I’m so glad I found this channel. I subscribed within 15 seconds of this video. Also, “You don’t hear about the failures because those people are dead” absolutely killed me. Keep it up. 🙌🏻
Straight silicone grease, like Dow D111 or a good quality silicone dielectric grease, does not react with brake fluid and attack rubber parts. Make absolutely certain it does not contain any petroleum products in it. I've been using it when rebuilding calipers and wheel cylinders as a professional mechanic for 30+ years without issue. In fact, it will greatly extent the function of brake cylinders as it completely prevents corrosion. Not to mention re-assembly is much improved. I also use it when flaring and on the threads of bleeder screws to act as a viscous gasket when bleeding brakes. Works awesome. Just thought I'd pass on a a piece of knowledge. Just watched a few of your videos. I'm new to the channel. Subed.
Good comment on the Dow product? I used it on many application where a rubber gasket in plumbing is in contact with water 100% of the time and when coated with Dow the material is never degraded by the water. Wall hung urinals have a rubber cone gasket and once coated seem to last forever. You comment gave me other ideas.
I put a thin film of Never Seize on the bleeder threads . When replacing brake lines , hoses , calipers or wheel cylinders , I also put Never Seize on the threads . A little insurance in the Northeast against corrosion .
They counted the bullet holes in bombers that made it back to the base. Surprisingly there were very few hits in the engines or the cockpit area...imagine!
Bro.... you are the definition of AI... (ACTUAL INTELLIGENCE) and much appreciated. Both from an intellectual and facetious standpoint. Keep it coming man.
I swear you can read my mind... I'm in the planning stages of my build while I save up for a wedding, and I found your channel from your re-wire your whole damn car video. Yesterday I was planning brake system and wondering what I needed to do to make it from scratch. Now here you are again. Thank you!
@@daleolson3506 sad when I hear guys who resent their wives telling young guys not to get married. My future wife took out loans to pay for the majority of ours so I can save up for car parts. She supported me when I told her, while trying to pay for the wedding, that I was going to buy a rusty BMW from 84 with no engine or interior. Sounds like you picked a bad apple. No woman is worth rolling over for and sacrificing the things that make you happy.
On our first date, my crappy old car's starter failed. My wife crawled under the car with a wrench, removed the starter, we took it to the junkyard & bought a re-built, then she crawled back under the car and installed it. Married that woman!
I use an old double flaring tool like the 14.99 one you show on steel and the copper/nickel lines. I get every flare right the first time. The key is to cut the end square, deburr the inside and slightly chamfer the outside.
Yep. I heard that part and cringed. It's not a tool issue; it's an operator issue. The key is to understand how to use the tool. First step on the cheap handheld tool's instructions for double flaring: "1. Straighten tubing as much as possible. Make clean cut straight across tube to avoid a crooked flare. Deburr inner and outer edges." My thought. The guy goes over spending money on tools and suggests you buy an expensive amazon cheap tool that carries a large price tag that he has an affiliate link for instead of the harbor freight one for 1/10th of the price.
Austrian here: Hey, Matt - Chop an old Jag up, or weld a Marcuswagen to a Model S Tesla and install a Lada engine into it for the lolz - fine - but NEVER dare to call this abomination, you posted a Schnitzel! NEVER! It has "Tunke" (Sauce) on it! Tunke makes the bread crumb coating on it go all soft and spongy and just awful! Schnitzel are to be touched by salt and a hint of lemon juice - nothing more! Only then, the delicious crunchiness of the coating, the freshness of the lemon, and the subtle taste of the salt can truly be enjoyed! ;) (This is meant to be funny. Background is, that Germans love their Schnitzel with Sauce, while Austrians HATE sauce on breadcrumb coated Schnitzel. And because we are still a little bit bitter about living in the rotting insignificant remains of a once world power, we like to try to force our way on everyone else. Especially, when it comes to a meal, thats named after our capital - Wiener Schnitzel - never mind, that we stole that from Milano.) But honestly: Enjoy your Schnitzel,your brake lines or your car the way you like it - even with Tunke, .... :) And keep your work up - we love it :)
Also Austrian here As said, pretty much only salt and lemon juice are allowed to be added. But it is common to also add a little bit of stewed cranberries ("Preiselbeerkompott"). In case someone wants a little bit of sweetness.
German here. I never understood why anyone wants sauce on their schnitzel. There's even a thing called "Jägerschnitzel" with that ugly, bad tasting brown sauce on it. I prefer the austrian way: schnitzel (salt+lemon) and fried potatoes with bacon. It's just amazing
German here ... this is a Stereotype about Germans. We NEVER eat Schnitzel with Sauce. Only a dish called "Jägerschnitzel" needs a Sauce cause it has NO breadcrumb Coating !
Name one other site on the interwebs where one can learn about brakes and German fare all on one post. I'll wait patiently. Oddly enough, I'm German, and I'm not certain I've ever had a Schnitzel. ...or Tunke... ...I do have brakes, though.
If you are inclined to incorporate loops into the lines, orient them horizontally so as not to trap bubbles. The self (gravity) bleeding advantage of mounting the master cylinder high on the firewall is lost if little bubble traps are built into the lines.
@@mikec555555 vertically is the bad thing like at 6:05. The air bubbles from somewhere down below will travel upwards and get stuck in the first loop at the top. That is why Nate Steiner said to orient them horizontally
@@mikec555555 the main confusion i see here is on what axis people consider the loop to be oriented. I imagine it's orientation being the axis an imaginary axle would point if you made it snug to the inside of the coil, like an electromagnet. Other people seem to see what orientation the lines themselves go up and down towards.
This is an amazing video, didn't have to hear about aunt Mae's goiter or your life's history, just got right to the point and gave clear instructions at a good pace. Thanks
Dude...your information is spot on...sense of humor is on target...did I learn something, YES? Check twice when sliding on the nut, that its not backwards....Ugh! I did this twice.
Thank You for a Great video! I twisted a wrench professionally for a number of years and brakes were one of my specialties. After watching this, I have to say, this is one of the most inclusive and succinct videos on brakes I've seen. You covered the basics and nailed the details. My 65 EV Ranchero is setup very much the same...... again Great Job!
I have to say, this video came out at a good time. Replacing the 56 year old lines on my MGB was not really something I was looking forward to. I purchased the bulk line some time ago, now I know which tool I need to do the flaring. Thanks for posting this.
Damn, you are a good teacher. I wish more car channels were like this. I feel like I learned something, even though I already knew everything you said, but like separately, not together.
Thanks for enlightening a few more people on the concept of survivorship bias today. I've been watching a lot off tool reviews and the amount of "they don't make like like they used to" comments has my nasuea at a pretty high level atm.
Thanks for your video, great information. As a mechanical fitter we used copper tube for machine lube lines and to straighten out the copper tube we would use a flat pies of wood and tap the copper tube while rotating it on a hard flat surface like a bench and this will give you straight tubing, hope this helps.
I've been using the Titan 51535 double flaring tool. It's been making perfect flares for me and you can make flares while the brake lines are on the car. The OEM Tools flaring tool can't make consistent flares compared to Titan. I'm also very surprised it only costs $40.
You're pretty awesome dude. I'm having brake issues on an old junker and had no idea what it took to build hard lines. This was incredibly educational and made me realize I am not qualified!
Beautifully done info video! (50 years in fleet maintenance - now retired. And my wife from Korea makes great Schnitzel too! Lived in Germany for a total of 14.5 years! 😍)
Very informative, and very funny. I hope I don't ever really have to do this, but now I have an idea of what's involved. Most of my Ethernet cables don't have one of those little boot thingies for the same reason why you are required to forget one nut before flaring.
You are indeed the most humble person on RU-vid, sir! I giggled out loud when you said "A-mazing" because your delivery was so chill even though you just did boss-level shit. Thanks for making these videos
Cheapest and best method of bleeding that i've figured out is to use an appropriate length of clear tubing that will fit over the bleeder valve, run that loop and and back down in order to create an air lock, and then place the other end in an empty container. After that, you just open the valve and start pumping the brakes. The air lock will keep fluid on top of the bleeder so that any minor back flow doesn't suck in any air, and this eliminates the need to open, pump, hold, close, release, and repeat. The reason i prefer this method over a vacuum bleeder is because the vacuum bleeder tends to pull air past the threads on the bleeder valve which leaves you wondering if you've still got air in the system.
When my Ranger was ready for new brake lines I took the step and bought all the fittings, pipe and flaring tool that I needed. Actually really enjoyed doing it, I did my best to follow the original shape of the existing lines and it looks pretty good. I even left some extra length at the front ready for when I body lift this summer.
Hey, Lada Nivas have BOTH brake circuits go to the front calipers...as I found out when one OEM front right brake hose let go at the crimp...after 19 years...but I still had brake effort from that caliper from the second circuit! Of course, being Russian, no replacement crimp fitting was available... so the brake professional reused and recrimped the original fitting.... tested it to 3000psi...good to go...
my tool man introduced me to a sur&r hydraulic flaring tool. works just as good as that Easton unit but costs 3x as much and doesn't need a vice. I love it.
Everything you said is true… Wanting a refresher on running brake lines. All the mistakes you mentioned? Sitting here shaking my head. Yep, I remember doing that. Doh! Well done video.
I had the cheap flaring tool and suffered for many years with it. Then out of frustration, I purchased the one in this video. My world changed the flares were all good and the hard-line was not deformed or gouged. I learned a valuable lesson!!!
Love this guy. Nothing better than watching to-the-point videos from a smart guy with a rye sense of humor. I clicked on this video because I'm a sucker for any title with the word "easy" in it. Such as, "Easy way to make $100K per week selling dentle floss out of your garage!" What a scam that was. Subscribed.
Nice to see new and clean brake lines and fittings. BUT, I'm trying to repair the stuck and very badly rusted frame and brake lines of my '93 (YES. 1993) GMC Jimmy. I replaced the line from the ABS system to the right front brake. 72 inches long with several bends. This line was flared at both ends and came with the nuts on the line. I was pleased to learn of the newer lines that bend without collapsing. I don't have all the expensive tools as I don't plan to spend the rest of my life replacing brake lines. I do have a vacuum pump. But it kept sucking air into the pump instead of fluid. One suggestion was to put a bit of grease on the nut to prevent sucking air. But that didn't work either. Then I resorted to a clear line and jar, and pumped the brakes to force fluid into the jar without it sucking air. I must do all this by myself. I'm here on YT as I am waiting for the penetrating solvent to maybe free up the fittings. No car lift. I must jack up the Jimmy, with jack stands and concrete blocks, and then crawl around on the floor under it, with the crap falling into my face.
I'd rather not do that... Usually the brake hose connections should be able to withstand at least ~100bar (1450psi) and a lot of vibration. Usually compression fittings are less than ideal for this application ;)
@@Shoopadawhoopa Rated for 2000 to 15k psig, depending on what you choose, also built so finely that doing other fittings feels like banging rocks by comparison. But thats just joking around, for brakes I'd use brake stuff - compatible and commonly available.
Okay, I gotta get this out of my system- You're not using imperial. You're using US customary. To be fair, there's no difference between a US inch and an imperial inch (it's internationally standardized), but there's a big difference when you're talking about volume. A US gallon is about 3.79 liters. An imperial gallon is about 4.55 liters. A US pint (≈ 473.18 mL) divides into 16 US fluid ounces (≈ 29.57 mL each). An imperial pint (≈ 568.26 mL) divides into 20 imperial fluid ounces (≈ 28.41 mL each). Okay, I feel better now. Happy #PrideMonth.
Loved the sense of humor so cleverly intertwined in your video. subbed for that reason alone, not to mention excellent content. "All hail the algorithm " 😄
I’m really proud to say, I taught myself everything I know about cars. I hate that my dad doesn’t know much beyond an oil change, but He still hangs out in the garage with me when I’m fixing something :)
You sir, explained it on a perfect level for me. One pet peeve I have is at 0:35 : all my (Japanese) cars had the system divided diagonally (left front and right rear are paired). Seems to make more sense stability-wise when braking in a corner.
I don't think cornering performance is a huge concern when your brakes have already failed... You're probably not going to be trail braking while limping home. I suppose it would probably be pretty scary to have a sudden failure of only the rear brakes though, lmao, understeer nightmare. Probably the X configuration is a good idea after all.
Yes, that was the norm on American cars too. This makes no sense. You lose your front circuit and you are not going to be able to stop at all. I think Matt is wrong about the system. Let me Google it. Well, that didn't help much. Seems like the system has changed. The split is front and back and the back ones seem to have a reservoir of their own. Possibly for proportioning more or less pressure to the rear. I don't know.
Little late to the party, but if I am not mistaken the diagonal lines (front left and right rear) and (front right and left rear) are made for safety. If you are driving and something goes wrong with a brake line, having the lines go diagonal will grant you more stability while emergency braking as the car will be more predictable and go in a straight line rather than spinning out if for example you left side brakes give out or not being able to stop if your front brakes are together.
I have a new old 95 Subaru wagon and will need to make some brake lines in the future. Like many RU-vid videos you have made a difficult job seem doable, thanks for sharing your knowledge.
One thing the people who taught me and people who taught them failed to mention (or learn themselves), lube the flare when flaring. I figured that one out on my own later in life, with brake fluid of course, makes a huge difference! Nice video
I learned from my dad too. However, he left some things out and is too cheap for his own good. Thanks for the video, these help loads with just the tool recommendations and usage alone. Your experience is a thick layer of icing on the cake. Subscribed.
You always create great content with the perfect amount of snarkiness. Great to see an actual engineer explain the “why” of your decision making and the comments where you say” do this and you will die” enforces your decision making content. I have done many lesser versions of what you do and it good to know that even those best in their field have also made mistakes.
Excellent video! That's the kind of flaring tool I've been looking for for 40 years! Also that bleeder with the valve in it, never saw one of those! Could you make more videos.
Thank you Matt. I'm ditching the ABS system on my 1992 Merc and I did pick up an adjustable prop valve. This rig had 4 wheel disc brakes before but now I've larger front brakes to add to the equation. I too like adding tools to my collection to make these car projects more competent and reliable. Purchasing said flare tool now!
Thanks for the information. It isn't always free in this field, lol. Editing this after watching, wow! Lot of information here to unpack I've had to rewind a few time.
Thanks for this. I’m changing my brake lines on an old Ranger for the first time ever. I’ve never even heard of wheel cylinders or flares before, so this has been a lot of new info haha
Awesome video, thank you for taking the time to put this together. I have to reroute some brake lines due to my new headers and didn't have the slightest clue as to where to begin.
This was excellent. Well explained, concise and entertaining. No boomady-boom music. No time wasted telling your whole life story. Oh, and I learned something too.
Well: Matt, you just earned a sub. I honestly have never seen such a more complete description of how to do the complete brake job, including the flaring that's the part that scares me 😀 so i,m glad I came across this video keep up the great videos i subbed and liked you deserved it thanks again 👍
Long time heavy vehicle/motor/plant mechanic here, after trying many different ways of bleeding brake and clutch systems I found the most reliable, solo method to bleed the system is to reverse bleed under pressure, you can get a pressure vessel for brake fluid pretty cheap and I’ve found a lot of systems (mainly air over hydraulic systems) that will have cavity’s of air if vacuum bled, plus you can get no mess at all pressure bleeding since u just plug the vessel onto the bleed screw - wait till the reservoir is full, then your done
I wrote this comment halfway through the video before the end, there’s another method of pressure bleeding that’s universal since you just go onto the bleed valve, no adapters needed for the reservoir
Wow. Beautiful video. I knew most of this but amazing for those starting out. BTW, i used one of those pressure bleeders that connect to the MC for the first time. I had always done the pump and bleed method prior. I think it blew out my MC and after it started leaking. So I would recommend sticking with whatever method you have done in the past, or the previous owner did.
Wow. What a great video! How in the world do you know so much? The bleeding knuckle was great, I thought I was the only one that always sheds blood working on my car. Lol.
I'm like you I love buying tools. When I start a job I don't want to stop and run around looking for a particular tool to finish the job I rather have it here if I need it. I still have a lot of stuff that I have never even opened and I am fine with that. If I don't need it for something perhaps one of my friends will and I have no problem lending it to them. When I'm bleeding my brakes I like using the vacuum system that runs off of your airline. It does a pretty quick job of it. The first time I changed my brake pads on my Harley I found that it was very difficult to get the air out of my front caliper. It's some goofy design that Harley-Davidson came up with where your fluid comes in and then makes a hard turn inside the caliper to push the pistons out. I kept on trying to bleed that caliber the old-fashioned way and it just would not get the air out. So I ran down to my local harbor freight tools store bought the vacuum pump came home and in less than 5 minutes I had my front brakes once again. After that 9 out of 10 times I just used that. There are still times when I do it the old-fashioned way. I enjoyed your video look forward to seeing more of them.
Outside of Jason Cammisa's Hagerty Series' (ICONS and Revelations) I look forward to your videos more than any other auto channel on-line. Funny, thorough and informative. Always.
I live in the Northeast. A few years back I decided to replace all my break lines on my 10 year old truck. I used the very tools you showed in your video. I also had purchased a service manual for any specs I may have needed. In the maintenance section for brakes there was a recommendation to flush the brake lines every 30K miles. I had never heard of doing that and no dealer had ever recommended that was due, even on my Corvette. The MityVac for pressurizing the brake system works great if working alone. Note: always use the recommended break fluid for your vehicle.
Yeah brake flushing is important when the brake fluid absorbs too much water. The extra water lowers the boiling point of the brake fluid which is usually around 220 degrees Celsius, and with heavy braking will start to boil. Needless to say that's not good. For a peace of mind you can buy a fancy brake fluid tester that heats the brake fluid and checks the temperature it boils at and check if you're within spec, or you can just replace the fluid every so often, two years I think it was the recommended interval. I mean there's cheap ones for the testers that you can get for like 16 bucks but honestly at least I would feel a lot better with a better quality one that shows the exact temperature the fluid boils at.
I originally watched this video long enough ago that I forgot a few details by the time I was about to start designing my brake lines. So I watched it again. And then again another week later just to make sure I absorbed everything. Tonight, I watched it again because the algorithm presented it to me...and all hail the algorithm
