Posted by Keith on Thursday, December 04, 2003 at 10:51AM :
In Reply to: Brake line repair 101 posted by Tug Boat Lonnie on Wednesday, December 03, 2003 at 7:57PM :
If you have an Auto Zone parts store in your area they have a loan program for tools. Otherwise, I highly recommend that you pop for a flaring kit (make sure it does double flares) and bender and do your own flaring & bending as you install the new lines. It often happens when I am installing new lines that I think a piece will be x" long, but after I bend it up it is Y" too long so I have to stop, cut and flare. If I had to stop and go to a parts store for another flare it would push my B.S. Meter into the red-zone. Also, as with many of us mere mortals, I have been known to wreck a new line while putting it in (by accidently kinking it, etc) so that I have to cut and flare a whole new piece. Get the tools!
If you are really concerned about the longevity of your new brake system, it would be way cheaper to use steel and silicone brake fluid rather than SS.
As to the lady in the Hundai, giving her a piece of your mind would have been throwing pearls before swine. I have my doubts that common sense can be taught to those who have none. Reminds me of the time I was tooling down a two-lane mountain highway at 50 mph in my WDX when a youthful female driver in a Japanese econo-box pulled off the side of the road directly in front of me. I was literally standing up inside the cab to put enough pressure on the brake pedal to avoid running over her. No doubt, she remains oblivious to this day.