Reconditioning Brake Lines

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charliec

charliec

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I'm getting ready to recondition and reinstall my brake lines. I have all of the original hard lines with the peculiar twists and turns to navigate the length of th ear and to all 4 wheels, so I won't have to re-fabricate much if anything. I will meticulously clean the hard lines, nuts, threads, etc. as I have done with everything else on the car.

My question is related to the interior condition of the hard lines. I don't have a concern over their strength and integrity, but I would feel better if they were thoroughly cleaned. Does anyone have a suggestion as to how to do that?
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I usually use brake cleaner and blow out the lines with an air hose.

Just got to make sure that the air compressor is drained and no moisture present in the air hose/lines or you'll wind up having to do it all over again.

To be safe you can use an inline air dryer, they're pretty cheap insurance as a just in case!!



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Tsully said:
I usually use brake cleaner and blow out the lines with an air hose.

Just got to make sure that the air compressor is drained and no moisture present in the air hose/lines or you'll wind up having to do it all over again.

To be safe you can use an inline air dryer, they're pretty cheap insurance as a just in case!!



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Is there a product that is made just for cleaning brake lines, or are you talking about the spray cans of brake parts cleaner?
 
I cleaned my brake lines, the same way with brake clean, but the rust never stopped coming out. I replaced everyone of them.
 
For the inside, how long have they been open to the atmosphere?

Were they stored in a dry or damp environment?

If you could feed a cord through (piano wire might be stiff and flexible enough to do the longest runs) you might be able to pull a pig through the tube. Like a pipe cleaner.


Just be sure you can get it out if the pull cord breaks.

Also be carefully about removing any coatings on the inside or outside of the tubing or you will start a spot for rust to take hold.
 
For the cost of the alcohol to clean them out thoroughly you can buy brand new ones from Right Stuff...
 
Impossible to tell the internal condition of the lines.
Use common sense. How old are they ? How often was the fluid changed ?( probably don't know that one). Do you trust your life to lines that are (insert number of years) old ?
How much are new lines? Are the rest of the hydraulics new or just cleaned on the outside ?
That is like a rattle can engine rebuild.
Clean and detailed the outside while still using the old internals. It looks good but ...
 
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If it was me...I'd use the originals as a pattern and bend new using copper nickle brake lines. First straighten the new line by pulling a slight tension on them, then bend to match the old. Who knows what lurks inside a 50 plus year old brake line?? Is it worth it from a safety standpoint? I think if I was buying an old car and the seller said the brake lines were original, I would trailer it to my shop and not risk driving it home...just saying
 
Oh and if you make your own be sure to do a double flare (DOT requirement) on the flares. The copper nickle line flares like butter and will NOT kink. you can hand bend that stuff if you want to.
 
Brother, AIN'T NO WAY, I'd EVER Trust a Stock Line on a 50+ year old car... that's the same way as the interior rubber lines you don't know what kind of shape they're in man. Brake fluid, inherently unless its Dot five, holds moisture! When I did my first car, I bought a whole roll of tubing for 20 bucks, and did the whole damn car! I hand bent every one of them, and double flared them... yeah I had one or two small issues... split a flare a had to redo, screwed up a bend, and even left the nut off one piece... lol.

BUT. when I was done, my ride stopped Killer,and safely! And didn't cost a lot
 
And Yessir. USE the old ones as a pattern, it'll save You A TON of time, making it like Factory, the clips will even snap back on!
 
The first thing I do when I get a car is order a complete set of brake lines from fine lines. They fit perfect, look original and you wont need to worry about them for a long time.
 
Yes, just replace them. If you never want to worry about your master leaking and destroying your paint, go with DOT 5 brake fluid, it doesn't attract moisture either.
 
CRUZE 418 said:
Yes, just replace them. If you never want to worry about your master leaking and destroying your paint, go with DOT 5 brake fluid, it doesn't attract moisture either.
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I run the same stuff in the Harley it's silicone based... it works great especially down here in Florida where it's high humidity even though that's a seal brake system somehow they still attract moisture especially if you don't run the things everyday. At one point I had a tool belt around my shoulder like a bandolier a skill saw and Sawzall w/ a 12" blade sticking outta my saddle bags....riding to framing jobs EVERY DAY.... I got some crazy looks, Brother...
 
Yeah, it's in this one too! But we are getting off subject . Haven't had any issues with silicone in my '69 or '72 Darts and I don't worry if it does leak anymore.

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Thank you. '72 was a good year. Bike runs high 10's. 1/4 mi. Still sitting in the basement, no one wants something like that in this day and age!
 
I'm glad others made the safety point.
I wouldn't hand bend a damn thing. Buy the kit, there's a few companies that make em, and it'll have all the armor and everything. The only bending I did on my car was UN-bending the straight section where they coiled it for shipping.

I DID get the stainless and had zero issues getting it to seal. I will say that the stainless that they use does get a thin film of rust on it but so do stockers.

And yes, DOT5 brake fluid is superior.
 
CRUZE 418 said:
Thank you. '72 was a good year. Bike runs high 10's. 1/4 mi. Still sitting in the basement, no one wants something like that in this day and age!
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Mine ran at Sunshine Speedway all through the 90s. Low 7s, with a rider twice my weight. Should be 10s...
 
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I wouldn't bend new lines, fuel or brake. Not for the price you can buy them and just put them in!
 
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