Is there any secret to flaring a broken brake line and adding a connector to attach to a new section of steel brake line? Also do I need to use a Metric flaring tool?

 

Easier to get a new line from autozone or similar and bend up your own then it is to flare a new fitting, much more reliable too.

 

Yea, I got 2- five foot sections with fittings. But I can't find or see where the line goes up into the firewall area! I am starting at the thingy on the right side of the rear frame, where all the brake lines meet, then up over the gas tank and along the right frame, from there I can't find any unions! It must be one complete length from front to rear. Frustrating! Someone must have done this before. Can anyone help with this ? My mechanic wants $90. an hour, plus the Towing and parts (he charges me 3x the price of the auto parts store) and tax too. He is a greedy SOB. I hate to pay for his Harley Davidson! Help! I'm just a retired fix- it guy.

 

Sorry dude, I see 12,000 plus posts! Wow! I'm just a newbee!

 

The rear brake "thingy" is likely the LSPV:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/4R_suspe...ortioningValve

One of the lines feed that comes from the brake m/c and the other line runs up to the front brakes to a tee fitting at the frame at the passenger front wheel well.

 

Just buy a 25' roll of 3/16" and the new nuts a double flaring tool is a must if you need clean and reuse your old nuts.

I have never been able to get a flare in old brake line it just gets to brittle with age and breaks.

When pushing the line along the frame I take and tape the ends with electrical tape to keep the dirt out

After you practice a few double flares they become easy i find it easy to just make all my brake lines except the ones for the front calipers.

 

Yes, there are a few good practices when working with tubing and unions that are compression or flared. If you have to you should be able to flair it in place and install a flair union and a new piece. Practice on a piece of scrap tubing first to get the hang of it and help you determine if you need a metric tool. Use a tubing cutter to get a good square end and reem out the inside of the tube to the original inside diameter. A small unibit will reem it very nicely, but be sure to get all of the pieces of metal out of the tube. Try not to over reem it very much. Every time you tighten or loosed a compression or flair fitting use two wrenches. One to hold the fitting and one to hold the nut so that the lines do not get twisted.

 

So you are saying that the brake line comes on a role? It bends easily? How can it roll off a roll? And it is 3/16" for a Toyota, and not a metric size needed? I'm just a newbee, please have patience with me, I thank you for that! It just snowed so I'm waiting for a sunny day to get under there again! So I am without wheels till then. My wife lets me have her car at night when she comes home from work. so I can go and get the parts I need.

 

I don't think putting sand into brake line to bend them is such a good idea. You may never get it all out. Then it could get somewhere where you don't want it. I would rather use a bending tool. I don't recall who said this, but its out there. I'm just going to buy or borrow a bending tool. I have two 5' lengths and the coupling. I'll try that first. Thanks for your help.

 

Correct. Use a bender.