86Chicken

The hard line to the rear brakes on my bird decided to blow out. I need to replace the line from the fitting that goes into the rubber hose to about 1.5feet forward.

Question: Where can I get that fitting on the hard line? No one around here carries it? I've tried NAPA, AutoZone, Checker, CarQuest and a dealer to no avail.

Also, is that pipe a "normal" size or is metric? I have a double flare tool with common Amer. sizes but no metric.

Is there any better way to fix this problem?

Thanks All!

Dale

Vader

86,

I just stuck my head under my '86 and I'm a bit confused. The only steel lines I see are the short stubs from the calipers to the hoses, then across the rear axle, and then from the the hose connection at the body forward. That piece is a lot longer than 18". Maybe the Borg/disc rear on mine is different? AFAIK, the lines are NOT metric, but I'm not positive. Tried Superior/Duluth?

RB83L69

Screw a whole bunch of work. Replace the whole piece of steel line from the little splitter block at the center of the rear, to the rubber line's fitting. You can buy a stick of line for that at almost any parts store for less than $10.

86Chicken

This is the line that goes from the MC to the rubber hose for the rear brakes(drum). The rubber hose goes from this line to the little "T" fitting that has outs to each wheel.

The long hardline is the one that blew. The fitting that goes from the line to the hose has a large pipe-threaded metric end on it (I don't know the exact size - I'm 140 miles away right now).

I was planning to just flare the ends of the old and new pipes and splice them but I could replace the line from the MC to the hose but I still have the problem of not having the right fitting to go into the hose. AFAIK the rubber hose that goes to the dist block and the lines from there to the rear wheel cylinders are OK so I would rather not replace them all if I don't have to.

Thanks
Dale

86Chicken

This is mainly a TTT but....



Here is the best pic from the Service manual I could find. The line coming from the MC to the hose shown in the drawing broke. I found out from GM that this is a 6mm line and they no longer sell the metric fittings (not pipe threaded like I thought, oops) on the ends. I can get the line in a 25ft roll from GM but that is a bit more than I need

I found that a local store had a conversion fitting to go from the metric fitting to 3/16 line but I don't think downsizing is a good idea. I'm guessing GM made the line that big for a reason. Does anybody know if they make a metric->1/4 converter? If I have to I will redo the entire line.

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks
Dale

RB83L69

You can get the metric line at the parts stores. Forget GM, they just go to NAPA or wherever when they need it, same as you should, that's why they don't carry it; they can get it cheaper that way than by fooling around with it themselves. It's a total no-brainer, places like Auto Zone and NAPA and Car Quest stores and all that have tubes of both std and metric in a little rack, most of them even have the same one or 2 brands. You don't need adapters, fittings, std line, or any of that.

Just replace that entire piece of steel line. Unscrew the fittings from each end, bend a new piece to match the old one, throw the old one away, screw the fittings back together. $10, 20 minutes, done.

Don't try to over-think this, you're beginning to outsmart yourself, and you will do nothing but ****** defeat from the very jaws of victory.

86Chicken

RB,

I see your point and I agree that is the best/cheapest sol'n. Problem is: Not one parts store (CarQuest/NAPA/AutoZone/Checker) says they carry the metric line. Could be that I have only spoken to the dumb employees

I'll try to head out and see if I can find someone smart enough to order it.

Thanks

RB83L69

That might be one of those deals where they might say that, but you go there yourself, and (like the Auto Zone and Advance and NAPA right down the street from me) there's a kind of wire rack thing with the 2" diameter color-coded cardboard tubes of sticks of line various sizes in assorted lengths, with approximately equal numbers of sizes of std & metric line. I have a piece of metric line on my car that I bought at some one of those places, somewhat similar situation to yours, so I know for a fact at least some of them have it.

I hate it when employees do that.... I think it's their way of getting what they consider to be troublesome "retail" customers off the phone, and not bothering themselves with what could be something they (the employees) don't understand and will only make a few pennies off of. Junkyards are the worst; call them up and ask for some dime part, and they'll tell you they don't have one, even when there's a hundred cars on the lot that have them; but you call and ask about a front cap or an engine, and they're all over that like flies on excrement.

86Chicken

This is getting rediculous! My dad went to all of the stores back home in person today and yesterday and not one of them had the 6mm line. One of them said that most people use adapters to go to 3/16 line. I am going to try one more store up here at school then I am probably going to have to switch to 3/16 this weekend.

I guess I will also try to find a supplier online

Vader

86,

Ready for the Birkie?

As for the line, try www.mcmaster.com. Their P/N is 50295K24 for 6/4mm steel tubing, 5,500 PSI WP. You would either need to flare the tubing yourself or install compression fittings (yes, compression fitings are available with WP up to 15,000 PSIG, P/N 5305K311). It's also available in stainless steel (P/N 50365K31) for about three times the cost of carbon steel. Both types are bendable and flarable.

There are a lot of other suppliers that have teh tubing and fittings available as well.

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

You're making this way too hard:


www.finelinesinc.com

www.inlinetube.com


They'll have the part you need or make it for ya.

HTH...

Ed

Vader

FineLine's site is not linking to the parts pages, and if he orders from Inline, it will have to go ALL the way around the big lake (and you can't return anything there, since they have a six-digit zip code). McMaster will ship from the south end of the lake.

Actually, I forgot about those places, and there are a few others as well. My point was that the lines are commonly available, as well as the fittings. Any good hardware store or industrial supplier should have sleeves and boxes of them sitting around, just waiting. Ought-Tow-Zone - man, what a waste of time that can be. They'd have you believing that there is no such thing as lettuce, since they don't sell it. They neglect to tell their patrons that if they don't have it, it probably exists somewhere else. Unfortunately, many times, the dealer parts counters are no better in that respect.

He probably shouldn't have to go any farther than Eau Claire or Stevens Point to find it on a shelf.

napa dude

i'll have to take up for napa on this one.they dont offer metric brake line.it is 3/16th with green metric fittings on it.

86Chicken

I am not having fun!

I could almost make it work with stuff from mcmaster but they do not have any fitting that go into the rubber hose. All they have is coarse thread (1.5) and this is a fine thread (1.0).

I've either been to or called every autoparts store in Ironwood/hurley, Wausau metro area, Houghton, and about 10 stores in Milwaukee and no one has this f'in line. All of them say to swap to 3/16 because "every one else does it"

It looks like my only option is to plumb the rear line for 3/16 using the metric conversion. Hopefully this won't screw up anything else.

Thanks for all the help but it looks like I'm stuck anyway.

Dale

Vader

...which is what you'll probably get from an aftermarket custom line set manufacturer. You don't really think these guys make their own tubing and fittings, do you? They're getting them in bulk from suppliers like McMaster or Service Supply, etc.

Instead of a single fitting for the brake hose connection, you may need to use two fittings to get everything mated. I'd go with the .187" line and metric fittings if possible.

86TATpi

I don't know if it will help, my uncle is a tech at Firestone and when I needed lines he went into the back got the length that I needed but the fittings on it and flared it for me, it was all metric also. Maybe go to either Firestone or equivilent place and see if they will sell you the piece.