Can anyone recommend a cheap brake pipe flaring tool or are only top quality ones worth bothering with? I'll eventually need a couple of sets of Morris Minor pipes which are sold pretty cheaply so may be better off buying them ready made, but then I wouldn't have a new tool to play with...
I bought one for around £30 from Frost (I think). It was reviewed in Practical Classics and generally given the thumbs up with a few provisos. Care is required, and a fair amount of practise. The resultant flaired ends are not as neat as you'd get from more expensive kit but do work and do stand the test of time.
Ideal if you can see yourself doing this job a handful of times over the next few years. If only once get a garage to do it, if every week, spend some more money.
: Ideal if you can see yourself doing this job a handful of times over the : next few years.
Of course it's a real bummer if you're flaring Citroen pipes ... the tool for those costs a couple of hundred ...
Ian
Thanks for that. I'd assumed they were more routine to use. Since Morris Minor brake pipe sets are so cheap I'll give it a miss for the time being then.
I find mine invaluable, but then I have a number of cars to play with. Where it really paid off is with my modern cars, especially the Merc with the 6mm tubes to the rear self-levelling.
It's only a cheap one from Machine Mart, and it's limited, but usable with care. No use on steel pipes; it's not strong enough. I have done it but its hard work. I also find it's safer to use in a vice as the clamp threads are not strong enough, the wingnuts are not big enough to tighten sufficiently.
A decent one would be well worthwhile if you plan to do many pipes. A roll of copper tube costs £4-5, which is less than my local shop charges me to make a single pipe.
,> It's only a cheap one from Machine Mart, and it's limited, but usable
Oh dear. I do hope we are not going to have another long exchange (for want of a better word) about the advisability of using copper tube for brake pipes. Shall we just say that you have to very careful about supporting it so that it cannot vibrate and work harden? Might just as well anneal it first too, just to be on the safe side.
Ron Robinson
In message , R.N. Robinson writes
And MOT stations are allowed to fail you on pure copper piping. (Even when it was OEM as on some Ladas.)
Use Kunifer or a similar Copper-Nickel alloy and know that it is much superior in respect of its work-hardening properties.
I'm using copper pipe with "bs en 12449", and "bs 2871" printed on it, I've looked it up, and it's pure copper, I didn't realize it could be an MOT failure, it's not been for an MOT yet, as I've seen many classic cars with copper pipes on, are the alloy pipes marked in some way, or a differnet colour?.
Can you explain this please? I don't see any reference in the MOT testers manual
It's a different colour - sort of bronze-y. Annealing copper is not a long-term solution, it'll eventually work-harden and crack anyway if there's any vibration or movement.
I can still remember the troubles I had with a '30s Ariel motorcycle and copper oil pipes...
In message , shane wootton writes
I was told this some years ago when I was running a Lada Niva. (The little 4WD). Two MOT stations said words to the effect that they would be checking to see if the brake pipes were copper, as some Nivas were imported with copper pipes until the regulations were tightened up.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.