I had a 2nd brake line blow out yesterday . 3 of them go from some kinda computerized gadget to the right of the steering column under the hood , to a mounted box on the frame just below , about 3' long . One of those blew so I bought lines to replace all 3 . $40 at napa ....

Why the hell wouldnt they make these lines out of stainless steel? I think I'm to the point where I should just take a day out and redo all the lines . Any suggestions on what to buy? Can I buy rolls of stainless ? Any good deals out there? I feel sore after droping $40 on under 10ft+fittings.....

 

I'm sure you could find some aftermarket company who offers a S/S brake line kit. Or if not, maybe you can find a hydraulic line/fitting builder who could make you what you want. There's a few of those kinda places around here.

 

Circle Track Supply offer pre-bent SS lines for us. No reason you can't make your own though. CTS might sell coils of stainless line as well.

 

You can get a complete replacement set of SS pre-bent brake lines from EGR Brakes.

 

I'm one of the older guys on this board and worked on a lot of rigs over the years and have yet to see SS lines from any American manufacturer on one.

 

I forget the actual name of the type of line, but there is a soft nickel alloy type line that will never corrode, and it is perfectly fine to bend it by hand. Sure, it's a bit more money but it is REAL nice to work with and after 4 years of it being under my truck in the salt belt it still looks brand new. My mechanic friend gave me a 50' roll of it for some work I did, so I'm not sure how much it costs. Probably well worth it though. Good luck.

 

I am not a metallurgist but from what I have read ss lines are not free of their own problems. SS is very hard and brittle. They don't rust out but they suffer fatigue from all the vibrations in our trucks and eventually have a tendency to crack from that. Like I said, I am no expert, the is just my 2 cents.

 

Brake lines used to be made of better materials than they are today. In fact, these lines would last some 20-30 years.

I know of only three types of materials used for brake lines today; steel, stainless steel, and poly-armour.

 

Thats true. See it a lot with stainless piping and fittings. The vibration causes them to crack and break off much easier than softer mild steels. They also have a tendency to gall.

 

That copper nickel alloy brake line isn't much more than the steel line, plus its bendable by hand and way cheaper than anything stainless steel.. I replace all brake lines with that stuff once they blow out, so I never have to worry about it again..

 

Because they are only interested in making sure the lines make it though the warranty period.

 

The copper/nickle alloy lines are Cunifer tubing sold by FedHill in Mass. its real nice to work with and will be the last lines you will need.