i suck at flaring brake lines, help

[stockgp]

there's almost nothing i won't do to my car, aside from bodywork. brake lines have always been my achilles heel.

 

no matter how many tips i try, videos i watch, how many sections of brake line i practice on, i just can't do it.

 

i need to redo a few flares on my tgp, and replace one brake line entirely. i currently have double flare to bubble flare adapters on the rear braek lines, and somewhere they are leaking. probably because my double flares are horrendous.

 

i'm going to buy a bubble flaring tool from summit, but it doesn't do me any good if i can't use it.

 

my flares always come out warped, too flat, or completely out of round.

 

can anyone offer some tips os maybe one day by brakes won't feel like mush?

[GOT2B GM]

Use a proper tube cutter to ensure a square cut.

 

Deburr the inside of the cut.

 

Remember to slide the fitting onto the brake line prior to flaring.

 

Clamp the line tightly into the flaring block so that the end of the line is flush with the top of the block.

 

slide the flaring insert of the correct size into the line.

 

Flare the line.

 

Remove flaring insert.

 

Flare the line again.

[White93z34]

yeah pretty much what matt said. it took me a little while, but i can flare lines like a champ now, sometimes it helps to use a little drop of oil on the contact area of the line to get a better flare. I could probably do so much more if i had a better flaring set. Mines a cheapy from autozone you have to crank the hell out of the line block to make them stay put but I get consistently good results from it.

[stockgp]

i know the procedure. i follow it to the t.

 

but for some reason my flares always come out terrible.

 

only thing i haven't done is put oil on the line. i'll try that

[RobertISaar]

i learned how to make a single flare work/last in a brake line thanks to my dad.... but double flares are consistently more.................. consistent. i bought a ~$20 set from autozone, the little adapters it uses even allows you to not even think about how tall the tube should stick out... it's tough to mess them up with it.

[BXX]

Dunno if you meant wrong Bert, but never ever do a single flare on brake line.

 

The only way you are gonna get nice flares is if the line is cut square before you flare. Otherwise you end up witth crooked flares that leak.

 

And when you ttighten the clamps down that hold the line, make sure they are impossiblyy tight. Use a screwdriver through the wingnuts to tighten them.

[RobertISaar]

had no other options at the time, so a single flare was made to work... lasted 30+K miles now... but if they do fail or if i get the motivation, i have the dual setup now.

[stockgp]

i have been filing the line square by putting it through the flaring clamp, then filing the line level to it.

 

before i was using a tubing cutter, but i tried it this way just to be sure the line was square.

 

then i deburr with a drill bit, then chamfer the outside with a file.

 

my flaring tool tightens with hex nuts, so they are always impossibly tight

[BXX]

Get a better flare tool?

 

sounds like your doing it right, but from experience, alott of elcheapo double flare tools make shitty flares no matter how good you are.

 

AutoZone rent a tool isnt a half bad flaring tool.

[White93z34]

I liked mine so much, I kept it!

 

as for single flares I swear I've seen those in some places on these cars.

[BXX]

Single flares were used way back in the day when theyy had copper for brake lines and such

[Hairdo12]

Perfect flare every time from an autozone tool:

 

cut line with tube cutter

slightly widen inside with phillips head screw driver

clamp line with flaring tool, what ever the length you leave sticking out is supposed to be... add 1/3 to it

put on the double flare bit and clamp down untill you can't any more... Stop here for the perfect bubble flare

remove double flare bit and clamp down again 2/3 of the way for the perfect double flare

 

I've only messed up one flare in the past four years doing it this way. Make sure you have the correct flare nuts, bubble flare nuts are different than double flare nuts. This goes for the unions too... but you probably already knew that because you were using adapters.

[stockgp]

i don't have the auto zone rent a tool , but i did buy the one they have in the tool aisle. i already had to return it once because one of the dies bent

[stockgp]

well, i've been practicing again. my results are pretty consistent, but never good:

 

 

and i keep bending the 3/16 adapters:

 

[White93z34]

it looks like you might be bringing too much tubing up through the hold down.

[stockgp]

i'm following the instructions. i leave a portion protruding equivalent to the height of the top side of the adapter...