today was a good day... i replaced the master cylinder, and the front calipers with rebuilt ones. brakes were feeling spongy beforehand. i bled the fronts, and then went to bleed the rears. all went fantastic, until one of the brake lines blew. i was looking at them while I was doing the MC, and was thinking I should learn how tyo bend and replace, since they were looking very rusty... and 1 hr later, dream come true!

heres the line that poped:



now, what size are the fittings and the lines? I circled the ones I have to replace, might as well try to do them all. is there an easy place to find out? looking at this photo, does it look like I have ABS? I never felt it kick in...

now i have a 2nd question... I want to replace the shocks. Looking at my truck, what kind of shocks should I get... the build list from Crysler tells me i have heavy duty shocks.. but my truck looks to be a bit lifter than some. How can i make sure I get the right shocks to match the ride height?


heres how she stands:



thanks for the help guys!

 

Well, its very common for the brake lines to go bad on these trucks over time. The ones you circled should be 3/16" brake lines. You can pick them up at most any auto parts store. As for the fittings, not sure what size those are, as I can't see them in the picture. You may be able to re-use the fitting if its in decent shape and you don't mind cutting the old line and inserting your new brake line into the fitting and putting a double flare on it. Be sure to check your rear metal brake line that goes to the rear differential, as that line usually rusts out in the gas tank area and bursts.


You can also take the lazy way out (which is what I did) and order a pre-bent set of brake lines for your truck from www.classictube.com. I bought a set of pre-bent stainless steel brake lines from them, since I plan to keep my truck a long time. I have been very happy with them and they fit perfectly.


As for shocks, I replaced mine with Rancho 5000 units and have been pretty happy with them.

 

I took my old fittings to the auto parts store, and they had a tool to match up brake fittings. I don't know what size mine are, but that's what I did.

 

As for ABS, looks like you have rear ABS only on your truck.

 

thanks guys!

I ended up getting a 20' 3/16 SS brake line kit from Jegs.... i'll try to bend them and double flare them myself this weekend. ill save some time by removing the old lines...

hopefully its not too hard! replacing the MC was a breeze surprisingly...

 

got another question about my suspension... does it look like I have the off road edition? as in a 3 inch lift? I don't want to get shocks that don't fit....

plus when I look online on rockauto for HD Rancho 5000 shocks, i see photos of steering stabilizers.....

 

Try this link for the shocks, then find places that sell them - I have RS5000 shocks..
http://www.gorancho.com/suspension.php?make=Dodge

 

Nope, not the Off Road Edition...

I have Monroe Gas Matic shocks and have been quite happy with them.

 

back onto the brake lines now....

i bought stainless steel lines... then i realize i can't use the cheap flaring tool i bought off amazon. I don't want to spend 220 on the pro tool, so ill be calling around shops asking them to flare them for me.

Now, 2 questions...

1. what is the length (straight lenght, not bent) of the brake line that runs above the gas tank? i'll be replacing that as well since I have a feeling the added pressure will cause another leak there..

2. Can i use steel fittings or any other type on the stainless steel line? My line came with a box of fittings, but I dont have the proper sizes....

 

Why won't your flaring tool work? Is the line too hard?