Home made brake lines - good idea ?

[slow-lane-Matt]

Bus failed MOT today on many counts - one being corroded brake lines

....It looks pretty easy to make them, and seems pretty hard to buy pre-formed ones for
rhd pre 72 bus...

Is this the sort of job an amateur can do, or am I liable to end up in a sea of brake fluid and no way to drive the bus to
a garage...

Any comments welcome

This looks like it would do the job, and at lot less than pre-formed kits...:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Copper-Brake-Pipe-Line-Repair-Kit-Pipe-End-Flarer-Cutter-Bender-3-8-UNF-Nuts-/271691773405?hash=item3f421775dd:g:wzMAAOSwuMFUfMzE

 

[bac2ba6]

I've made a few in the past you just have to make sure you've got the right sized fittings. But to be fair most decent motor spares shops will make one up for you if you take the old one in or tell them how long they are and it's a lot less faffing and fairly cheep . Obviously the flexi hoses are available from the usual vw outlets.
My opinion get a local shop to make one up for you unless you really want to have a bash.

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[Harry UK]

I have similar kit and works great, I would say this is easy task .. in fact find it quite relaxing once you've made a couple of fittings [emoji41] avoid steel pre-made kits as they are a real pain to bend to shape, oh and they rust!! Cupronickel pipe costs a little more than copper but resistant to fatigue & corrosion, you can bend by hand but tool with kit will look nicer.
I've done few pipes on my bay and full replacement on split

 

[Gman86]

I replaced every pipe and hose on mine recently, I used a self build kit and had a bad time with it, it takes a while to make each one and make sure the flares are correct but obviously I wasn't very good as once I fitted them I found most would at least weep break fluid. In the end I went to heritage and just bought a generic break kit. It's kunifer so it just bends to the shape you need by hand. If I had just gone to heritage first it would hav saved me about a day's work and £40.

 

[gagvanman]

Buy a decent brake flaring tool and kunifer tubing. Use the old lines as templates and you should be ok. I have done this on several cars without problems.

 

[Happystamps]

Did the whole set on the bus with having only done 1 short line before- they came out great (cupronickel). I did spend a few minutes making scrap ends before i worked out the best length to have sticking out of the tool etc, but they look and work fine.

 

[slow-lane-Matt]

Thanks for the advice, I will make them myself but after giving them a wipe with some wire wool they look clean and shiny, (copper) - so I am hoping the MOT man will pass them. Bus has to go back for welding before next MOT attempt so will have them take a look. It failed on the long length from front to rear, which is mostly in a protective tube, so not sure what he's on about. He also failed for headlight beams being too low and handbrake not as good as it should be, which is bollocks as you don't expect to see in the dark or stay stopped on a hill in a 50 year old bus!

The moral is - if you have a sound MOT man, stick with him, even if its a 20 minute drive !

 

[Webbaldo]

Nowt wrong with making your own as long as done to a decent standard. If you only need the odd one then off the shelf might be cheaper if you dont have the tools?

 

[purpledog07]

I made my own and have recently done a full beetle system as well. Never had a leak but then i am used to working with hydraulics at 4100psi and have done a lot of bending over the years. Even a cheap bender will do copper or kuni, i wouldn't do it by hand as the pipes will definately oval or flatten on bends. Use a good quality flaring tool such as the laser branded plier type. Steer clear of the bar type flaring tools, they are sh!te. 3/16" brake pipe comes in 25ft coils for cheap, plenty enough to do your whole bus twice at least and always use new fittings and grommets for peace of mind. VW use 10mmx1mm thread short type unions and you only need the male ones unless joining pipe to pipe.
Good luck.

 

[purpledog07]

oh, and cleanliness is a must with any hydraulics, use a pipe cutter and not a saw to avoid debris and dirt ingress. Bend the new pipes in a clean area as any contamination will cause problems for sure. If you have compressed air then blow the completed pipes through before fitting.

 

[purpledog07]

Lastly, i'm not knocking you but i expect to see in the dark and stop in a reasonable distance in any vehicle, especially my bus as I cherish it. The day you run a child over 'cos you couldn't see them in the dark or couldn't stop will change your mind and you'll have lots of time to think on it in prison as old car is a poor defence for manslaughter. There's also that occasion when a modern cars emergency stop in front of you will leave you in a wheelchair for life after the bumper goes through your lower legs, it really isn't worth it to skimp on these things as the real cost can be catastrophic. VW made both to a fairly good standard originally and both can be adjusted and parts are available including upgrade bulbs. You don't have to go mad to have a roadworthy vehicle that is up to the standard of when it was made. Its funny how the MOT testers can differ in opinion, my bus passed first time with an advisory on the headlights and it wasn't until I took them apart i realised the previous owner had put the reflectors in upside down making dipped and high beam swapped round! I hadn't driven it at night before then! I cleaned them up and replaced the bulbs with halogen and it's like the sun came up!

 

[slow-lane-Matt]

In the end I bought the tool and the kuni pipe - and had no problems, if anyone reads this all I can add is get the flaring tool that lets you create the flares in situ.

For example to create the long pipe that goes from the brake light sensors at front along the inside of the protective tube to the rear would be very difficult to make on the bench and fit as it has no bends that can easily adjust length, and if it was a couple of mil too short wouldn't work....

Would also recommend getting the special brake spanner for undoing the old joints. I bought a kit on Ebay that included a tiny pipe cutter which was effective - and a pipe bender which wasn't...

Purpledog - you must have noticed if you have a modern car behind you their lights light up the sides of the road in front, and there's a dark patch in front of you where your headlights illuminate the road..., point being these old lights are so dim it doesn't really matter where they point as long as it is in vaguely the right direction, and for an MOT man to fail on beam adjustment, when it is a 2 second job to adjust beam when on the rig is disappointing....

 

[purpledog07]

Tis a bit unreasonable, probably thought he could squeeze a few quid out of you! I go to the same garage for mot's for 20 years and the testers have somewhat different opinions at times but they are all aware i do all the work myself so theres no benefit to them in being overly harsh. However, i do try to keep the bus in the best condition i can and it always passes whichever emissions or brake test they decide to use that year. Which itself depends on what they choose to use as a substitute for your vehicle when they enter details into the computer. Mines a 72 and its not an option on the system at all. Sometimes they use the rolling road and others they put a black box in and drive it then slam the brakes on. If it skids to a stop it's a pass!

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[purpledog07]

Btw roughly ten clicks on the t2 handbrake should be fully locked on.

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