I have one broken brake line thats in the frame rail on the drivers side rear. Its leaking pretty bad so it needs to be fixed pronto. Ive never done any brake line work so this will be new to me.
Any suggestions on doing this? My truck is a '01 Ram 1500 4X4 quad cab 5.9L with leveling kit up front and air bags in the rear. She also has 234K on her and has been a Wisconsin truck 99% of its life.

Any help would be great. I work 6 days a week and the truck is my ride to and from. She has never let me down so this is need to be fixed quick deal.

thanks all

 

Replacing brake lines is pretty straightforward. Find out what size line you need and length. Or you can buy a long roll of it. Parts stores usually have it in stock. Make sure to get the proper fittings if you need new fittings. You will need a double flare tool. Some parts stores will loan them out. Might also need a tubing bender. Look on Youtube for vid's on how to make a double flare. They can be kind of tricky. Don't forget to put the fittings on the line BEFORE you flare it! After that bleed the brakes and you should be good to go.

 

if you only have 1 day to do this and don't know what your doing then you may want to pay a shop to do it. you will most likely end up replacing more than just one line. you will most likely end up replacing 3 steel lines, 2 wheel cylinders and possibly 1 flex line. now that is just what you might have to replace if you don't blow a front brake line when you are bleeding the rear brakes. i know when i have tried replacing just 1 brake line i end up replacing all of them.

 

i bought a few sections of 3/16 standard flare lines. I also bought a bunch of fittings. Im sure i forgot something but I can also go back for more. im having a place do it tomorrow if they have time. I just want to make sure I have everything and I know whats involved in doing this.
I think i want them all replaced to we'll see how that goes.

 

lol, im thinking that replacing all of them would be the best deal. I will have this truck till I die so I should make sure its done right.

 

might also need wheel cylinders since the bleeder screws will most likely break.

 

If you plan on having this truck until you die, talk with these folks - http://www.classictube.com/ - I ordered a pre-bent replacement set of stainless steel brake lines from them for my '96 Ram 2500 4x4. The brake lines were bent perfectly and easy to install. Stainless brake lines will last a lifetime under your truck, especially in the harsh Midwest environment. Classic Tube does not keep these on the shelf in stock. When I bought my set, it took the a couple of weeks to make the lines up and ship them to me, but for a truck I plan to keep a long time, it was well worth the wait.

 

i think ill put the regular ones on for now and order the SS ones for later. Seeing i have SS 3" exhaust I should do as much SS as possible. 234K and counting. I want to see 500K before i die.