Homemade Fuel & Brake Lines

[mattawajeep]

I need to replace a bunch of lines on my gladiator, and pre-bent stuff doesn't exist.

I'd like stainless, but I hear it's an absolute pain to deal with. I put stainless fuel lines in my mustang and I'm glad I didn't have to bend it much, that stuff is tough.

Anyone have any tips or suggestions on good brands of materials and tools. Quality line, benders, flaring tools, cutters, ect...

[79chevy39.5's]

my flare tools are both just from autozone type places, done a bunch of flares

i hand bend all my hard lines if i need a 90 or so i justbend it around a piece of tube but thats usually just a short section not whole rigs,

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-pumpkit2
that is what i would do for the fuel line (just a quick search not the exact one but you can see)

[OldGreen]

We use all braided stainless tubing and -AN fittings on the race truck...it is pretty easy to work with, but it might be too spendy??

[mattawajeep]

my flare tools are both just from autozone type places, done a bunch of flares

i hand bend all my hard lines if i need a 90 or so i justbend it around a piece of tube but thats usually just a short section not whole rigs,

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-pumpkit2
that is what i would do for the fuel line (just a quick search not the exact one but you can see)

Guess I'll just shop around for a tool then, if the ones from the mcparts places work well.

That kit makes things easy. Just used their list to add everything individually and stuff came out cheaper by a few bucks.

We use all braided stainless tubing and -AN fittings on the race truck...it is pretty easy to work with, but it might be too spendy??

That would certainly be the easiest way to get things done, I had planned on braided for short stretches that will be easy to replace. Do you use use braided line for the brakes as well? Wouldn't that soften up your brake pedal?

It's not the cost so much as longevity. Isn't braided line just metal sheathed rubber? Makes me think that it would probably only last 5 years or so with ethanol fuel before you'd need to start replacing stuff. Seems like a no brainer for a race vehicle though, really easy to change out if you break something.

[White trash]

I've always ran the stuff from speedwaymotors.com it comes in 25' rolls and is cheap. I buy all of my fuel and brake fittings and tools there too. I've got a stash of stainless braided brake lines with every necessary fiting to plumb my upcoming auto cross build and it set me back around $100.

As for what to use for your fuel lines you can go the same route through speedwaymotors for that too. Dealerships can order 100% steel line too rather than the alloy line that everyone else sells. I've got 40' of 1/4" line thats rock freaking hard and tough to bend compared to standard parts store stuff. My wife picked it up from mccurleys.

[Wrench]

The only source of good hose and parts that I know of is Central Hose and Fitting in Pasco. Then again, I haven't shopped around much.

From a hydraulics perspective, though, (I was an aircraft hydraulics specialist in the Air Force) I believe it would be best to use rigid tubing everywhere except the flex points. It is the most durable and easiest to secure well (to prevent chaffing/damage). This is reflective in factory automotive and aircraft systems.

As for your question on flexible lines causing spongy brakes, that wont be the case with the proper line material.

And as far as I understand it, most of these lines are actually teflon lines covered in stainless steel wire. If they were rubber, then yes, the ethanol fuel would degrade it. I dont believe this is the case with teflon.

There are different pressure rated lines, though, and you will have to research to see what will work on your brake system. Just off the top of my head, I would think a line with 1500 psi working pressure would be enough. Usually, the working pressure is half of the burst pressure rating.

If you are going to cut and flare your own tubing, I would suggest spending good money on an aircraft-grade flare tool and using something like Boelube http://orelube.com/ when flaring. The lube will help the flares turn out very high quality.

Hope that helps.

[mattawajeep]

I've always ran the stuff from speedwaymotors.com it comes in 25' rolls and is cheap. I buy all of my fuel and brake fittings and tools there too. I've got a stash of stainless braided brake lines with every necessary fiting to plumb my upcoming auto cross build and it set me back around $100.

Speedway Motors had stuff a lot cheaper. Grabbed up everything I needed for the brakes except for splitters on the master cylinder end. Not sure what master cylinder I'll be going with - the current super old mc only has one output line that goes to a 4-way splitter block. If I can swing it cheaply, I'm hoping to get a hydro assist system, or at the very least, a normal power booster.

From a hydraulics perspective, though, (I was an aircraft hydraulics specialist in the Air Force) I believe it would be best to use rigid tubing everywhere except the flex points. It is the most durable and easiest to secure well (to prevent chaffing/damage). This is reflective in factory automotive and aircraft systems.

Yeah, that's kind of the conclusion I came to after a bunch of reading. I'm going with hard line everywhere except where flexible pieces are required. At the flexible joints I bought the nicer braided stainless/Teflon line.

Didn't see your post until after I ordered brake lines but I think everything I bought should work. I haven't completed all the calculations for a final pressure reading yet, but my earlier rough estimates put the system around 1000 psi - which I don't think is that far outside OEM applications.

I'm using 3/16 double wall copper plated steel tubing - which according to a bunch of the stuff I've been reading is the good stuff.

If you are going to cut and flare your own tubing, I would suggest spending good money on an aircraft-grade flare tool and using something like Boelube http://orelube.com/ when flaring. The lube will help the flares turn out very high quality.

I was just going to use one of the cheaper flaring tools - at least for the brake lines as I've already purchased steel lines.

45 degree double flares are the standard for automotive. Going all AN fittings, and using stainless lines would have been cool, and from what I've been reading really durable and reliable. However, you're stuck with needing a much nicer tool (double the cost of the total parts required) and using 37 degree single flares (which are probably better than the 45 degree double flare standard, but I don't think they're DOT approved).

I have a large assortment of really high quality gun lubes (MGL is one of the most slippery things I've found) and I might give some of them a try. If I can't make good flares with the cheaper tools, I might have to hunt one of the more expensive ones down.


Now I just need to figure out the fuel line system. Speedway motors didn't have everything I needed, so I've a bit more searching to do. I'm curious about the Teflon ethanol resistance, and I'm unsure if I want to run a separate return line. Going to be using the 40 gallon tank out of the suburban and it has an high pressure fuel pump.