pingpong Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Well today I planned on finishing up my brake lines on the New DD. I got them all installed, but not with out much ado. First.. no matter how clean a MJ looks.. the brake lines are rusted in 2 by the fuel filter. That and the rear line has a funky metric fitting :eek: and Napa doesn't carry an adapter for it, but they do carry a length of hard line about 12" long that has the correct fitting at each end :nuts: Besides that.. the MJ line at napa is only 12 bucks :D and if you use the mounting baracket for the height sensing valve as a moutning point.. it makes your line the equivalnet of a 20" line :brows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Nice ingenuity! :D Why o' why can't I get stainless steel tubing for brake lines? Is it too brittle to form the ends? :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 You can get stainless. In the back of all the car and 4x4 mags there are two companies that always advertise. One is Classic Tubing, and I don't remember the other. They specialize in making up custom sets to the OEM bend profiles (sometimes they even do it right), but I believe they will also sell lengths of straight tubing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Sweet. :D I think I'll be giving them a call the next time I have to re-tube an entire vehicle (done 2 so far). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I contacted them when I was putting the D44 under my rig (it didn't have any brake lines on it). They don't do OEM bended lines for our stuff :cry: I ended up pulling a set of hard lines off an XJ 8.25 in the junkyard that were virtually brand new. Little bit of "tweaking" and they fit right up on the axle. Ray Charles could bend brake line better than me...... Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted December 13, 2007 Author Share Posted December 13, 2007 By no means are my lines pretty and perfect, they are all run through the factory clips though :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 I contacted them when I was putting the D44 under my rig (it didn't have any brake lines on it). They don't do OEM bended lines for our stuff :cry: Yeah, they do. I have three sets for an MJ D44 in a box in my garage. Took them a couple of tries to get it right. The first time they said "Yeah, we have a pattern. No problem." I think the pattern must have been for a J truck. So I returned those along with the original lines off an axle and they matched them up pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonrider477 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 when i worked as a tech in upstate ny we replaced hundreds of rusted brake lines a year.also fuel lines,tranny, cooler lines,oil pans,tranny pans,rear end covers,gas tanks,etc.we stocked a huge inventory of brake lines as well as a huge assortment of fittings and adaptors.even with all that we still ended up in a lot of cases custom making lines because the factory used some goofy thread on a fitting that we could'nt get.we would have to take the old fitting off the rusted line(not easy) and reuse it on the new one.one thing i liked was the lines we bought from napa were coated with some hard as a rock black paint that would keep the new lines you installed mint for years. the old style uncoated lines we used to use would only last 1-2 years especially if it was a plow truck that sat a lot.the coated line only costs pennies more than the crap line so it's a no brainer.use the good stuff.if your local napa does'nt have the coated line he can get it at his warehouse for you.when i moved to e. tennessee this year i started looking for a nice mj and found one during a ride in the country.the truck was bought new in alabama and ended up in tn .about 5 years ago.when i crawled under the truck to inspect the underside i almost passed out.it looked like a 2007 model underneath.at that point i knew i would buy it. i did'nt care if it ran or if the trans was shot or anything else(everything was ok though).and my brake lines are original and mint!!!i don't miss all the rust problems from the frozen north and i feel your pain when you have to fix that stuff up there.happy wrenchin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twisty Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Noting is as bad as my first time trying to fit an axle with brake lines :D I have since gotten lines that are MUCH shorter, and don't have the loopeys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Car RamRod Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 wow. I'd never hear the end of that.....I bet it worked though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Do you still have the Dakota junction block hose clamped to the tube? I used the same hose, but tapped the stock hole to fit the combo anchor bolt/bleeder. You need a 25/64" drill bit and a 3/8X16 (I think) tap. I used a rubber impregnated washer inbetween the block and the tube that conformed to the tube shape when I tightened it down. Jeff Image Not Found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Noting is as bad as my first time trying to fit an axle with brake lines :D Don't feel too bad. Many years ago I had a friend who was a carpenter for a construction company, so he was always driving his pickup around construction sites. Which, of course, meant rocks, stumps, and "stuff" all over the place. The "best shop in town" replaced a rear axle brake line for him, and they did it just like you did -- except that they left it hanging DOWN with about 2 inches of ground clearance. Ron couldn't understand why I went ballistic and told him they were idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 when i worked as a tech in upstate ny we repalaced hundreds of rusted brake lines a year.also fuel lines,tranny, cooler lines,oil pans,tranny pans,rear end covers,gas tanks,etc.we stocked a huge inventory of brake lines as well as a huge assortment of fittings and adaptors.even with all that we still ended up in a lot of cases custom making lines because the factory used some goofy thread on a fitting that we could'nt get.we would have to take the old fitting off the rusted line(not easy) and reuse it on the new one.one thing i liked was the lines we bought from napa were coated with some hard as a rock black paint that would keep the new lines you installed mint for years. the old style uncoated lines we used to use would only last 1-2 years especially if it was a plow truck that sat a lot.the coated line only costs pennies more than the crap line so it's a no brainer.use the good stuff.if your local napa does'nt have the coated line he can get it at his warehouse for you.when i moved to e. tennessee this year i started looking for a nice mj and found one during a ride in the country.the truck was bought new in alabama and ended up in tn .about 5 years ago.when i crawled under the truck to inspect the underside i almost passed out.it looked like a 2007 model underneath.at that point i knew i would buy it. i did'nt care if it ran or if the trans was shot or anything else(everything was ok though).and my brake lines are original and mint!!!i don't miss all the rust problems from the frozen north and i feel your pain when you have to fix that stuff up there.happy wrenchin'. X4. I bleed for you guys up Nawth - seriously. The climate and salt makes ALL rigs more maintenance intensive, especially our poorly factory prepped MJs. Rust prevention was never a big issue back in the day with AMC & later Mopar . Am from New England originally, and have done my share of replacing rusted out sheet metal and parts before their time, cursing the whole time. Tip: if you are looking for an MJ, or even a decent used part that's metal, check the location of the seller. Run the VIN number. If it's Nawth of the Mason/Dixon line, forget it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Noting is as bad as my first time trying to fit an axle with brake lines :D I have since gotten lines that are MUCH shorter, and don't have the loopeys. this must be the origin of your username :teehee: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86FUBAR Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 damn twisty thats bad :eek: so whats the big deal with making/bending new lines from scratch , get ur self a double flare tool , some fitings and a GOOD bender and a bunch of tubing and ur set besides pre bent stuf blows and most of all u can't give that personal touch. besides bending break lines is one of my favorite things to do sory i aint got a better pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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