The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Question stainless brake lines install?

I have questions about installing stainless steel brake lines on a 1959 chevy 1/2 ton.
Do you need to teflon tape the joints or is the
flare good enough to seal when properly tightened?
flex hoses, brass T's ect....
Also is it nessessary to replace the copper gaskets/washer seals?
between the flex hoses an brass fittings?
If so who is a good source for these copper gasket/washers seals?
Thanks,
Barry

NEVER use Teflon tape on any hydraulic system. The systems are designed and the fittings manufactured to use flare only and copper crush washers on the hoses. Always replace the crush washers. Any FLAPS worth it's salt has the brake parts, even in Alabama..

Why stainless?

Focus,

Unless you know the background on the flex hoses, I would change those too. Like 53 said,a good auto parts store should have them in stock.

If you changed em out already, good plan.

Yes I plan on changing all components
Just did not see where anyone had commented on
connecting there brake lines with any sealant other than compression fittings.
It's a driver for now so did not want to replace them again went with stainless for durablity nothing else.
Thanks

Not compression fittings, let's Focus on, that be double flare joints!
I think unless I was building a show truck I would stay away from SS lines. They can be real hard on brass fittings, the steel lines are bad enough. Steel lines will last ya for decades unless your running them in water and salt all day long.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Not my thread, but I chose stainless for my everyday driver / show truck because I know they will last near forever.

The truck I just worked on, replacing all the lines, I used regular steel brake line. It is by far easier to work with than stainless.

The stainless I used for one truck is 3/16", and the steel on the other is 1/4", even though the steel is larger it is easier to bend than the smaller stainless.

Unless you plan to keep the truck forever regular lines will last and last, and much easier to flare and install.

This being said, my next line project is a bunch of 1/4 and 3/8 stainless brake and fuel lines.

Grigg

Denny,
What do you mean by hard on brass fittings?
As in easy to cross tread or some kind of Chemical corrosion?

stainless doesn't play well with other metals

Stainless is hard on brass fittings because the flare is so hard that they don't deform to match the brass and make a tight seal.

The regular steel is somewhat softer and the flare will actually squish and help form to the shape of the brass, creating good metal to metal contact and a seal.

Because stainless is harder the brass has to do most of the deforming to match the stainless and make a seal. Once a brass fitting has been fit to one stainless line it is often damaged enough that it has trouble sealing on a different line, the brass seat is damaged.

Because of this it is often harder to get a leak free seal when using stainless lines. To reduce this problem a high quality flaring kit and some practice and patience are most helpful.

I personally have had minimal trouble with getting stainless lines to seal, no more than I have had with regular steel lines, but I am careful and make nice double flares.

Grigg

Well said Grigg, that was exactly what I was referring to. The brass is considerably softer than the SS and it is almost always deformed by the mild steel lines so the SS would be much harder on the fittings. If a flare is just a little bit off center or cocked and you try to R&R it, your probably going to end up with a leak.
I pulled all the steel lines off my '50 this past winter and there was only a tiny bit of surface rust in a few places. touch it on the wire brush and you never would have known it was there. I did replace them all and all the brass just as a matter of safety. Point here is that after 57 years they really were still serviceable.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL