1. Registration trouble? Please use the "Contact Us" link at the bottom right corner of the page and your issue will be resolved.
    Dismiss Notice

JC Whitney SS brake line kit

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by wheelin69, Aug 27, 2008.

  1. wheelin69

    wheelin69 Member

    Anyone used this kit? (P/n: ZX760209WF) It come with everything I would need to redo my brake lines? If not, anything else I need (T-blocks, etc.)? Supposedly the brakes themselves are quite new, but at least one of the lines is broken. I have no way to reliably bend my own brake lines, so I am willing to pay a bit of a premium to have a prebent kit, especially since it is SS... Thanks guys! This board rocks! :beer:
     
    wheelin69, Aug 27, 2008
    #1
  2. sparky

    sparky Sandgroper Staff Member Founder

    I've not used that one, but I have used one from Walck's, http://www.walcks4wd.com/.

    Personally I'd buy from Carl. If for no other reason than he knows what he's doing.

    The kit came with just lines, no T's. So be sure you don't scrap them. I don't know of a source for new ones.

    Oh, and if you do order from Carl, be sure to call, he's not real responsive with e-mail or web stuff unless something has changed.
     
    sparky, Aug 27, 2008
    #2
  3. w3srl

    w3srl All-around swell dude Staff Member

    I haven't dealt with JC Whitney in ages, mainly because their customer service is (was) horrible. Ask around, but I made 4 separate orders with them during my Jeep project and *every* item was backordered, and then did not arrive anywhere close to the "in-stocK" date.

    I agree about the SS lines, if I had it to do over again I would probably go that route. I would stay far, far away from J.C. Whitney and go with one of the Jeep parts houses instead.
     
    w3srl, Aug 27, 2008
    #3
  4. wheelin69

    wheelin69 Member

    @sparky- are the ones from Walck's SS? Also there are two kits, both of which explicitly say "4 cylinder" It looks like Walck's has T-fittings ( https://www.walcks4wd.com/product.aspx?pid=1493 )

    @w3srl- yeah, i've heard bad things about JCWhitney, but $169.99 for SS lines seems pretty reasonable (as long as they actually have them) I don't want to have to wait too long, as there is NO WAY I'm going to drive outside of my back yard until I have new lines, i have no idea how the PO drove it to my house down the interstate without dying...

    Thanks guys! Any other thoughts/input?
     
    wheelin69, Aug 27, 2008
    #4
  5. Vanguard

    Vanguard Take Off! Staff Member

    I've been down this road many times and always found that the best approach was to make my own lines. The following list of parts is $80 at summit and has most of what you'd need to bend and flare your own lines. You can your old lines or coat hangers/bailing wire to create templates for bending the bulk tubing. As far as the stainless goes, in my experience the weak part of the lines are always the tubing nuts and not the tube itself and replacing a deformed nut means replacing line anyways. You can order the blocks from Summit or usually from your local FLAPS. Ask for the Weatherhead book and browse till you find what you need.

     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2008
    Vanguard, Aug 27, 2008
    #5
  6. sparky

    sparky Sandgroper Staff Member Founder

    I had a 4 cylinder at the time, so perhaps he doesn't have a V6 kit? Call and ask the difference, he can also tell you if it's SS (I thought so). He'll know.

    So there are T's but there's a junction block somewhere that I bought a pile-o-parts from someone just obtain that one piece. That's what I was thinking of.
     
    sparky, Aug 27, 2008
    #6
  7. timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    timgr, Aug 27, 2008
    #7
  8. wheelin69

    wheelin69 Member

    hmm...inline tube has them for 55-66 CJ5 and for 72+ ...but nothing for the '69 :( Looks like I may try vanguard's idea. But i may call JCWhitney..and if they have them IN STOCK, I may go ahead and order them. But the likelyhood of that is pretty slim, since they are basically a middleman, drop-ship type of company, right?
     
    wheelin69, Aug 27, 2008
    #8
  9. Vanguard

    Vanguard Take Off! Staff Member

    Right. If your system is not stock it'll need to be modified anyway, so that should be another consideration.

    Here's a good thread on flaring.

    http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44088&highlight=brake+flaring+tools

    It has the part number of the double flare tool that I use. It's about 2x the cost of the bar type I listed, but I've had better success with it.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2008
    Vanguard, Aug 27, 2008
    #9
  10. wheelin69

    wheelin69 Member

    @vanguard- you use the Sears one that they mention? you know what the part number or type of flare nuts I need are?
     
    wheelin69, Aug 27, 2008
    #10
  11. wheelin69

    wheelin69 Member

    hmm...interestingly Amazon.com has three OTC double flare kits listed...all with the same picture...and three slightly different names: "Double flaring tool kit by OTC" for 29.99, "Stinger double flaring tool kit by OTC" for 19.30, and "OTC Stinger SAE Double Flaring Tool Ki by OTC" for 31.95. Any ideas??
     
    wheelin69, Aug 27, 2008
    #11
  12. timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    The Sears link works for me - I'd just get that one.
    http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...subcat=Lift+Equipment&vertical=TOOL&ihtoken=1

    A couple of nits to pick -

    If you get steel lines from your FLAPS, they will be straight and have flares and nuts on both ends. I'd suggest you buy the length that's a little longer than you need, and bend it to shape, cut off the excess, and reflare with your flaring tool. Premade lengths of steel tubing are cheap.

    Consider whether you really want to use stainless tubing. The cost for the materials is higher, and supposedly the stainless is harder to work with. I've only used the plated steel lines, and - JMO - the average lifespan of 30 or 40 years for steel lines means I might have to replace lines again once in my lifetime ... maybe ... if I'm lucky.
     
    timgr, Aug 27, 2008
    #12
  13. Vanguard

    Vanguard Take Off! Staff Member

    You can find the summit part number for the tubing nuts in my first post. The price was 6.95 for a set of sixteen and the assortment includes some cool nuts that allow you to use 3/16 tube in larger openings (dual master cylinders).

    For the toolsI started with a KD 2199 from NAPA. Like the sears and the OTC part number I found at summit, it used the two piece bar style clamp to hold the tube. I found that it even when clamped in a vice, the tubing still would push out of the clamp during flaring, so I took it back and got the more expensive 2190 type.

    I have had success with the bar type in the past when I first replaced the original tubing back in '91, so that type will probably work fine. I used my first set for the jeep, some replacements lines and a couple of other cars.
     
    Vanguard, Aug 27, 2008
    #13
  14. wheelie

    wheelie beeg dummy 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor

    My .02, it's worth every penny to get the best quality flaring tool you can. Nothing worse than thinking your good to go, fill'er up and start bleeding only to find a leak caused by a poor quality flare. I think that regular steel lines would be fine, especially if you give everything a coat of paint to match your frame rails when your done. As far as JC Rip me goes, I use their catalogs for fire starters while camping. That's all they're good for IMO.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2008
    wheelie, Aug 27, 2008
    #14