Brake pipes

[dionjones]

Hi all,
I'm currently making my beloved Mk2 fit for an MOT and VIC check as I wrote it off a couple of years ago and it's been sitting on the drive ever since.

I've come to bleed the brakes and the bleed nipples both broke off at the back and none of the junctions on the brake pipes will unscrew, so it looks like I'm going to have to refit the brakes from the front to the back. Just wondered if anyone had any tips on doing this as I think its going to be an annoying job by the look of things.

cheers,
D.

[Nate]

new wheel cylinders, and have a go at the pipes going into them using a pipe spanner /split ring spanner / crowfoot spanner. try nipping it ever so slightly tighter then undoing it. using a plain open ended spanner will more than likely just make the job worse to do, as you'll probable just round of the nut.

if all else fails, whack the pipe out of the nuts at each end with a cold chisel and undo them with a socket, then just replace the rear solid pipe

[dionjones]

Yeh, all the nuts appear to be knackered in and rounded off. I'll need to replace the solid pipes from the servo to the cylinders.

What's the deal with bending the solid brake pipe? do you just bend it, or is there a specific technique? and do I just bend it to match the old pipe and follow that around?

[daveyg]

I found bending the pipes around a spray paint can seemed to work well, smaller cylindrical objects for sharper turns. I laid the original brake pipes out on the floor and bent the new pipe using the originals as a guide
Good Luck

[Tim_R]

If your buying new rear wheels cylinders, make sure you get new bolts to hold them on with as well. Years ago my original ones rounded off and had to be drilled out if I remember rightly.
Bolts are available from the dealer still as I've just done this job as part of my rebuild.

Do you have a brake pipe flaring tool?

[dionjones]

hi Tim,
I don't have a flaring tool.
I was just going to take the pipes up to my local camberly auto parts, or measure them and ask for some to be made the same length.
You think it would be better if I made them myself?
If so where would I get the pipes and nuts?

[Tim_R]

Ahh sorry, I thought you were going to be making them yourself from scratch, if you are getting a motor place to make them up for you to fit, it shuoldn't be a problem as long at you give them the originals to match.

If you do want to do it yourself you can unions and pipe from any decent motor factors.

[Nate]

i prefer making them up myself. ready made ones from the factors are never quite the same length, and if you;re doing the entire car, there will be very little difference in cost

[dionjones]

i prefer making them up myself. ready made ones from the factors are never quite the same length, and if you;re doing the entire car, there will be very little difference in cost

Hi, been a long while since I was online, due to new baby - think i might have some time to start on the brake pipes now though.

Can you hire brake pipe flare tools? They seem somewhat expensive.

[dionjones]

these any good, does anyone know?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BNIB-FRANKLIN ... 846wt_1272

[Nate]

yes. franklin do very good kit.

or you could go with one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220984777904 which do the job fine, but you do need to be quite careful as the dyes are easy to bend. i've had one now for nearly 15 years and i think it was probably the best tenner i ever spent on tools. probably re-piped a few dozen cars/trucks with it now

[dionjones]

So something like this would be fine?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAKE-FUEL-PI ... 45fdc6659d

What diameter pipe and what metal should be using? just copper?

[fonzooorooo]

You won't need a bender - just a basic flaring kit. (I've done a couple of cars, and fuel lines too) The ebay cheapies are fine for new copper/cupro-nickel pipe, but DO NOT use them on original. steel pipe (it kills the "tread" on the clamp, meaning the pipe slides through the clamp as you try to flare ... My neighbour found this out using his on a Daewoo Matiz!)

I found it easiest to simply bend the pipe on the car, starting at the front, then chop the pipe off over length, then do the bending-back-up-at-the-back bit before cutting to final length.

Oh, and remember to put the unions on the pipe before you flare!

[Nate]

3/16" pipe, and 10mm flare nuts. use new nuts, pref either galv of chromed to keep the rust at bay.

i use plain copper pipe, others prefer copper/nickel or cunifer. i have yet to hear a convincing argument (other than price) to pick one sort over another for a standard road car. any of them will do the job just fine.

personally, i stick a nut on one end of the pipe and flare it, then attach it and route the pipe as neatly as i can, following the original route, cut to length, put a second nut on, flare the other end and job done.

use proper hex flare nut spanners or crow foot spanners (have a quick search, i've posting this up dozens of times before) as a plain open ended spanner os very likely to round off the nuts, particularly if it's a cheapy one that don't fit too well.

and i'll bet you that you either forget to put a nut on, or put one on backwards. i usually do it at least once if i'm doing a full car