Quote:
Originally Posted by hatzie
Unlike older vehicles the GM T800 trucks used DIN/ISO bubble flares on the tubing. There are brake flares other than the older SAE 45° double flares and DIN/ISO (like the special Japenese line fittings on my 1976 Z car) but the SAE 45° and ISO/DIN are the most common.
I get coils of NiCopp and form the ends with a Hydraulic flare tool. Stainless is a PITA.
Tube straighteners are easy to build or you just do it by hand.
I make some bends with the Ridgid tubing bender you could get at Home Depot several years ago.
If it's truly going to cost $900 to get them installed by a shop I'd consider spending 1/3 of that or somewhat less for a Mastercool Hydraulic tube forming tool. They make the job so much easier and you can use it to form GM transmission and oil cooler lines.
The 72485 universal set comes with dies for 45° inverted, ISO bubble, and Jiffy-tite push in transmission cooler, oil cooler, & fuel lines that GM used on many trucks and cars.
You can get the 72300 set that doesn't come with the transmission, oil, and fuel line dies but the missing dies cost significantly more than the price difference.
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You make be thinking about GM cars. All of the lines on GMT800 trucks are 1/4 tube with a standard double wall inverted flare. You can make them with a standard flare tool.
You can buy complete prebent brake line sets that are inexpensive. They are 70-100 from GM(depends on truck/suv/wheelbase). The lines from GM are steel, but they are coated so they will never rust.
The stainless kits from dorman are prebent and pre flared.
I have the mastercool tool, and I used it all of the time for brake lines, fuel lines, and transmission lines. But lines are so cheap for these trucks, it doesn’t pay to make them. It’s better to buy them.
I charge 5 hours per truck. The cost goes up if I have to drop the fuel tank for models with traction control. And the price goes up if the bleeders are stuck. It’s right around $500 if I buy the lines.