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1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 3:46 pm
by 20ozjolt
So got a non running truck in a trade to make a wheeler.
Running now :-bd

Next step to drive it off the trailer is breaks.
Went to bleed them and the lines to the rear are shot.

BJs and team wagoneer don't seem to have much for me.
I do plan on lifting it and she is all stock drums, supposedlythe master cyclender and breaks were all rebuilt before it was parked 10 years ago....

Any one happen to know a good source for lines and parts?
Might as well do a full re pipe I figure.....

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 5:58 pm
by akguy09
Put the e-brake on and back it off. The engine will over come the brake, but it won’t roll on its on. That’s all I got for ya

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:27 pm
by Kowpie
I'm in the middle of a full restoration with the body off. I'm replacing every brake hard (making my own from stainless tubing) and soft line along with converting to disk front and rear. The hard lines that came off are serviceable but old and crusty. If interested, you can have all the hard lines (the soft lines are no good), including the proportioning valve, new master cylinder, and new brake shoes front and rear all for $150.00 plus shipping. Shipping might be prohibitive though. Zip is 97526. These are from a 1973 long bed J4000 (4600) with power drum brakes which I believe are 11"x2".
20220731_202338.jpg

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 10:06 am
by Harry Dawg
Kowpie.
One note of caution regarding stainless steel lines. The 45 degree double inverted flare required for brake lines can only be achieved with a high end flaring tool. I tried doing it with a garbage freight hand flaring tool and about went insane.
I found that automotive grade lines flared fine with the hand tool, which is what I ended up going with, as the SS lines I made leaked like crazy.
Good luck!

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 12:02 pm
by Yeller
I always use Nickle Copper brake line it is much, much, easier to work with and is very corrosion resistant. Stainless is such a pain to work with that I just refuse.

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 1:35 pm
by Kowpie
Thanks for the tips.
I have a turret style press that mounts in a vise that I've used for a few vehicles now to flare all of my lines. It took a little practice but I get very good quality flares from it on stainless lines. Granted, stainless tubing is very picky about being flared. A good square cut, solid inside and outside reaming, dry lubrication, and tubing dies held very tight for no slippage are the keys to success. In addition, I use small copper flare gaskets that have worked well for sealing the harder stainless tubing flares.
Tool.jpg
Gasket.jpg

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2022 3:49 pm
by Harry Dawg
Interesting technique with the copper gaskets. I have not seen these used before, but could see these leading to a much better seal. I will have to try these out next time I run some SS line.

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Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2022 3:51 pm
by 20ozjolt
Kowpie wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:27 pm I'm in the middle of a full restoration with the body off. I'm replacing every brake hard (making my own from stainless tubing) and soft line along with converting to disk front and rear. The hard lines that came off are serviceable but old and crusty. If interested, you can have all the hard lines (the soft lines are no good), including the proportioning valve, new master cylinder, and new brake shoes front and rear all for $150.00 plus shipping. Shipping might be prohibitive though. Zip is 97526. These are from a 1973 long bed J4000 (4600) with power drum brakes which I believe are 11"x2".
20220731_202338.jpg
Man wish I were heading south any time soon, I'm in Boring OR

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2022 4:06 pm
by 20ozjolt
After napa tried to kill me.... tried to sell me a mix of bubble flare, metric, and SAE lines with plumbing couplings to connect them......
I got some suff cobbled together to get her working until I do a full upgrade.the old wheeler at another shop helped me piece it together. Just took all the scrap lines in. When I upgrad I'm definitely getting one of those flare tools so much better then the ones the store rents

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2022 3:40 pm
by Kowpie
Glad you got it going. Too bad about the NAPA experience. When I have to get parts locally they are my go to. They tend to have the more experienced folks (at least with what I have been exposed to) than the other national chains that usually can only ask, "year, make, and model please?"

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2022 12:26 pm
by Pablo
20ozjolt wrote: Mon Aug 29, 2022 4:06 pm After napa tried to kill me.... tried to sell me a mix of bubble flare, metric, and SAE lines with plumbing couplings to connect them......
Napa did that to me on my XJ. Told me the connector was the size I needed, but it was always another. It never would seal up. I made so many pretty brake lines... but none worked till I got a connector elsewhere. It must be a NAPA thing they do to sell more brake parts... :lol: