It's so easy a caveman can do it.
Really, it is. Lol

What are your thoughts on aluminum?
I think steel is stronger of course but can aluminum lines be used in a car?

I swear I saw stock lengths of it at the auto part store with the fittings already on them, just need bent to shape.

But maybe I was wrong and they weren't aluminum, have no idea now and 2nd guessing myself. Lol

 

NiCopp aka nickel/copper lines are perfect they have zero rust issues even in extreme conditions. Aluminum (not alloys/cast) is very corrosion prone when in contact with road salt.

 

Yeah alum goes to crap quickly in some conditions and is just not something to use for this.

Nicop lines form easily and I've tried them but they do not hold up as well as a coated steel line long term and stainless beats them completely. I actually did an experiment in my Jeep and ran a coated line to the left front, nicor to the front right, and stainless on the rear and rear axle to see what happens when in a car that is never washed over 5 years.

The stainless is unchanged, like I put it on yesterday and the coated lines are nearly the same. The nicor has some surface pitting and discoloration and of the three did the worst. None failed though so all work but 305 stainless is on another level vs everything else. Makes sense since copper absolutely hates salt

 

Nicopp is what all the local off-roaders use for modified brake lines - which is to say all new ones, as most of the time the only thing left from the original vehicle is parts of the cab and the subframe - usually around the VIN :P

Can't say anything about durability - haven't heard of any issues, but this is on... vehicles... that are looked over very often and are not driven a whole lot in general.

 

Its really easy to work with, you don't need forming tools really.....that's a major selling point

 

Yup, pretty much all the arguments that I've heard for it.

 

I'm guessing a Nicopp is a nickel copper alloy as posted above.

Guessing that gives it some extra strength and added corrosion resistance.

Ideally for DIY, it would be preferred to have a material that can be hand bent as needed with a cheap $5 tube bender vs having special tools.

I've done some flaring in copper a few times years ago, it was easy.

 

Easy on a bench, sometimes gets a little harder in tight areas on a vehicle to make a straight square double flare.

 

I'll have to take your word on that because I haven't done a double flare.

Sounds like double the fun when laying on your back under the car. Haha 😅

 

I'm surprised by this. My winter car had brake lines blow out around 2016 (I didn't own the car then) they were replaced with nicopp. Today they still look pristine.

 

To be clear it's not an issue, all 3 worked great and look like they will last 20 years plus no issues. I just noticed the nicor did the "worst" out of the 3

The coated steel I use is a ***** to form though, double flares have to be done very carefully/you need to know where to go past where you are supposed to in the dies and the "feel" for it even with a hydraulic ram forming tool. I'm used to it but I took me like 12 fittings to learn how when I started years back

The nicor stuff can be done with manual tools with extreme ease. Stainless also requires the hydro ram and care but it's insanely durable, my truck is equipped with stainless lines that took me about 40 hours to make since I wanted them absolutely perfect.

 

One thing you need to comsider is that there's no point spending money on brake lines that will last at least 10 years if the rest of the car might not last that long. You say it's a 30+year old rust bucket, in which case you need to think if it's worth it to keep throwing money at it, as dealing with corrosion issues can be a never ending series of expenses.

 

i have made full restoration of my car,
most parts was renewed
brake calipers,suspention, exhaust system, everything was well serviced and maintained, unfortunately brake pipes and fuel lines was not changed i do plan to drive car in the next 5-10 years if possible even more.
I dont care much about visual corrosion but i cant drive car without brakes, if air get traps inside i will loose ability to stop.

Currently used Car prices are very high high , i plan to use my rust bucket as daily driver for long time and to drive my hail damaged car after repair for long trips .
Rusty bucket is converted to lpg so its cheap to drive it, hail damaged lexus will stay on petrol forever.