Leaky brakeline fittings---Oh #!*&?**

O.K., I think the leaks are healed up. Bought some good box end brakeline wrenches today, and was able to put some man size grunt on the leaking fittings. I bled the brakes, and got the missus to do the pedal pumping honours while I climbed around underneath fighting with bleed-screws. Momma makes a good wife, but a damn grumpy mechanics helper. I go thru this every time I build a car---plumb the lines, fix the leaks, p___ off the wife by getting her to help pump the pedal. Bleeding brakes is one of the few things that you absolutely cannot do without a helper. There was so much mess on the floor that I sprinkled everything with floor-dry and quit for the night. Tomorrow night I will sweep up the floor dry, and watch for fresh drips on the concrete floor---not very scientific, but it does it for me. I will probably bleed the brakes a couple of more times between now and road time. The pedal is still spongy, but Momma's ugly quotient is directly related to how long I keep her out in the garage. I know that pumping the brakes supposedly aerates the fluid, but when you have the luxury of not immediately having to drive the car, any bubbles created will "settle out" in a week or so, and can be gotten rid of with the next bleed. I know that Summit has some neat check valve bleed screws, but when you only build one car every 10 or 12 years, its not a justifiable expense.

I've got a wife that's not real fond of trecks to the garage to bleed brakes either, fortunatly I only need to have her help me when I do the master cylinder.

When I do the wheel cylinders and calipers I build a simple bleeder tool.

Take a piece of vacuum line that's long enough to reach the floor and fits tightly over the bleeder. Plug one end and using a razor blade, cut a 1" slit near the plug. Place the other end over the bleeder then crack the bleeder slightly. Put the other end of the hose in a jar or can to prevent making a mess.

Slowly pump the peddle until you don't hear air, close the bleeder, remove the hose and move on to the next wheel.

Been doing this for years and it works great.

I have a vaccume bleeder kit,,,works fine,,,other than that while i prefere to have someone help by pumping the brakes,,,sometimes i use some empty soda bottles,,two at a time,,,i do the rears first,,,,attach a hose to the bleed screws and have the hose go into the soda bottles beneath a couple of inches of fluid,,,then get in the cab and pump away,,,sometimes messy,,,but it gets the job done.
I miss being in a shop environment using a pressure bleeder,,,,i plan on building one for myself one of these day's.

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Originally posted by brianrupnow
Denny---I did put the correct double flare on the lines----Thunderbucket-I kinda thought that was a weird answer-I've seen your other posts and I know that you wouldn't advise threadlock tape on brake fittings if ya stopped and thought about it. I just picked up some new brakeline wrenches---will try tightning a bit more before I try anything else.

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I didn't ask if it was a standard practice but I used Hydraulic lock tite on my brake lines not to seal but to help prevent the brake line from loosening from vibration in the future. maybe over kill but no leaks and all is fine. Ed ke6bnl I must have made a dozen practice double flares 45* to get a technique down b4 I started my brake plumbing job. I did not have to redo one with the practice.. ed ke6bnl