Flare brake lines? (2023 Update)

NH has salted roads and yearly inspections. When I told the inspecting mechanic that the line had failed he showed me a rack of flared repair sections to fix it, but said do NOT use compression fittings.

I cut out the rust-through and a suspicious spot caused by the adjacent clip and put in a 20" premade section today, with enough of a service loop to cut off and redo the flares if they leak. The spliced line still fits neatly in the clips. I'll be rained/snowed out of working on it this weekend but at least the line is sealed again.

-jsw

Be sure to secure that service loop so vibration doesn't come into play. That gooey cork/tar looking stuff they put around A/C low pressure lines works well. It's sticky and stays put in heat.

The U is only a few inches long and will be restrained at one end where it exits the plastic shield, after I bleed and leak-test the line. On the other side the well-braced parking brake cable is available to support the added mass of the coupler. One of the mechanics I talked to suggested to pad a replaced line with windshield washer hose and tie-wrap it to something nearby if duplicating the factory routing would require too much disassembly of rusted components.

Neither the factory nor the Haynes manual give much advice on replacing brake lines. This may be one of those skills you are expected to learn in person from the shop foreman.

I feel sorry for mechanics who have to learn how to diagnose complex electronics. The initial drop-out rate at the Army electronic repair school was quite high during the Volts - Amps - Ohms - Watts section.

-jsw

I used some clear hose (happened to have some about the right size) at the clips when I replaced one of the rear lines that runs along the axle. Cut a slit in it to get it over the new line and then positioned the slit to be down or on the bottom. The whole area, whole line actually was liberally coated with wheel bearing grease. I could have slid it over first and left it whole but I figured the slit would let moisture drain out.

Good!

I think you're right. UTI didn't teach that to me, either. I think we flared a couple brake lines once, and spent more time on honing and flushing/bleeding.

They use that damnable Math Voodoo stuff in there! Come to think of it, I think we lost a couple guys (out of a dozen) in the first couple months of Electronics had been into play for a short while when I retired from the field in late '85. I learned everything I could from the Mitchell manuals Electrical sections. And Echlin (NAPA) had some free courses, all of which I attended. I loved electronics (stereo buff back then), so it's the path I chose after screwing up my back while wrenching. Newer courses surely teach a whole lot more of Ohm's Law than I got in 1972. Either that or they're criminally negligent. IIRC, I had a tougher time in the electrical section at UTI, and that made me pursue it avidly to become better skilled; druthers being that I master _it_, versus the opposite.

That said, far too many current mechanics and electronics techs are merely board swappers. I was taught to troubleshoot to the component level in Coleman College's Computer Electronics Technology course. I just wish I'd stayed at it longer. Damned corporate takeovers. SKF gave me some nice going away presents, though, when I told them that cubicle life wasn't for me.

I learned a lot more about things like flaring lines in high school than they taught at trade school, but our high school was much better than most. We consistently had the top grads at trade school. Frank Mader and Gerry Fry were EXCELLENT instructors, who were, first and formost, excellent technicians. I saught to emulate them during my teaching years.

Teaching automotive Mechanics in high school is a real challenge because they tend to say "we'll never make an (engineer, electrician, plumber,or whatever of this duffus, so let's put him into auto mechanics" This means the auto instructor has to bring them up to speed on their physics - electrical/electronics theory - hydraulics, their math (ratio and propartion as well as measurement) and make them into electronic technicians/plumbers/machinists/welder-fitters - the whole works - before you can make a mechanic out of them....

Not that it matters at the rear axle, but I try to pre-stock and use plastics known to survive engine compartment temperature like washer and fuel tubing and radiator hose repair tape for DIY patching. I have some tie-wraps, heatshrink, silicone-insulated wire and Anderson connectors in there now to see how they hold up.

It's very flexible and rated for 200C. It just barely fits into a 30A Anderson pin if I wind solder around the strands first to pull them together.

I just missed capturing 3/14/15 9:26:53 on the clock this morning because I forgot to shut off the flash.

-jsw

The local trade school recently turned their Diesel shop into a computer lab, so there'll be no more small engine repair courses. Welding is the only night class left that isn't an art or craft. A lot of my machine shop stuff came from auctions of school shops being repurposed into something more 'relevant' to a dumbed-down service economy.

When I was in high school the college-bound kids took drafting and wood shop and really learned from them since we competed to outdo each other. However auto shop was for parolees from Juvie.

-jsw

When I said "trade school" I meant post secondary - here in Ontario that is Community College - a requirement for apprenticeship eading to the required licence or certificate of qualification - which is REQUIRED for all regulated trades -electrician, plumber, mechanic, all regulated trades here.

In high school they no longer have "auto shop" - it's now "transportation technology" and instead of learning to rebuild engines and transmissions they build motorized skate boards

My truck is a 1982 Chevy 4x4. Bought it new in August of same.

So at this point in time you begin to learn what works and doesn't work so well. At least some of us do ;-)

I just apply band-aides here & there nowadays when I have to. The road salt finally caught up with it and my age/situation destroyed any ambition I once had...

If you cover the line make SURE it has some type of sealer or protectant under the cover. Any moisture under the covering will increase the speed that it rusts.

I like using alloy lines but if the customer says no I will install steel and coat everything I install with a coat of sealer. I spray the rest with a "custom" mix. Lanolin, beeswax and bar/chain oil, mix it together while heated, brush on and let harden. Basically the same type of item as Waxoyl or Fluid film for a LOT less $$$. I also use it on body panels.

Now that Radio Shack has crashed, perhaps the defense department should commission someone to come up with a modern version of the 101-in-1 project kits, and sell them for just enough so that people think they're worthwhile.

Here they overlap:

I hear ya. Crawling under the car reminds me I'm getting old.

Things I've fixed tend to stay fixed, but there's no lack of interesting new problems.

The places where I sprayed LPS-3 through the large holes in the cover shield didn't rust.

This isn't mine. The water-trapping clips are in the center of the picture where the plastic fits tightly against the metal.

This is the problem area at the rear of the shield. Mine doesn't look as bad.

The thread these came from:

Between the retaining clips the lines still have the factory paint, or the shiny plating where I've scrubbed it off to check them. Most of the clip-covered areas showed only white corrosion from the plating, like his but not as much. The badly rusted area was in the splash zone ahead of the rear wheel, and covered by a short unperforated section of the shield that the photo doesn't show.

-jsw

I bought some project boxes at RatSnack last month, and the guy was looking urpy. He said he wasn't sure how long they'd be running. Did it fall? I hadn't heard.

Goodonya, mate.

Exactly. The general population thinks of mechanics as dumb grease monkeys. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It takes a good brain to be a good mechanic, a field which is in constant flux. We had to be very flexible and ready to learn each week.

Time to buy a creeper. What a difference it makes in ease!

Murphy is EVERYWHERE...

Here's the story : money.cnn.com/2015/02/09/news/companies/radioshack-store-closings/ -