rads84n94camaro

I'm currently in the process of changing all my lines on my 84 Camaro to stainless. They were original so I think it's safe to say it was time for an upgrade. My current problem is, all my lines fit in the prop valve except for the two front lines. I ordered my prop valve from hawks and all new brake lines from rightstuff.com. did GM change their lines from standard to metric at one point or another? Seems I made more of a mess of problems than necessary.

Saxondale

iTrader: (2)

rads84n94camaro

Seems odd though if I put a rear in from a later Camaro that the fittings wouldnt be metric too then. I've actually been back and forth with right stuff on this matter and they sent me an extra drivers side front brake line. Tested the threads off the car and it fits snug. Passenger side I'm still screwed on. I'm not sure if it's a mistake on my part in ordering or if it's a screw up on their end.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

84 was the changeover year. Not sure if cars were entirely changed over as a whole, i.e. whether different parts of the system could be one or the other; but it sure doesn't make sense for the prop valves to have half & half mixed fittings. I'd expect, at that particular part, that they're entirely one or the other.

When you got your replacement lines, you may even have got some SAE and some metric, since you ordered for 84; in which case, the new ones for one end of the car might be wrong, or something like that. Look at your old ones and see which fitting type they are - either SAE inverted flare, or metric bubble flare - and with that info you should be able to get the right replacements.

IROCZman15

iTrader: (25)

also, most autoparts stores keep a supply of fitttings, unions, adapters, etc. you can use a $3 adapter to go from bubble flare to inverted flare, vice-versa, smaller lines to larger, etc etc. it is not the best idea, but if you have trouble finding the exact correct lines, it is an option

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

Be careful.... some of the metric threads are close enough to SAE threads that the nuts will screw in and then strip the thread when you tighten things up.

The fluid seal is made by the tube seating to the inside of the female fitting. The only thing the threads do is hold things tight. Easiest (and best) thing to do is to first identify the tube flare type. FedHill has a tutorial here, http://www.fedhillusa.com/

The older "SAE double flare" will have a little volcano cone inside the female fittings. That flare will also have the older English threads. The later "metric bubble" flare will have an inverted cone (funnel shape) inside the female fitting. That type will have the metric threads.

rads84n94camaro

After I posted this thread I continued troubleshooting the issue. All the new lines I ordered directly from the right stuff brakes. Originally when I ordered the lines I had ordered rear brake lines for an 87 Camaro rear disc, and front lines for an 84. I wasnt entirely sure what year the rear was out of because it was years ago I did the conversion. The prop valve I has used back then for the disc brake conversion worked flawlessly from inlinetube. So realistically I thought ordering new lines would be a piece if cake. I also changed out the master since it was old, bench bled it, and when I hooked up all the lines the passenger side front was still leaking. I temporarily set up the master so it wouldn't bleed out and called right stuff the next day. Their tech support told me because I went with all stainless lines I needed to work the lines in and out properly anywhere between 10 to 15 times applying pressure to have them seat properly. Even though this came off as a huge read flag I continued forward and did as they said even though I had a bad feeling it didnt make sense. Welp. Popped the threads on the prop valve and when I called and complained they said they would not cover it because it wasnt their prop valve. After going back and forth with them they ended up sending me a passenger front line and when I got a new prop valve from Hawks I realized all the lines seemed to be snug except for the drivers side front that was still part of the original 84 set I bought. So at that time i realized there was a difference between the two. Crazy to think how close the one 84 line was that I threaded in on my original prop valve held and didnt leak. Now knowing I should've bought all 87 lines to fit in my car and hopefully that solves the problem. MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT is that a company like right stuff wouldnt properly train their customer service to make them aware of this issue. None the less and their website does not specify a difference on lines. The only reason I noticed a difference was because of two different part numbers. Not for nothing but these are brake lines. Peoples lives can be in danger and the lack of support and help in the matter was beyond disappointing. Once I know I've got all my lined properly squared away I no I'll never use them again. I realize it was an oversight on my part not realizing their was a difference from year to year, but given my original prop valve worker I didnt think this would become such an ordeal. Thanks all for the help and feedback.

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

They are aware of you now. I'll bet if you called again they could tell you the problem in 5 seconds.

rads84n94camaro

Yeah I'm sure you're right. As long as this is the final piece of the puzzle and theirs no further issues the so be it. After that that'll be the last of any business I have with them. To anyone else hopefully this will be of some clarification as well.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

It's not about "they" "properly train"; it's about YOU knowing what you're ordering, so you don't fall through cracks like the above. At some point, YOU have to take responsibility for things like that: some vendor isn't going to able to crawl under your car FOR YOU while you're on the phone with them, and look at the PARTS to see what version your particular car happens to have.

You're probably right though: if ANY of the 87 lines fit the rest of your car not counting the 87 rear end, then you most likely have a past-changeover 84; and your car is metric. Not sure myself what proportion of 84s had SAE and which had metric: if 80% had SAE, but you happen to have a metric one, it's not the vendor's fault.

rads84n94camaro

Correct I do take responsibility too but if you specifically ask the vendor on the phone if theres a difference from one year to the other and the guy cant answer that question then yes that is a problem. It was a big mistake on my part thinking that it would be an easy job not realizing what you stated above