Brake line flare wrench size?

[Layonnn]

I have been searching and reading through the posts/threads on installing the Slee stainless steel brake lines.

I am going to take a trip to Sears this weekend and pick up some Craftsman flare/line wrenches but i wanted to check to see what size i needed.

From the threads i have read it seems as though i need a 10mm. One thread indicates i also need a 17mm flare wrench? Do i need any other sizes?

Any other recommended tools besides basic tools and the flare wrenches ? (saw vise grips might be a wise idea if the flare wrenches start to round off the nut)

Also i remember seeing one thread a while back that had a lot of pictures of the install and was very detailed, right now i can't find it though. I have the link to the task-LED install of SS lines and have read through most of the ones on here but can't find this thread again.

 

[Brian Macgyver]

10 mm is the usual Japanese size for hard-line hydraulic lines. You will need a 17mm for the larger size on the flex line. The larger the hex size, the more forgiving the use of a plain open end will be. For the 17mm, you might be ok with a regular open end wrench. But in any case, you will need a wrench that fits tight and right. After years in the biz, I have found that Craftsman line wrenches fit a bit too loose. They tend to slip. If you can find a Cornwell, Mac, Matco, or Snap-on tool truck, the tool will cost more, but it will fit better.
I have also found that the Pittsburg line at Harbor Freight tools fits really close and works well. As a long-time Jap mechanic, I find that their wrenches fit the fasteners more tightly, and cost less than anything that Sears sells.
When you are dealing with a hydraulic line, you need a wrench that has to be jiggled into place. It should fit that tight. If it doesn't fit tight, you risk damaging the fitting and making repairs much more difficult.

 

[darwink1]

Get yourself a small pipe wrench or two. One thats "key chain" sized and a 5-6" long one. Im tellin you, youll be glad you did. Pick up new bleeders for the calipers/lspv for the hell of it too. Might make for one less trip to the store.

Also, if one of your lines went due to rot theres gonna be more. Take a close look wherever a hard line meets a mounting clip and chances are its rotten to hell. The ones between the frame and gas tank are prone to collecting mud/salt as I found out. I blew 3 before smartening up and redoing all of the hard lines, 2 of the soft lines, and the lspv last week.

Good luck.

D

PS Wouldnt be a bad idea to grab some of the clips that hold the soft lines in place @ the frame. Mine were rusted to the mounting tabs and we mangled them taking them out.

 

[nuclearlemon]

power bleeder is nice to have also, or a second person. also, soak all the fittings (including bleeders) with pb blaster at least once every day for a week before you start

i go through and crack all the lines/bleeders before i take anything apart, that way i'm only bleeding the system once. if you start pulling lines and find you can't get some lines loose, you aren't doing half the system today and half next week. i hate bleeding brakes.

 

[freshspecbluegt]

Just installed the front lines during my front axle service a couple of weeks ago. I bought the set of craftsman professional line wrenches and didn't have any problems with them, my truck has been in CA all its life and has no rust so YMMV. Do the driver side frame to axle first, its the biggest pain in the butt of the whole job. I don't remember needing any other special tools. Just get a big tarp or tray to cover your floor its a bit of a messy job.

 

[Layonnn]

I have the 7 set of slee SS brake lines and 5 speed bleeders (each brake and then the LSPV)

I picked up a set of craftsman metric flare set. If they start to round the nuts i will try the vise grip over the wrench technique.

Other tips i have read:
Remove all old fluid from reservoir and fill with new fluid
Place saran wrap over the reservoir under the cap to slow down drips
Break loose both sides of the lines before removal to slow down fluid loss


I am still a little confused on the instructions i have read from Slee about filing down a certain portion on the hardline side to make their SS fit better. Of course there are no pictures of this showing what to do. I guess i will figure it out as i go.

 

[freshspecbluegt]

You only have to break out the file if you are having a hard time getting it to thread. I only had to do this on one line. Once you get into it its a pretty straight forward job. good luck

 

[CycloSteve]

I replaced all seven of my lines with the OEM / extended ones from CDan two weeks ago.

I used my almost-30-year-old Craftsman metric flare wrenches with no issues. I did have to slightly file two of the actual "flares" in the hard lines so that I could fit and thread them into the new flex lines. Definitely a few wtf-bombs being dropped before I figured out what was happening. Looked like they may have been over-wrenched at some point in their lives. Came out OK, but would not thread without doing a little manual machining.

Sounds like I am not the only one out there doing this PM lately.



Steve