Put hydraulics in the '36, am leaking at a "T" where driver's side caliper brake line connects to the rear of the "T" inside the frame rail. Am using 3/16" steel line with 3/8" X 24 connectors from rubber brake hose through the frame on caliper to rear of "T." I have done this short 2' line with new connectors four times with the same result. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated at this point.
Check the fitting your line is going into. That needs to be nice cone shape seating surface without being all jacked up.
Make sure your T fitting is a standard fitting not an AN fitting.In the United States you will find 45 degree flared fittings in your local hardware store. You will find 37 degree AN fittings at your local aircraft parts store or some online suppliers.Also flaring tools are available with both angles. A mismatch in angles can cause a leak....Been there done that.
Thanks guys, will follow your advice. I'm wondering if the double tool flaring kit is at fault as I'm finding burs on the bottom of the flare where the two halves of the the flaring tool bar butt together.
The out side of the line, the part that's inside the fitting, have nothing to do with sealing the joint and neither do the threads of the flared fittings. Think of the threads as clamps. If you have a cheap flaring tool, the line can slip when doing the first step of the double flare. That's a problem because the flare isn't right and will not seal properly. The sealing action comes from the face of your flare being clamped to the cone on the fitting.
first thing that comes to mind is, make sure the T is for 3/16" inverted flare and not one port a 1/8" pipe and 2ports 3/16" inverted flare.
Crusty, you got me thinking now. Am looking at the part in SPEEDWAY catalog and clearly states: 3/8"-24 on the ends and 1/8" NPT in the center! So how come my 3/8"-24 screws in the rear center port? The center port is the one leaking. Thanks, this may be a beginning to the end of my frustration. Whoops, just thought of something, the original "T" from SPEEDWAY developed a leak right through the body itself from a hairline crack, could that have been caused by running 3/8"- 24 into the 1/8" NPT? I think the new "T" might be 3/8"-24 all the way around, will check in the morning. Perhaps the threads on the 3/8"-24 going into center port are bad now.
Those 'Burs" from the split clamp can create uneven pressure/contact on the sealing surfaces and allow leakage. Even some commercial lines have this problem,,
I have better luck with stainless steel line - a little more malleable. Both for seating and for bending. Even then you have to tighten, loosen and re-tighten then often need to tighten more than you think necessary.
I'd make sure everything is correct first! Once you're sure you have all the correct threads, angles, etc., then tightening and loosening a few times will usually get them sealed. I had some replacement wheel cylinders that seeped until I did this several times, and they finally seated.
That is normally the fitting used to run a Ford brake light switch. They do sell a fitting that screws into the 1/8 pipe and has the 3/8-24 flare fitting at most hardware stores and parts houses. I think when I did my 48 I had to use two of them along with the Ford brake light switch because the T I used had three 1/8 pipe threads. The flare on the tubing might be suspect too as I have had a hell of a time with flares on this new tubing the parts houses are pushing now. It doesn't seem to be intended to be cut and flared like the old stuff was.
Go up and re-read response number ten. Many of the less expensive brass fittings now have a line along the treads. Both brake fluid and gasoline with flow along those lines and drive you nuts to find. Try taking the magnifier to NAPA and find perfect threads before you buy the fitting.
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