Brakeline Flaring FAIL! Help?

Long story short - swapped a '99 ZJ booster/master cylinder, and put new braided SS lines up front of my '89 XJ. 3 out of 4 fittings are leaking out the top where the tube comes through. Maybe #4 is slow?

Is my double-flare technique too heavy on the finish? The first flare is the easy part, but I'm thinking that I went too deep on the inside flare and it isn't mating with the inner "cone" parts of the prop valve and the SS lines. I'm using a junk flaring kit, but I think it's my skillz. I wish I would have taken pics, but I always get too busy to remember the camera.






BTW - the braking has already improved!

I hate double 45 flares. But I have done enough of them that I think I can chime in on some advise. A quality flaring tool is key. I have several from NAPA, Summit and Snap-On. I feel confident with anyone of these tools. First and most important is to make sure your tubing is cut SQUARE and true. Next debur the end very well inside and out. There is a debur tool for the outside or a bastard/mill file will work. Debur the inside with the deburruing point on your tubing cutter. I have also used a 45 counter sink for this. PUT ON THE TUBING NUT!! Set the tubing in the flaring tool using the die as a depth guide, critical. Coat the tubing with lite oil or brake fluid to provide lubrication. Flare the end in with the die. Remove die and complete the flare with the mandrel. Now the trick I found is to tighten the fitting, back it off the tighten it again. Bleed and enjoy. Hope this helps. Slow and easy, take your time, these are your brakes and the cliff will show up faster without them.

Christopher1968 said:

A quality flaring tool is key.

Click to expand...

This is the most important part of the previous post. He also posted good info about the procedure but you cannot make good flares with a cheap flaring kit, it just won't happen.

My dad told me something as a kid when he was doing the brakes on my mom's car. He said "When you grow up, if i don't kill you for mouthing off first, don't cheap out on anything to do with your brakes. It's your life you're putting on the line. Now hand me those cheap brake pads so i can get moms car out of here"

EDIT: How do I make a bubble flare? Might need to make 2...

Let's see - did it, done it, yep, uh-huh...

Must be the tool. I blew out the block from the first kit practicing. Second kit I got from Auto Zone and the anvil screw was bent out of the box. Used the anvil from the fist kit and the pipe cutter is one of the better ones from Ace Hardware. Made sure the lines were square. The flare wrenches from Auto Zone suck too - don't ever buy those! They better take them back. It's ridiculous that they are loose on the nuts and the wrenches themselves ended up stripping!

I have a little bit of the lines left that I can cut and get away with, but even with buying new lines I still need to flare the "whacky" fittings.

Thanks.

I had the same problem about a month back and after beating my head over and over again, I finally said screw it and installed new hard lines. It was alot easier bending the tubing to make it work then trying to double flare over and over and over again. Good Luck

Got a decent tool and blew it out also! Put new lines on the master cylinder and had to run all over town to find the metric/SAE fitting that I stripped on the '89 prop valve. Found one that was steel...I've reflared and made about 4 new lines for the thing and IT STILL LEAKS!!! So far none of the other 3 fittings I made are leaking, even the lines to the calipers that are original. Seems nobody carries a line long enough for the passenger side, only 6 feet.

The original fitting looks like steel, but is this flare nut leaking because it isn't brass, or is the new steel fitting just not made to exact-enough tolerances?

it seals on the flare's surface not the fitting, the only purpose of the fitting is to hold the flare tight against the corresponding flare in the hole you are putting it into.

Did I read that you are using Stainless line? If you are, good luck. They are more suited to a single flare.

Just weighing the possibilities, no matter how strange. These are not stainless - I couldn't get a good square fit with the stainless WJ lines, but the old XJ lines aren't leaking yet. These are the green painted lines from Auto Zone.

Where can I find hose hangers? Mine didn't come with any.

Never mind, I'm such a dumbass! The cone-nipple-thingy in the proportioning valve was smooshed. All that time, I didn't even think to look at it.

Now to find a prop block locally...

i have a prop valve out of an 89 sitting i stripped on my shelf if you can't find one locally cover the ride and its yours. its used but should work out.

PM me if you want it.