Technical Rear brake pipes

[jim whitehead]

I am planning on replacing the rear pipes soon, if anyone has done this job before it would be useful to get some advice. Such as

• can I buy the pipes pre made in the correct shape ?

• how difficult is it to remove orginals, the car is 14 years old - the unions where pipes meet the cylinders appear pretty corroded

thanks
Jim

 

[fingers99]

You can probably get them ready made, but may be better to get kunifer (copper alloy) ones -- they bend easily (a good thing) and don't rust (a better thing).

Pop along to Halfords and get yourself some GT-85 (to spray the unions with, well before you start) and a brake spanner/flare spanner like this. Also available elsewhere.

 

[MikeSalt]

Might be a daft question, but have you got your pipe flaring equipment?

Cheers,

Mick

 

[s and b]

i would suggest you get a quote from a local independent garage,the type that capt smarty doesnt like
why?
because at 14 years old and with no knowledge you are going to cause yourself much heartache as you ruin other parts of brake lines trying to undo the pipes with limited tools/knowledge

 

[Ziggy122]

I paid £10 for both rear brakr pipes from flexi to cylinder

Measure the length and you bend them youself over a curved object not in your hands

The pipes may forwell be seized solid
Id be replacing cylinders too as chances are you'll snap a pipe in there or a bleeder


Ziggy

 

[flisko]

I paid £10 for both rear brakr pipes from flexi to cylinder

Measure the length and you bend them youself over a curved object not in your hands

The pipes may forwell be seized solid
Id be replacing cylinders too as chances are you'll snap a pipe in there or a bleeder


Ziggy

ive bent mine with my bare hands!

 

[Ziggy122]

ive bent mine with my bare hands!

You can bend it with your bare hands but 2 reasons why

Not a consistant cureve to a degree
You risk putting kinks in = Restricted flow = Lack of braking effect

Ziggy

 

[flisko]

You can bend it with your bare hands but 2 reasons why

Not a consistant cureve to a degree
You risk putting kinks in = Restricted flow = Lack of braking effect

Ziggy

this what u meant?

no way i could do that by hand it had a nice curve to it

 

[Ziggy122]

if your good with your hands some people can manipulate the shape without kinking
Im not one of those - i like to work it around an object

But i kink like that = Not good....

Ziggy

 

[atom0007]

You can't buy them pre-bent as far as I know, you would need a fairly fancy pipe bending machine to get the profile correct.


There are a few options:


Option 1
You can buy them pre-flared sent in post as a coil, and then bend them to shape using the old one as a template.
A good tool for this is pipe bending pliers, which will preserve the diameter of the pipe as it's bent.


Option 2
You can also buy the pipe from a Fiat dealer, in its pre bent shape. These will be coated steel like the original.


Option 3
Buy a roll of pipe. Copper-nickel as recommended, but there seems to be plenty of people doing it in copper too. You can find lots of online debates about this should you care. Size is 3/16" OD from memory. Copper is a lot easier to bend (until it work hardens, but you can anneal this out).

You'll need a decent flaring tool. If I was doing it again, I would use the Sykes-Pickavant tool. Cheaper £20 tools that you see on ebay are a waste of money. Alternatively, your friendly local independent might stick the flares on for beer tokens. Take the old pipe end along to match the flare type.

Option 4
Pay someone to do all the lines in one go.

The front pipes have fairly tortuous routes, and there will be rusted solid joints. Prepare for a lot of pain if you do it yourself...

 

[jim whitehead]

Might be a daft question, but have you got your pipe flaring equipment?

Cheers,

Mick

No I don't, is it possible to get then pre flared?


having said that I would be willing to buy the tools and have a go,


Jim


Jim

 

[jim whitehead]

I paid £10 for both rear brakr pipes from flexi to cylinder

Measure the length and you bend them youself over a curved object not in your hands

The pipes may forwell be seized solid
Id be replacing cylinders too as chances are you'll snap a pipe in there or a bleeder


Ziggy

Yes - I was thinking of replacing the cylinders too, the whole lot looks well corroded...!

 

[jim whitehead]

You can't buy them pre-bent as far as I know, you would need a fairly fancy pipe bending machine to get the profile correct.


There are a few options:


Option 1
You can buy them pre-flared sent in post as a coil, and then bend them to shape using the old one as a template.
A good tool for this is pipe bending pliers, which will preserve the diameter of the pipe as it's bent.


Option 2
You can also buy the pipe from a Fiat dealer, in its pre bent shape. These will be coated steel like the original.


Option 3
Buy a roll of pipe. Copper-nickel as recommended, but there seems to be plenty of people doing it in copper too. You can find lots of online debates about this should you care. Size is 3/16" OD from memory. Copper is a lot easier to bend (until it work hardens, but you can anneal this out).

You'll need a decent flaring tool. If I was doing it again, I would use the Sykes-Pickavant tool. Cheaper £20 tools that you see on ebay are a waste of money. Alternatively, your friendly local independent might stick the flares on for beer tokens. Take the old pipe end along to match the flare type.

Option 4
Pay someone to do all the lines in one go.

The front pipes have fairly tortuous routes, and there will be rusted solid joints. Prepare for a lot of pain if you do it yourself...

Thanks for taking the time to give that advice; I've done plenty of work on the car which I've had from new, but never gone near the pipes other than giving them a quick clean with wire wool.


I may buy them pre bent from the dealer... do you know if they would come pre flared. I suppose I could ask. I was also thinking of putting on new rear brake cylinders as I suspect the unions will be well corroded.


any thoughts on this..


Jim

 

[fingers99]

They'll come pre-flared, ready to bolt on. Personally, I'd go for pre-made ones in kunifer (try ringing or Skyping Big Mick at eurocarecare.net) simply because they're better -- and possibly cheaper -- but it's your car.

If you can pick up a brake pipe clamp (put it on the relevant flexi before you pull the pipe) bleeding tends to be quicker.

 

[atom0007]

I did buy a pre-made one from Big Mick, it was not pre-bent, and you'll have to supply the pipe length to him, and know the exact flare type you are after (I can't remember exactly, but there's SAE types, etc)


My experience with the fiat OEM pipes is that stock was fairly low, but that might be different now.

 

[atom0007]

the cylinders IIRC are aluminium alloy, they may not be as bad as you expect....