Brake pipe dilemmas

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congo181

Well-Known Member
Posts
519
Location
Maidstone, Kent, U.K.
Some of the brake pipes on my ‘87 110 need replacing.
Should I:
A) buy individual made-up pipes as required
B) buy an Automec pipe set
C) buy a set of brake pipe tools and make my own.

C) would be my preferred option but how much do I need to spend to get Tools that are going to work.
 
when I did mine many years ago I used a Sealey brake pipe flaring tool and cupro nickle pipe, was easy enough to do, put some anti seize paste on the fittings but keep it out of the pipework, you will need to know whether the set up is metric or imperial if you are going to change the cap nuts
 
when I did mine many years ago I used a Sealey brake pipe flaring tool and cupro nickle pipe, was easy enough to do, put some anti seize paste on the fittings but keep it out of the pipework, you will need to know whether the set up is metric or imperial if you are going to change the cap nuts
Thanks Tim. I’ll look at the sealer kit. The Halfords looks kind of Ok too.
How would I find out if it’s metric or imperial? I thought that all the defender pipes were 3/16” with metric fittings but…
 
An excellent tool is a shade under £40.
Fittings are, M10x1.
Pipe 3/16".
I can't for the life of me remember what the flare tool is called so I'll go search..
 
Screenshot_20210909-213622.png
 
An excellent tool is a shade under £40.
Fittings are, M10x1.
Pipe 3/16".
I can't for the life of me remember what the flare tool is called so I'll go search..

I think it’s called a ‘brake pipe flaring tool’ :D

Make your own from cupronickel, also think about buying The straightening tool then you can dress the straight bits so they look really neat
 
Make your own, it is a great skill to have
Always worth having 3/8 and metric fittings as you never what the previous owners gave been up to!
If old fittings are good I quite happily use them again.
 
Definitly make your own. once you have the tools and some fitting and pipe on the shelf a potentially show stopping breakdown or broken pipe become and 20min job to rectify. Several times I have had pipes break trying to remove calipers (wheel bearing changes etc) and once I have the jack slip when removing the fuel tank on the 110 and crush the pipe on the rear axle. All would have been expensive and time consuming vehicle off the road instances, but instead just became an annoyance and 20min extra work.
 
Definitly make your own. once you have the tools and some fitting and pipe on the shelf a potentially show stopping breakdown or broken pipe become and 20min job to rectify. Several times I have had pipes break trying to remove calipers (wheel bearing changes etc) and once I have the jack slip when removing the fuel tank on the 110 and crush the pipe on the rear axle. All would have been expensive and time consuming vehicle off the road instances, but instead just became an annoyance and 20min extra work.
This^^^^^^
My 110 is my only transport, it's happened to me at least 6 times over the years, long walk to my nearest motor factors then a long walk back @ £15 a pipe soon woke me up but cheap and good flaring tools weren't easily available then.
 
This^^^^^^
My 110 is my only transport, it's happened to me at least 6 times over the years, long walk to my nearest motor factors then a long walk back @ £15 a pipe soon woke me up but cheap and good flaring tools weren't easily available then.
That is the same with me. 110 was my daily drive and I could not afford it to be off the road.
 
Been making my own brake pipes up for many years, one of the first diy jobs I learned. Get yourself a kit as above. Do not worry about making perfect bends in your new tube just ensure the ends are fitted correctly. The fine thread is easy to cross thread, put in by hand a couple of turns and even with a spanner little effort is needed to turn them in the rest of the way. Also make sure you have pipe secured to the axle/chassis
 
My pipe tool arrives today so I thought I’d give it a go. Sadly it doesn’t seem to be any good as the pipe clamp hole is not in the centre of the swager.
The formed end is always poorly made. Bah.
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That’s**** send it back , I got one of these off the widow of mechanic who lived next door amongst other tools , it’s so easy just clamp in vice and gives good results , maybe not the quickest but it’s almost meditation doing it , I originally bought copper pipe but that goes a funny colour so recently bought copper nickel and replaced the earlier ones , used brass fittings too so,they don’t rust in place
 

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That’s**** send it back , I got one of these off the widow of mechanic who lived next door amongst other tools , it’s so easy just clamp in vice and gives good results , maybe not the quickest but it’s almost meditation doing it , I originally bought copper pipe but that goes a funny colour so recently bought copper nickel and replaced the earlier ones , used brass fittings too so,they don’t rust in place

Copper brake pipes are banned in some countries, you want Kunifer.
 
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