Should I buy bulk brake line, cut my own lenghts and flare the brake line myself . Or should I just go and get pre-made lengths. What I like about the pre-made is that it is staight, not in a coil. I wonder if the longest available lenght will reach from my ABS unit to the passenger side flex line.

If you do your own, you can get straight lengths up to about 72'' I think..then you need a coupling.

Personally I would get the line in bulk if you are confident you can do your own flares and have a flaring tool. IMO it is much easier this way. Since you won't need couplers you have less areas to check for any leaks when you put it together. I've done it with the bulk rolls of line the past few times and found it much easier then joining a bunch of lines together.

I've probably never done the amount you have Sean..but don't you find it awkward to get the coiled stuff straight?

Not really Duncan. The rolled lines I purchase are made differently then the straight ones. Something in the metal makes them easier to bend by hand. The only time I even use a tubing bender is when making tight bends. Most of it is so much easier to bend by hand and it comes out straight enough for me.

Stainless or mild steel?

If I ever have to replacing a line on anything I plan to keep. I use stainless weather it be brake line or exhaust. Do it once do it right.

Steel. Never used stainless because of the different flare you need to do.

smokey said:

If I ever have to replacing a line on anything I plan to keep. I use stainless weather it be brake line or exhaust. Do it once do it right.

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I agree. But never had a problem using regular brake line. And anything stainless always scared the customers away because of the price lol.

73F100Shortbed said:

Steel. Never used stainless because of the different flare you need to do.

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Surprisingly even the factory line on my 79 had the coupling..and when I contacted a company to make repros of my originals they mentioned the coupling. I do see the benefit of no coupling though..one less place for grief.

Ultimately, either way you go gets the job done. Just a matter of preference and what you are comfortable with. I'll have to look under my truck but I don't think there are any factory couplers under there, but I could be wrong. I did it for years with straight tubes and couplers and when a parts representative brought in a roll of line that could easily be bent into shape by hand I was all for it.

73F100Shortbed said:

Ultimately, either way you go gets the job done. Just a matter of preference and what you are comfortable with.

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Agreed! .

Either works I bought up a bunch of stainless years ago for dirt cheap is the main reason I use it. It is a pain to work with doesn't bend well flares are hard to do.

I have the flaring kit and the bending tool. I have done brake lines and am comfortable at doing it. Its just a little bit of a pain to double flare all the ends, and chances are I'll have to redo a few. The reason I wanted to go with pre-made lengths is because I have a hard time getting a clean looking fit along the frame when trying to straighten the bulk line out. It just seem sloppy and lose lookin. It doesn't really matter I guess. As for stainless, for my Ranger it would outlast the rest of the truck. The trans is getting tired and I'm not sure how long its going to last. I'd hate to do all the work with stainless and then the truck dies.

ive always used the bulk coil of mild steel line. the nut fittings seem to be whats so expensive. i figure the stock steel line was about 15 y/o when it went bad, in theroy it should go another 15 with mild steel replacement line. dad's '96 bronco on the other hand is parked except for trailer tow duty. (28' travel trailer) most of the year its parked. and almost every time its time to go out on the highway again, it seems a brake line needs changed out, heck, it even had to have a rear diff cover replaced and the passenger side radius arm!) and it has only about 75,000 miles on it.

You can re-use your old fittings if they are in good shape. I've run into cars where you had to use the old fitting. Never had a problem. However if they are all rusty I wouldn't recommend it. But if they are in good shape you can re-use them to save a few bucks. If you purchase them by the box they are usually a bit cheaper and it is always good to have a few extras in the toolbox anyway.