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Making stainless flex brake lines

maniago

maniago

Well Known Member
Not liking the way my hard line flexes at my brake caliper, I started looking into a short stainless flex section. I really need just a 3" section, but with a male on one end, female on the other (hard 5052 line goes up the leg). 3" flex is a nonstarter to buy, male fittings as standard really hard; but hooray youtube has vids on making your own.

DIY is not a really a cheap way to go, but I like the idea of learning a new skill for the future, and tweaking the design as I see fit.

Anyone made their own flex with success? With plastic hoses everywhere, I guess I'm not too worried it wont take the pressures etc, but just fishing for anyones experience.

Youtube vid atched....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5UUEGT1N2w
 
Earls

Earls has Part# 63151606ERL for instance; 6" long; the only male/female 1/8" NPT length they have.
 
I order the 20' sections of Aeroquip from summit for $65. -4 PTFE stainless then use the reusable fittings. $6/fitting. Not cheap but also not expensive for what you're getting
 
johnbright said:
Earls has Part# 63151606ERL for instance; 6" long; the only male/female 1/8" NPT length they have.
Click to expand...

NPT? Interesting thought. I've got AN4 elbows coming out of the calipers that are 567'ed in so I'll prob stick with that in case I have to make some kind of change.
 
Earls flex line

I did the same type of conversion to flexible SS last month. I cut and flared the aluminum tubing. Used a male to male adaptor and Earls SS hose from the Summit Racing website. I can send you the part numbers next week, if your interested.
2ikr282.jpg

These are examples of the adaptors. These are -3AN to -4AN, but -4 to -4 are available.
2db9op5.jpg
 
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M McGraw said:
I did the same type of conversion to flexible SS last month. I cut and flared the aluminum tubing. Used a male to male adaptor and Earls SS hose from the Summit Racing website. I can send you the part numbers next week, if your interested.
2ikr282.jpg
Click to expand...

Nah, I know those 6" jobbers. Really trying to find a male AN4 fitting so I can eliminate the union between the flex and the hard line. Lots of female fittings but males seem to be nonexistant this side of the Atlantic. Got an ebay hit on a British firm tho, but man, thats a long haul for a fitting.....

I have the same Matcos, but not the double bangers; just a single.
 
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I made the entire lines from the firewall to the calipers from Summit Racing Teflon braided SS with AN fittings bought from the same source. The hose was relatively cheap, the fittings not as much so. But that solution gave me very firm brakes and has been working very well for 8 years.

Just didn't see the need for AL tubing down the gear legs.
 
AN fittings

Try a hydraulic hose shop a lot of them also make up the tefion stainless steel hoses for trucks and heavy equipment on down to 6 & 4 sizes. AN fittings are the same as JIC hydraulic fittings
 
AN fittings

Try a hydraulic hose shop a lot of them also make up the tefion stainless steel hoses for trucks and heavy equipment on down to 6 & 4 sizes. AN fittings are the same as JIC hydraulic fittings
 
Take a look at the Earls braided lines and fittings. I made the interior brake lines for my brake pedals. I looked around comparing other systems before selecting them. They are easy to put together and to me they seem very robust. I wouldn?t say they are inexpensive though.
 
Mani---you CAN make your own with reusable hose ends. Getting the parts is the big thing AND dont mix fittings and hose from different manufacturers. Even though the ID of the hose may be the same, MOST everyones hose has a slightly different OD. Mixing the fittings and hose might create a retention issue of the fitting under pressure---even as little as 500 psi.

Tom
 
I made my own as well, from the fuselage to the caliper. Aeroquip with the reusable PTFE fittings. Easy to assemble with regular tools and has been trouble free.

Chris
 
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