in many ways very enjoyable. If the body is removed from the chassis, the task is much easier, however with patience, the entire hydraulic system can be replaced with the vehicle completely assembled.

In this article we will focus on the brake lines only.

Even if you are replacing only one or two lines on your project vehicle or repairing corrosion damage on a daily driver, you can purchase the tools you need and the lines cheaper than taking the car back to the dealer or mechanic.

DIY Brake tool kit:

#49001 Flaring kit, #49106 Tubing bender and our #49053 or #49054 Brake line kits will get you going to replace that corroded or damaged line for about $110.00

Overview of how to replace individual lines:

1. Remove the existing line and plug the line upstream to eliminate brake fluid from leaking and emptying the master cylinder. Our Vinyl plug kit #22002 is perfect for this. We have an assortment of sizes that can be placed over the end of the line, fitting, or flare and held in place with duct tape (another use for the stuff!).

2. Now take the damaged line to the work bench. Use the new line from the kit and the #49106 Tubing bender to form the line just like the original.

3. Once you have the basic shape and length laid out, it is time to flare the ends.

Most importantly on this step is to use a tubing cutter. If you are bent on not using one, at least make sure to use a fine tooth (24 tooth blade minimum) hack saw and slowly cut the line. You do not want to put pressure on the saw, or you will deform the line.

4. Once cut, use a metal file to square the ends. Now you must clean up the inside diameter of the line, again the tubing cutter has a small metal tool for this job, but if you do not have one, use a tapered reamer to remove the burr inside the tubing- you must remove this!

5. Slip on the appropriate fitting (with the threaded end toward the end you just cut) and install the line in the appropriate die for the flaring tool (this is the #25304 Professional Brake Tubing Flaring Tool). From here forward, the instructions for the flaring kit should be followed- make sure to lubricate the flaring die and tubing with anti-sieze or brake fluid.

6. Once the flare is created, move on to the other end and repeat. Look closely at the formed flare for any signs of cracking or distortion.

7. If the flare looks good, blow air through the line to remove any contaminants or flush with our #21567ZP PRE painting prep kit - use the aerosol can to blow PRE through the line to flush any metal shavings out.

This is how easy it is to make brake, transmission or fuel lines. If you take your time and are accurate with the tube-end preparation, the flares will be equivalent to OE. Once all the lines are formed (use tape on the fittings and use flare wrenches), you can install them per manufacturers routing and torques and bleed the system.

Professional brake tool kit:

If you are going to re-plumb your entire project vehicle with all new OE or stainless lines, we suggest purchasing the below tools and get ready for a truly enjoyable, professional, and rewarding experience. The tools listed below will form perfect, crack-free 45-degree double-flares in seconds - and the most important part is piece of mind. You can rest assure that the flares will not fail.

Tools you will needs:

#25304 Professional Brake Tubing Flaring Tool - this is a must. You are going to be flaring a minimum of 10-12 tube ends, do not risk safety and integrity with a tool from Off-Shore companies. If your life or safety depends on it, buy quality!

Now, you will also need the #13621 Tubing forming kit and some brake lines kits, like our #49053 or #49054. You're at about $400 with the lines, so it is less expensive than buying pre-formed kits.

Re-plumbing the entire vehicle is very straight forward and easy. Just start with the rear wheel cylinders or calipers, and work forward to the proportion valve or master cylinder. Once completed begin with the front wheels, fuel and transmission lines.

If you break the vehicle up into sections or quadrants, it is very easy to form accurate, professional lines, and leak-free flares.

Follow the overview steps above with each of the lines and remember to clean the lines before installation.

Additional tech tips:

• Use 1/8" dia. steel rod available at Home Centers to layout the line and routing - Once you have the pattern you can then bend and form the brake line to duplicate the 1/8" dia rod.

• Watch where you route the new lines - Do not route under frame, as jacks and lifts will crush the lines. Make sure to watch around suspension components and take into consideration their movement and possible contact with your line.

• Chaffing, vibration, and flexing - This is the enemy of rigid lines. Take into consideration these forces when routing the lines and use clamps to the frame every 24" if possible.

• Minimum bend radius - Rule of thumb, the minimum bend diameter for 3/16" line is 4" and for ¼" line is 6.5" diameter.

• Always run fuel lines under or below electrical lines - In the event the fuel line leaks, it can not drip onto a live electrical line or circuit.

• Never let the master cylinder run dry when bleeding brakes - If this happens, you will have to bench bleed the master cylinder. This is not hard, but it is time consuming and requires you to re-do what you have just done.

• Flex Joints" - These are intentional "circles" formed in the lines to allow movement between two components without cold working or cracking the line. As you know, if the fluid leaks out of the brake lines, you will have to use the front end sheet metal to slow the car.

• Forming odd curves or circles - The use of our #49106 versatile Tubing bender is a must when forming brake lines; you will inevitably run into shapes that you must improvise on. Use wooden dowels, metal tubing or exhaust tubing to form circles.

• Flaring and fittings -Do not, no, NEVER use cheap or re-claimed fittings - Use only high quality new fittings- they cost almost nothing and will save your life or your passenger's - DO NOT skimp here. Save a few dollars when it comes to carpet underlayment! Photo #2 is a shot of the fitting included in our lines kits. They are high quality OE metal or Stainless steel and look great.

• Once you have formed your lines, adjustments may be necessary - Use the #49074 Brake Tube Forming Pliers to gently "nudge" the lines into perfect alignment.

• Double flare vs. single flare - The double flare is stronger and better at sealing than the traditional single flare. Always use the double flare type connection where possible.

• AN fittings - AN or "Army/Navy", as the term stands for, are 37-degree flares where automotive has 45-degree standard flares- These CAN NOT be intermixed, it does not matter how cool you think they will look. If the caliper or wheel cylinder is not machined to accept the 37-degree flare, THEY WILL LEAK!. The reason the military went to AN-37 degree plumbing was to keep standard automotive product from ending up on aircraft.

• Lastly, Measure twice and cut once - That saying has nothing to do with this article, but what does is- "check twice and bend only once". You do not want to continually bend and re-bend the same area. This will weaken the tubing and possibly create a potential failure spot down the road.

Get out there and build something cool!