Hey guys, new user here, one of the hard brake lines from the master cylinder on my 96 Sport has sprung a leak..I'd like to replace all 3 lines that travel from the front to the back on the driver's side of the vehicle because they all look pretty eat up with corrosion..what is the best way to proceed here? I have done lots of work on the Jeep myself but have no experience with brake lines and I'm told this is a fairly labor intensive job.. any tips about what new lines to use, where to get them and little tricks would be greatly appreciated thanks!

 

Buy some brake line tubing, and bend and cut your own hard lines.

 

I just replaced all the hard lines on my 01. I went to the dealership an got all pre bent factory lines. They weren't to pricey an they bolt right up. You just may have to do some finagling when routing them to where they go. The front right line was the most hassle but even that wasn't bad. I think I spent under $150 for all 5 lines. Oh an I sprayed mine with primer might prolong the life from rust. Good luck.

 

I've been wrenching a long time and never tried that double flair for a brake line. You can rent that tool. It takes a little practice. (I've done plenty of normal single flare on copper for gas and water). You can mess that up also. Of the few brake lines I've done I've bought the straight segments with the fittings, then needed to make a loop or something where it's too long. The parts store has that. In the right town you can have a shop make a length.

A trick to bend without kinking is to use two box end-wrenches. Just a little at a time. You have the line through both, and bend just a little, then move down, just a little. Grab an extra 3' section to play with!

Nothing against the pre bent, just it's a long ways for me to somewhere that won't have it.

(Yes Pete, I know copper is not recommended for gas, but it works)

 

a roll of 25 ft 3/16 brake line will cost around 40$ the fuel line flare may be a little hard to do depending on the fitting that is on the end of it i.e. if it has a quick disconnect. flaring is not difficult after you've done a couple of practice flares it gets tricky to do them on the vehicle and make sure the fitting is ON THE LINE BEFORE you flare it you will hate yourself if its not. inspect your work after you are finish and insure there are no leaks when someone has the car running with the brake down. if the fitting is rusted and you are replacing the line anyway it's best to cut the line as close to the fitting and put a socket on it to get it to come off. soak the bleeders down with PB blaster before you begin and maybe check on seeing if you can crack them loose before you start so you will know if you will need wheel cylinders. tools needed: flaring kit/ tubing cutter/ basic hand tools sockets wrenches/ flare wrenches are recommended but not necessary/ a socket and wrench small enough for bleeder either an 8mm or 5/16"/ materials needed: Roll of line/ Fittings if the old ones can't be cleaned up and reused which is fine to do as long as the old ones are cleaned up well and you are able to remove the line, it's often easier just to replace them though, get the fittings off and bring them to a parts store to match them up/ 2 pts of DOT 3/ brake parts cleaner/.

 

Another thing to help those bleeders come loose is to tap them square on the end with a brass punch/hammer. The rust that leads to them breaking is often right where the bleeder screw seats in the wheel cylinder. A few taps will help break that rust loose.

 

at autozone a roll of 3/16 line is like $25.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-1992-1993-1994-Jeep-Cherokee-XJ-Power-Brake-Line-Set-Stainless-Steel-/370584338344?_trksid=p2054897.l5661

 

Search here two options stainless and factory..http://www.inlinetube.com/

 

Will that kit from inline tube fit a 96 with no ABS???..

 

Sorry to resurrect this thread--I've done a lot of searching, but hoping you might be able to help--I also purchased the OEM hard lines from the dealer and am hung up getting the front right installed.

Wondering how you finally got the front right installed--after a few hours of trying to finagle it, I'm considering taking it to the local garage and having them cut it somewhere easily accessible along the firewall and adding two flares & a union, hopefully making it easier (possible) to manipulate as two individual pieces, which I can then reconnect.

Thanks in advance for any hard-earned advice.

 

Piece of cake. Just time consuming. Do this. Buy the copper nickel alloy line in a 3/16 size. Buy the 25' roll. This is the good stuff that holds up. You will need the fittings for the ends. Bring the ends of the old brake lines to the auto part store so you get the proper fittings. Some are shorter, some are longer. Longer ones will screw into the wheel cylinders for your rear drums. This is because some times they are recessed a bit and the longer fitting gives you something to get a wrench on. By the way use flarenut wrenchs only. Do not be afraid to split lines. Makes it easier when trying to feed them into where they need to go. Front driver's side can be one line. The long line going to the hose on the rear diff I recommend splitting into two. You will connect them with a union. Same with the passenger side front. The two in back going to each wheel coming off the brake hose will be a single line. By the way replace all the brake hoses too. One in back. Two up front. Will need a T40 Torx to get the brake hoses up front off. I almost positive you do not have any bubble flares coming off the proportioning valve. This is why you bring the ends of the lines to the auto parts store remembering where each one goes to. They should know exactly what you need. You will route them and bend them as close to where they were as possible. It does not have to be perfect. Just close. Just make sure they are not rubbing anything. Last thing buy this tool at Napa to flare the lines. A bit pricey and will only do 3/16" line but this is so much easier and better then the loaner an auto parts store will give you. Part # SER 161A. Trust me on this one. The copper nickel alloy line bends and flares easier then steel line. With this tool it is fool proof. Here is a Youtube video to see it.


You will need to bleed the brakes after you are done. Passenger side rear, drivers side rear, passenger side front, drivers side front. In that order. I just usually do a gravity bleed. Just open the bleeder screw and let the brake fluid come out on its own. Just keep the master cylinder filled. Sometimes you will pump the brakes a couple times to push the new fluid through and get the majority of the air out and let the gravity bleed finish.

 

I appreciate you taking the time with the detailed response. I already have the hard line from the dealer. Sounds like the best thing to do is cut it (at least once) to get it into place, then join it back together with the flaring tool and fittings. I was trying to avoid this by purchasing the lines from the dealer, but didn't realize how complex the routing on the front passenger side is. Thanks again!