Finally got back to the rear brake job on my '97 K2500. I've had the truck almost five years, but only about a thousand miles in that time. Truck is full of neglect. I'm dealing with each issue, but not rapidly.
I figured the shoes would be totaled; right on the rivets. Figured the drums would be scored. And of course, the truck has NO park-brake cables (cut off at the backing plates.) In fact, the shoes were beautiful. Three new cables ordered from O'Reillys, along with the equalizer and the cable-connector. Got wheel cylinders, grease seals for the hubs, four quarts of axle grease (intended to install the TrueTrac differential, but I think I'm gonna run out of time for that.)
The big deal--aside from the park brake cables--is the wheel cylinders. Which, in this case, also means the two brake tubes from the brake hose to each wheel cylinder. When it was the K1500, I bent new tubes using plastic-coated double-wall seamless-steel tubing. Not that big a deal. I have the technology...
But I can't find my roll of steel tubing. So I splurged on the Nickle-Copper (NiCopp, or similar brand names) tubing. Supposed to be easier to work with, long-lasting, etc.
And yes, it bends very nicely.
But I can't make a decent double-flare with the stuff. I've got a Mastercool hydraulic flaring tool; I can't tell if I'm squeezing the tubing too hard, or not hard enough. The flares look terrible. I've cut one flare off already, and re-made it, and that side isn't leaking any more. But it looks like I'm gonna have to cut the other flare off and start over, it leaks slowly-but-surely even after tightening the flare nut into the wheel cylinder tighter than I'd prefer.
Am I supposed to be single-flaring instead of double-flaring? Is there some trick I haven't figured-out yet? I don't have a problem flaring the "normal" double-wall steel tubing. The Nickle-Copper tubing isn't cooperating with me.
I figured the shoes would be totaled; right on the rivets. Figured the drums would be scored. And of course, the truck has NO park-brake cables (cut off at the backing plates.) In fact, the shoes were beautiful. Three new cables ordered from O'Reillys, along with the equalizer and the cable-connector. Got wheel cylinders, grease seals for the hubs, four quarts of axle grease (intended to install the TrueTrac differential, but I think I'm gonna run out of time for that.)
The big deal--aside from the park brake cables--is the wheel cylinders. Which, in this case, also means the two brake tubes from the brake hose to each wheel cylinder. When it was the K1500, I bent new tubes using plastic-coated double-wall seamless-steel tubing. Not that big a deal. I have the technology...
But I can't find my roll of steel tubing. So I splurged on the Nickle-Copper (NiCopp, or similar brand names) tubing. Supposed to be easier to work with, long-lasting, etc.
And yes, it bends very nicely.
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But I can't make a decent double-flare with the stuff. I've got a Mastercool hydraulic flaring tool; I can't tell if I'm squeezing the tubing too hard, or not hard enough. The flares look terrible. I've cut one flare off already, and re-made it, and that side isn't leaking any more. But it looks like I'm gonna have to cut the other flare off and start over, it leaks slowly-but-surely even after tightening the flare nut into the wheel cylinder tighter than I'd prefer.
Am I supposed to be single-flaring instead of double-flaring? Is there some trick I haven't figured-out yet? I don't have a problem flaring the "normal" double-wall steel tubing. The Nickle-Copper tubing isn't cooperating with me.
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