Cool, I'll check it out.

 

You might want to read this before plumbing brakes in copper,

Brake Plumbing Secrets Revealed!

Looks like vital information.

 

Mark61.......I glanced over that article, and basically this Montero isnt gonna be out on the dragstrip tearing up the asphalt nor racing Richard Petty's No. 44 Superbird. So, I dont know why they are knocking down copper/nickle brake line tubing. The way I see it, anything that plumbs the leak is fine with me, and copper/nickle is alot easier to bend than that hard galvanized metal stuff. If the rear brakes fail due to a leak, you still have the front brakes and the hand brake.......if all of them fail, just hit the parachute button. If the parachute fails to deploy, then its time to his the Eject Button.

Also, not sure why they are knocking the use of copper for fuel lines......its been working fine for over a hundred years. In my entire life, I have never had a copper fuel line crack or leak......but those galvanazied metal gas tanks will rust and fail all the time.

 

Finally got the copper/nickle rolls of 3/16" tubing, and a ton of fittings. I went ahead and tried the compression fittings on this short repair. Here is the wee-little tube cutter that came in a $12 flare tool kit on ebay. I first sanded the rough rusty surface of the line where I was gonna make the cut. Wiped clean and then this little cutting tool worked great:



Line bends easy, just using a socket or sometype of round surface to hold it against. In my case, I used the chrome rear turn signal shaft on my old 78 Goldwing.










Here is that T connection on the left side of the diff: I had been wirebrushing, picking, and soaking with PB Blaster for weeks, and still cannot get the fittings to budge. So that was one reason for using the compression fittings as a quick fix. Does anyone reccomend heating the brake line connectors to help break them loose?



Also, after making the brake line repair, I discovered that the bleeder screw on the right rear brake caliper was frozen, and that soft metal just started bending and is ready to snap off. So, I had to order a new caliper.
Yep, "Rust never sleeps".

 

Great pics and descriptions! The concern was based on the possibility of 1000 psi in the system...

 

Mark61.....Thanks.....maybe this will help another poor Mitsey soul sometime in the future. Thats a crazy amount....1000psi.....shoot, I bet that would first blow the master brake cylinder. Actually, it would probably blow out my knee cap first.....ha ha.

 

I have the same concern about multiple splices on the line as Marksroberts61. The more splices you have - more chances to fail. Plus you still have lots of old rusty tubing left to fail on you at the least opportune moment. As far as getting the fittings out of the manifolds and T-connectors, a little heat will work. Here is a discussion of working on brake system on old GMC motorhome - same issue as in your case - rust and trying not to ruin parts... Some really good advice in there:
GMCforum: GMCnet » Re: [GMCnet] GMCNet Proportional Valve

 

Hunter.......Good info. on that GMC link. Looks like Acetone and Tranny fluid is a good mix, better than PB Blast.

I agree......best to replace all the lines instead of all the cut/paste repairs. But I first wanted to just have the brakes working and see how the vehicle runs before dumping alot of coin into the brake lines. May end up being a "Farm-Use" rig, and so the cut/paste work will be fine.

 

More brake line repairs:
After making the one repair to the brake line along the rear differential, 2 more lines sprung leaks, so I had to bend more tubing.

One trick I came up with was to pack some pipe thread goo into one of the 10mm fittings, and then screw it into the connection to stop the brake fluid from leaking as I measure, cut, and bend the new lines and use the tool to make the flare bubble ends:



The good, the bad, and the ugly:






I also learned that you cannot "over-tighten" these brake line fittings.....doing so will smash out the soft bubble ends, and then cause leaks. The line in front of the coil spring (sink-trap appearance) sprung a leak at the top due to me over-tightening it: I had to fabricate another one to replace it.



New one installed, and so far "no runs, no drips, no errors":



Much better than before, plus the brakes work:



Before:




Another trick that worked pretty good was to use a vacuum pump to draw all the air out of the lines:
I used this on both sides, and the lines primed great (and no hopping on the brake pedal hundreds of times):

 

Much better with the new lines. Your old ones just looked scary.