Nickle-Copper brake tubing (Making flares)

[User_name]

@Schurkey did ya get er done man?

 

[Rocket Surgeon]

I use the S.U.R.R. copper nickel line and just a standard over the counter brake flaring kit from autozone.

I've done many many vehicles.

Lubricating everything is critical and I do double flares. Lubricating on assembly is also critical so things seat well. Chamfering the line helps, and the only other trick I note that no one has said is that trial and error was that if the line was 25 to 50% further out than the die head indicated you were to measure the bubble flare would be much more likely to be even and work better.

 

[DonYukon]

Did you also buy this vehicle under the guidance of @618 Syndicate that it would "serve you well"


Im sorry but I had to lmfao

 

[Schurkey]

@Schurkey did ya get er done man?

Yeah, sort-of.

I still cannot consistently make a decent flare with the NiCopp tubing. Got lucky with one, got beat-up on another. Eventually, I cranked the livin' piss out of the flare nuts, and I guess they don't leak now. IF they leak, they don't leak enough for me to see.

This is very unsatisfying. I expected to make perfect flares with no problems or doubts.

Brakes are back together, new wheel cylinders, and the seized adjuster on the right side is freed-up and working again. Both rear brake cables are in place--with some rework because the crappy Communist Chinese brake cables from O'Reilly's aren't made right. I had to add a couple sections of rubber hose over the right rear brake cable because they didn't put the heavy rubber outer jacket on the cable, or the metal bushing where the cable clips into the bracket above the differential pinion. But those two cables are effectively in place and tie-wrapped so they don't fall out of the brackets while waiting to be connected to the front cable. The original front cable got cut-off under the truck before I bought it; and I can't get the remnant out of the floorpan. One of my friends suggested Mister Torch, but I'm not that desperate yet.

I really wanted to do the Truetrac differential while the axle shafts were out; and I have one more lower ball joint to squeeze in and "maybe" a front rotor to replace at the same time. But right now, the truck is back on four wheels and sort-of driveable again. I'll get back to all that later.

Currently paused, working on another project--have to put a RF wheel bearing/hub assembly and an outer tie rod end on the Trailblazer for SWMBO. So I spent today working on that as it snowed on me. Nope, not ready for snow yet, but we got it anyway. At least there's no accumulation on the ground. It melted as soon as it touched-down. I hate this place. I've hated this place practically my whole life, but I never achieved escape velocity.

 

[Supercharged111]

You need to take yourself a vacation to a pull and pay outside the rust belt. Stuff like e-brake cables is a feasible pull. If you've never been, you really don't know what you're missing. When I did the 14 bolt swap I too bought garbage ebrake cables from the parts store. They sucked so bad I took them back and pulled cables from a willing donor at the boneyard. Having grown up in MI, I knew better than to use the ebrake. One day we were unloading a car from the trailer behind my truck and the truck was rocking so my friend jumped in and punched the ebrake pedal down. I was ready to punch his teeth through the back of his skull, but to my surprise the ebrake released like nothing was wrong. My mind was blown.

 

[Pinger]

Yeah, sort-of.

I still cannot consistently make a decent flare with the NiCopp tubing. Got lucky with one, got beat-up on another. Eventually, I cranked the livin' piss out of the flare nuts, and I guess they don't leak now. IF they leak, they don't leak enough for me to see.

This seems to be the way with the softer tubing. Go gently during flaring and tighten the life out of them when fitting to the brake component.

This is very unsatisfying. I expected to make perfect flares with no problems or doubts.

Agreed! Just allow enough pipe length such that a bad flare can be aborted and if you're doing more than one pipe, do the longest ones first...

 

[User_name]

@Schurkey i suggest taking a trip to Mississippi this winter. No rust and if ya want, we can load up and go to a few boneyards so i can gladly show you how beautiful a 30 year old truck with only SLIGHT surface rust of the frame can be