The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1952 6400 Huck brake lines between wheel cylinders

Anyone have a source for the small jumper between the two wheel cylinders on Huck brakes on my ‘52 6400? I’m at the end of my rope trying to make them. Maybe it is me, but I’ve made plenty of brake lines in my life and I’ve tried two different double flare tools, including the Vevor that was demonstrated at the get together several years ago. The local shops I have talked to don’t make brake lines, they buy them premade. Obviously I’m willing to pay for the lines so I can get this thing on the road. The lines are like 1/4 or 3/16 NICO. Sorry but the attachment manager wouldn’t accept the file from my Apple phone.

According to the Shop Manual, those lines should be 1/4". Have you been trying to do the flaring after bending the tubing to shape between the cylinders, or flaring the straight pipe section first? The flaring may work better if you do it with the pipe section unbent. On your picture issue, there is a setting in your iPhone for the camera for "Formats". If you set that to "Most Compatible" you will still get good pics, just at a smaller file size making posting easier. Try and retake your picture after changing your setting and see if that helps. If still too big, email them to me and I can resize them for you.

I start with straight tube with the intent to bend it after.

So what is happening with the flaring process? Poor or uneven flare ends, splits in the flare or ??? I have a friend in the Genuine Chevy/GMC Truck Club of KC that has a neat compact style faring tool that we used to fabricated replacement lines on my 1/2 ton in May and June. I know it's capable of flaring 1/4" tubing and willing to bet he would give it a go to make up some of those lines. Can you post the length of the straight line tubing (with finished ends) that you would need that would allow you enough tubing to make the needed bends for these lines? I will see about giving him a shout tomorrow to see if we can't figure something out.

I need two 15” lines to finish the back brakes. The ends of the flares weren’t even or round using either tool. I probably tried 15 times and had 1 decent flare. Now they are too short to work but I keep trying to figure out how I’m using the tool wrong or whatever. Obviously I need double flares on both ends.

Thanks for the dimension. I will get in touch with him tomorrow and get back with you when I can. Just to be sure, the threaded fittings you are using are 7/16-24 for 1/4 pipe, yes?

On top of everything else, the Vevor tool broke the first time I used it and was out of warranty and they won’t sell me a part to fix it

On top of everything else, the Vevor tool broke the first time I used it and was out of warranty and they won’t sell me a part to fix it. I looked at the package the nuts came in and they are 3/8-24 inverted thread size for 3/16” tube

Thanks for the size update info and picture of an existing line. To bad on the tool- not great business sense on their part IMHO.

Still waiting to hear back from my buddy, but confident he will help out. Will keep you posted.

Still waiting to hear back from my buddy. Have you considered going with a pre-fab line like these Copper/Nickel 3/16" x 16" w/3/8x24 fittings??? Yeah, there an inch longer than your 15" length, but perhaps some slightly different bending would take up that extra length and make these work for you?

I looked everywhere to find them, except Amazon I guess. 16” would work just fine. If your friend can’t do it let me know and I will order those. Everyone else had 24” as the shortest length available. Thanks for all your help.

I went ahead and ordered the brake lines you suggested. Thanks for the help.

Glad you did and always no problem on the help. I finally heard from my buddy very late last night to find out he has been dealing with a medical issue which is now resolved. Sorry for the delayed reply. Looking forward to seeing and hearing how these pre-fab lines work out.

I’m thinking of loading it on a trailer for September if I’m not done and we could make a group effort to get it on the road.

That sounds like a great plan! I think we may need to start a conversation in the MBA Forum as a possible project for the MBA Roundup. Care to kick that off?

What part of the flaring tool broke? If you can post a picture of it, it's possible I could make a part like it if you send me the tool, and the broken pieces.
Jerry

A local shop tried to fix it, but it didn’t help. The hole on the end is threaded. The last photo shows the manual showing the complete tool.

That's an easy fix- - - - -just make a new part- - - -don't try to patch on the broken one!
Jerry

I asked if they could make a new part, but they were so sure they could fix it.

The 16 inch premade work and are double flared, but the old one looks more like a bubble flare. It also threads in all the way, so I don’t know if it is sealing or not. Any ideas?

Are the tube nuts the same length as the original? I would think that as long as the bell of the tube matches the raised seat in the port and the nut is able to pinch them tight before you run out of thread, it should be sealed.

I think so. I’m most concerned that the flares don’t look the same. I bought new wheel cylinders so maybe they require a double flare. My research says bubble flares are for metric brake systems.

I was able to get pretty close when I made new lines for my 56 6100 rear brakes, I used the original nuts and copper nickel lines double flared. I'll try to put the link here that shows the picture, if I can't add the link search the big bolts forum for " tricky brake line " . Doug H in this forum also made some for his 56 6100 dump truck. Best of luck 👍 brake line

All of the brake lines no matter what the material are double flared, any of the pre-made Bundy Flex or copper nickel lines that you can buy off the shelf at your FLAPS are double flared. The tube material is soft enough to conform to the raised seat in the cylinder, that is the purpose and design of a flare joint, the nut and threads DO NOT SEAL the joint, it is the inside face of the bell and the outside face of the raised seat that are the sealing surfaces. If the flare angle is the same in both pieces, tighten it until it does not leak, sometimes you will need to pull it back apart and inspect the seal surfaces to make sure there are no splits or deformed surfaces, use some brake fluid as a lubricant on the seat, nut threads, and the back of the tube flare, crank it in TIGHT!

I bought 3/16” lines on line that you referenced and the fittings are too short. Are there special fittings for Nico lines? I would think steel fittings would cause electrolysis with lines and then leak. But JEGS premade Nico lines say they have steel fittings. Anyone know?

Every inverted flare nut I have worked with for brake or fuel is a soft ferrous/steel, those are factory type nuts. If you use aftermarket items, aluminum, brass, stainless steel, are all available but they are not designed for Bundy or copper/nickel.

I used long steel flare nuts provided by O’reilly for NICO lines. We’ll see what happens.