Board logo

Copper brake pipes
welderman - 17/10/11 at 10:42 AM

Hello

wheres the best and cheapest place for copper brake pipe and fittings.

MikeRJ - 17/10/11 at 11:03 AM

Local motor factors will likely be as cheap as online sources by the time you factor in postage.

welderman - 17/10/11 at 11:09 AM

Hi tried my local ones they are down on stock and wont be getting any 3/8ths fittings in .

is CBS any good ?

Dusty - 17/10/11 at 11:11 AM

For a little more cash get Kunifer not plain copper. Better fatigue strength and less work hardening /embrittlement. Bit harder to work with than copper but still a DIY prospect with good tools.
Copper brake pipes are illegal in some countries, US and some states in Oz for instance and is not used by any major manufacturer. Kunifer is used by some OEM.

liam.mccaffrey - 17/10/11 at 11:14 AM

A little off topic but I replaced the brake pipes on my friends Dodge Ram they were all steel and a bitch to flare correctly

jossey - 17/10/11 at 11:46 AM

kit car shwo was the cheapest i found.....

£10 for the pipe 3/16 i thinks.

and the t bars etc were about £1.50 each.

im sure your local motor factors will be nearly as cheap.

i bought another from eurocar parts for £12.50 for the pipe.

adithorp - 17/10/11 at 12:13 PM

Don't use copper Joe, it's s**t. Kunifer is much better. My supplier is coing in today so I'll see how much it is for you.

britishtrident - 17/10/11 at 12:26 PM

quote:
Originally posted by liam.mccaffrey
A little off topic but I replaced the brake pipes on my friends Dodge Ram they were all steel and a bitch to flare correctly


Yes steel bundy is harder & trickier to flair and you need a decent pro-flairing tool and also you are much more likely to break the tup of the tool. The quality of the zinc coating on modern steel bundy is also very poor.

Kunifer is the real deal --- very good easy to work.


If anybody has problems with the pipe slipping through the halves of the split die then the answer is to lap the mating faces of the die so it grips the tube more tightly.

welderman - 17/10/11 at 12:32 PM

quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
Don't use copper Joe, it's s**t. Kunifer is much better. My supplier is coing in today so I'll see how much it is for you.


would the fittings be cheaper too Ady

adithorp - 17/10/11 at 01:27 PM

quote:
Originally posted by welderman
quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
Don't use copper Joe, it's s**t. Kunifer is much better. My supplier is coing in today so I'll see how much it is for you.


would the fittings be cheaper too Ady


Possibly... i've no idea what I pay for them

I can do you Kunifer at £12 a roll. I might be able get it cheaper but thats the first supplier I asked. Oddly they quoted 18p more for copper.

It is 3/16th brake pipe you mean isn't it? You mention 3/8th above.

designer - 17/10/11 at 01:35 PM

NEVER use copper brake pipe.

It age hardens and will crack!!

britishtrident - 17/10/11 at 01:57 PM

Ordinary zinc plated/passivated steel metric tube nuts are all that is required, even when on for years very rarely cause problems coming off when used with Kunifer. A smear of Castrol Girling Red Rubber grease on the threads and end of the pipe inside the nut works wonders if you want to be 100% sure you can undo the fitting at some point in future.


In the old days UNF and BSF brake fittings with steel Bundy could be be a nightmare to undo, usually if badly seized chopping the brake pipe was the only option.

Always use a proper brake pipe spanner
11 mm brake spanner

[Edited on 17/10/11 by britishtrident]

welderman - 17/10/11 at 02:30 PM

thanks for the reply, how about the flexies to the calipers.

adithorp - 17/10/11 at 02:52 PM

quote:
Originally posted by welderman
thanks for the reply, how about the flexies to the calipers.


Not got a decent supplier for custom ones. Russbost is your man for them I'm told.

welderman - 17/10/11 at 10:55 PM

U2u