TheSamba.com :: View topic - shaping and bending a new metal brake line?

Fri Sep 10, 2021 4:15 am

I may need to replace the left rear metal brake line on my 1965 Bug, the nut is rounded and can only be tightened with a vice grips. It looks like the new ones from Wolfsburg West come as a straight piece, and if that's true then they have to be bent to match the original one. I know how difficult it is to line up the brake line threads with the threaded hole on the wheel cylinder, so the bending is critical. What's the best way to go about this?

Fri Sep 10, 2021 4:44 am

The metal brake lines are not difficult to bend by hand. No special tools required. Take your old line and mimic the bends on the new straight line. Mark the centre of each bend on the new line and start bending.

Fri Sep 10, 2021 5:49 am

There are tubing bending tools available.

Once can also get a jar or can of appropriate diameter and bend around its surface, what we often did at work.

Fri Sep 10, 2021 12:10 pm

Yes, I wouldn't bend them with your bare hands.

I usually use something round like a socket or a screwdriver handle.

I have one of the little tubing benders too but often find it doesn't line up right for me vs other random stuff I have sitting around.
They do work good, just not for every bend I've needed

Fri Sep 10, 2021 12:39 pm

Not difficult. I recently did all the lines on my '60 car, in stainless. I used the original as a template and used some large sockets and pipes to get the shapes I wanted. Just don't bend too close to the end fittings. Everything went on smoothly.

Fri Sep 10, 2021 6:27 pm

Something like this will work fine.

https://www.amazon.com/LORESO-Bender-Degrees-Bendi...matic_sspa

Every good job should result in a good tool.

He who dies with the best tools wins. :D

Max

Sat Sep 11, 2021 5:20 am

Tube bender, different sizes of pipe, sockets, rolling pin...get creative.
The one thing I learned was to get things threaded onto the parts but not tighten till everything is in place properly.

Sat Sep 11, 2021 7:18 am

my59 wrote: The one thing I learned was to get things threaded onto the parts but not tighten till everything is in place properly.
Thread in several full turns by hand. Final tightening and initial loosening: use a metric flare wrench.

Sat Sep 11, 2021 8:15 am

Get a bubble flare tool and some Copper Nickel brake line. Soft and malleable. It bends easily by hand.

Sat Sep 11, 2021 10:12 am

Flare wrench will grab on to 5 corners of a hex nut, way better than just 2 with regular open end wrench. Big bends are easy by hand, even with stock brake line. The challenge comes if and when you have to make a tight bend; there's a danger the line will buckle, fold, or otherwise crimp fluid flow. I use a small hand bender for the tightest turns.

Sat Sep 11, 2021 11:38 am

For large bends (greater than 15deg) I always use a tool. Even the simple tool shown in MrGoodtunes' pic above will work just fine. When making large angular bends you want to avoid collapsing the tube with a sharp bend. This can often happen when you try to make a bend by hand.

But for small angular adjustments to get the flare nut aligned with the WC, multiple small tweaks by hand are fine.

At the rear of the car, the steel line runs past the shock absorbers. Note in the pic below how close the steel line gets to the shock body.

After you finish the install, have someone bounce the suspension up/down while you watch the gap between the tube and the shock. At no time should anything make contact with the steel line. My buddy's '68 with S/A rear had a steel line that touched the shock. One day he loss all rear brakes. The shock rubbing on the steel line had worn a hole thru the line and all the brake fluid came out.
We were able to find a replacement steel brake line at the local Autozone. Who knew they stocked pre-made European spec brake lines with the proper flared ends for VWs? The line was a bit long, so we added a pair of 180deg bends to take up the excess. Take your time bending, checking, bending some more.