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Stainless steel brake lines kit.

beags86

beags86

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Not one to search old non relevant threads.

Going to pull the trigger on some stainless steel brake lines.

Classic tube
Inline tube
Lmc

All have stainless lines for sale.

Anyone have experience or an opinion on what set/kit is the best?
Stainless steel grade/fitment/completeness of set/kit?

Any others that I didn't mention?
 
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not much 2hr away from me . . . :grin:

another reason I picked them . . . if turn out to be crap I drive up in another truck and give them there stuff back .
 
We got lines for my son's '72 from Inline.
I had gotten some from them for my '72 C10 and I was pleased. Now for my son's K series , we are not really impressed. Not junk, but not impressive...
The fuel lines around the shackle were nothing like what we wanted , or pulled out.
 
Being in Fl., I don't have the same kind of salt problem that you Northern guys do. But, I did have to replace all the rear lines on my F250 a few years ago.
Apparently too many cast nets, and boxes of salt water caught fish drained out in my bed over the years.
I always washed out the bed, but the salt water collected in the frame and corroded the lines. Found out when a rear line blew.
Don't remember why I selected them, or the cost, but I went with Inline Tube. I'm guessing it was about 2006.

Bought the complete set. I wound up only replacing everything from the cab back. All the rest looked like new. The one long line was doubled over to fit in the box, but straightened up easily.
All the shielding springs were in the same place as factory, and all bends lined up exactly. So far, no problems. I still have the front half in the box just in case.
Don't know when 6872xtc's installs were, but the quality may have gone down between them. I have some pictures of my truck with no rear bed on it which was the same time I replaced the lines on a hard drive somewhere. The pics will have the dates on them. If I can find them tomorrow, I will post when I bought mine.
 
I used a kit from Inline a couple of years ago on a 02 2500HD 2WD. No complaints on quality of the kit. All I remember was how much of a pain in the ass it was to install.I couldn't imagine having to install without a lift.
I have a 05 that I need to this to winter and would use their kit again.
 
I would assume no one around here really bothers with the lmc kit, but I would kind think it would be made by one of the other brands..
 
I guess that I should have said earlier. I did my truck in 2002, we just got the stuff for my son's this spring. And there could be a problem with just the 4x4 lines. ?
We didn't have to adjust too much with the brake lines where they connect and wrap around the frame to go up to the master. We did play with them a little farther back.
He bought new straight tube from them to make his own fuel lines. We had messed with the ones that they sent, so no return.
 
The new copper/nickel brake tubing is a close second to stainless,with a few advantages--its easy to flare compared to regular steel tubing and bends easily with less chances of kinkage..

I feel its a better choice for those who aren't up to spending 200+ bucks on brake tubing when the truck might last another 5 or so years,its pretty much the same as stainless as far as lifespan..(it'll outlast the truck probably)..you can buy 25 foot rolls of it for under 40 bucks for 3/16" and 60 for 1/4",and fittings are available cheap now at Autozone,etc..

If you have ever tried to re-flare a stainless brake tubing you know how tough it is to compress and not have it split at the flare with typical double flaring tools..

Yes,you should never have to mess with stainless tube,but in the real world the fittings can strip or round off,or seize onto the tubing after enough exposure,and you may have to re-flare the line down the road if one got damaged,etc..

I realize the whole idea behind buying pre-made lines already bent like originals is to avoid ever having to replace them again,and the drudgery of cutting and flaring your own--but sometimes the way the "pre-bent" tubing is formed it is very difficult to install,even with a lift,you end up having to tweak and bend them getting them threaded in position--original brake lines were likely installed before the cab and bed were installed..

I've helped a few friends install stainless lines and it was not easy and frustrating even with a lift..a '62 Nova a friend had took us most of the day to install the tubing and new hoses,some parts had to be removed to get the lines in place ,and we still had to bend them a bit to get them in where they belonged...he does a lot of brake lines at his shop and said "I think I could have made all new lines from the roll of copper-nickel stuff faster and easier"...(and for over 100 bucks less)..

One thing I'd reccomend if anyone uses the copper-nickel stuff,leave enough "slack" so if you ever need to replace a wheel cylinder or brake hose later on,so you can cut the tube off at the fitting and re-flare & install the fitting--the tubing tends to expand into the fitting when tightened and next time you go to unscrew it,the tubing will wind up and twist off instead of the fitting spinning freely..so far that is my only dislike about the new copper nickel tubing..
 
FWIW, I used an inline tube stainless kit for all new brake lines in my 71 and didn't have to do a thing to them. Install was easy too.
 
Sounds like I won't go wrong with inline or classic tube.
Guess it just comes down to price.( Haven't checked that yet)

Also going to pick up some flexible stainless braided line from off-road design for the front. And it getting a full hydro boost set up as well.

I want to knock all this stuff out now while it's still just a cab and chassis. No engine/trans/ transfer case right now.
 
I used inline tube for all brake lines and all fuel lines front to back, top to bottom all in stainless. Everything fit, but it was still a big job and my truck had no drivetrain in it when we installed the new lines. Quality is high, all the ends are capped. I'll use them again without a second thought.
 
I have the set from inline tube. Fit was pretty good, only needed a few little tweaks here and there. Was good otherwise.
 
I've used 4 kits from inline all are pretty good I have needed to rebend a few here and there nothing to bad. It's one of the things I've started replacing when I take on a truck project.
 
Payday= parts day. Tomorrow ill place an order with inline tube.
 
If you're going with SS lines do yourself a favor and get the aviation grade copper flare inserts to prevent you from having to crank the piss out of them to get them to seal.
 
Stomis said:
If you're going with SS lines do yourself a favor and get the aviation grade copper flare inserts to prevent you from having to crank the piss out of them to get them to seal.
Click to expand...

Im interested where do you find these? Is it an option for these pre-bent kits I'm not aware of?
 
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