Getting ready for the new lines and trying to decide which to go with. I just thought with the rotten new fuel and brake fluid being so corrosive that maybe stainless would be a smarter way to go.
I say stainless hands-down. UNLESS...You're starting with straight tubing and planning to do the endforms yourself, especially the SAE J533 45 (90) double flare endform yourself with hand tools. Then you might wish you hadn't chosen the stainless material. If you're purchasing pre-bent and flared stainless tubing, and as long as the supplier does a good job on the flares, it'll last for a very long time. If it's pre-formed aftermarket stuff, what grade of stainless are they selling these days? Devon
Kind of depends on where you are located. I'm in Oregon and have never seen a rusty brake line or fuel line that rusted thru. Just very light surface rust.
I also agree with SS brake lines..but I thought DOT5 always got contaminated and abtracts air in the lines?
If you never push the car at all, dot 5 would be fine. It won't mess the paint if you spill, but that's about the only plus. Dot 4 is a better fluid overall, as it will deal with higher braking temps before degrading. Unless you drive hard or track the car, though, it won't be any different than dot 3 for day to day life.
White Post who rebuilds master cylinders says not to use the Dot 5. It also gives a funny pedal feel. I find that stainless brake lines do not seal as wel as regular steel. If car does not see weather you do not need them.
my original oe brake lines were replaced in 2002 and were still in good shape. i replaced them with regular preformed lines from inline tube. to me the extra cost for the stainless could not be justified, especially since the oe line lasted 31 years.
My original lines are also in pretty nice shape. Just replacing them as I will use new ones on the Stage 1 conv. and use the old ones on my 455 conv. So I think with the extra cost of stainless and the chance of them not seating good I will just go with the OE.
I run OE type lines in my cars. I don't drive them in the winter, so I figure I'll never have probs w/ them. The stainless pre-bent lines WILL seal, they just may be a little more difficult to seal at the flares. You made need to tighten them, then loosen them, then tighten them again to seal. It's due to the SS being a harder metal than the tin, but I've never heard of probs once they are sealed.
