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[EMD]

Any recommendation for a decent brake pipe bender and flaring tool . I have read somewhere that certain tools brake or dont flare properly 

[henryd]

Anything from Sykes will do good flares,copper and kunifer pipe bends easily around a large socket or piece of pipe so wouldnt worry about that bit

[Webby the Bear]

I tend to do them with my bare bear paws. Just careful not to kink them.

It's getting the flares right you wanna practise 

[Webby the Bear]

*edit. Paw singular 

[EMD]

Thanks folks , i need to replace a few brake pipes and an awkward fuel pipe that runs up near the side of the tank (cav)  Surely there must be a pipe bender for these specific jobs , would make it easier .

[Nick W]

The Sykes tools are excellent if you can afford them. Or steal them, which is what happened to mine


I replaced it with Automec flaring tool and this bending tool. While bending kunifer brake pipe isn't difficult by hand, that shitty looking tool will easily put a tight 180degree bend right next to a fitting. It makes your pipe work look much better!


Buy a cheap rotating small pipe-cutter from B&Q for a fiver; a deburring tool is nice to have, but a fine file is plenty good enough for DIY work.

[EMD]

I have made the fuel pipe from the tank to the pipes to engine bay and temporally fitted them onto the rubber pipe but will these fuel pipes need to be flared at each end otherwise i think they will pull out , even with the fuel line clips .

[Nick W]

I  only make fuel lines from 8mm nylon pipe, joining them with 8mm bore hose and jubilee clips. If you use a large overlap, there isn't a problem, even with 60psi of fuel pressure.

[Webby the Bear]

The other option is buy pre made ones.

I haven't researched this. However I replaced a brake line on a Renault Megan last week and as the line was an integral part of the flexi I had to get it from Renault (well Allen ford actually... they can get French parts) and the entire line from nsr calliper, to flexi, then pipe to a fitting on the offside was £24 plus the vat. So potentially that's an option. But obviously that's only one example. I've no idea how much certain sections would be elsewhere or if they're even available. Worth a phone call though imo

Hth Steve 

[Andy B]

*edit. Paw singular 

 

[JasonH]

You need the right type of flare for your car. A tool that just does that type of flare is probably better than a universal tool.

As for brake pipe benders I bought some fairly expensive pliers type ones to do neat tight bends but I wished I hadn't. You can do a decent job by hand or bending around a suitable object. The pliers nearly kinked the end of a very long complex line I'd just put it...

For flares I used something like this - it was pretty reliable and good for tight spaces:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trident-T413705-Brake-Pipe-Flaring-Tool-4-75mm-DIN-New-/161353061492
But make sure it's the correct flare for you.

And these are the pliers I didn't get on with:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trident-T413400-Brake-Pipe-Bending-Pliers-Dual-Size-3-16-and-1-4-Tube-New-/151097742382?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item232e20942e

[deviator]

Personally, I prefer to bend by hand. I have a cheap pipe bender, but it tends to be more trouble than it's worth.

Roughly follow the shape of the pipe you have removed, once fitted, tweak, check and double check there are no sharp bends or rattling pipes against the body.

[omegod]

*edit. Paw singular 

 

Cripes Webby never realised, without sounding patronising mucho admiration for all the mechaniking your doing !

[raywilb]

Thanks folks , i need to replace a few brake pipes and an awkward fuel pipe that runs up near the side of the tank (cav)  Surely there must be a pipe bender for these specific jobs , would make it easier .

sets on ebay , benders & flaring tools not expensive, . also plenty of info on u tube on how to use.

[aaronjb]

*edit. Paw singular 

 

Cripes Webby never realised, without sounding patronising mucho admiration for all the mechaniking your doing !

Ah, I still remember the time I took the pee out of Webby for insisting on driving an automatic.. 


I can vouch for the tools Nick listed (bought the Automec flare tool as well in the end, Nick - works beautifully!), but I also bought this bending tool: https://www.automec.co.uk/collections/tools/products/professional-pipe-bending-tool-by-oakes

I used a combination of both to do most of the bends on the kit car, besides the ones I did before I had either tool which I did around a socket.. besides the first two (that I did very poorly with a different kind of bending tool) they all look just fine so make of that what you will (also, I like tools).