brake lines

Hey guys and gals, brand new to this site but seems very informative. All right, I've got a 91 reatta and just blew a steel brake line back by the proportioning valves. All the lines are rusty and need replacement. I'm looking for a company that sells stainless steel pre-bent pipe and braided steel flex kits, but can't find any to fit this car. Any help would be appreciated.

I would replace them all with the stainless if you are going to keep the cars.

Check the Custom Bend very carefully when you get them. The shipping guys sometime add a couple of extra bend and kincks.

Try Inline-Tube at 800-385-9452 for ordering and 586-532-1338 for tech info.

While I am not certain they make pre-bent lines for the Reatta, I have bought from them in the past and they have good products.Just my 2cents worth.

ronvb

Would it be a good guess you live in the rust belt? If you can find a Riviera in a wrecking yard with the ABS brakes you can use some of the brake lines. The fronts should be the same and the rear, the picec running under the car will be too long.

I am sure this rust was outside in but with moisture buildup in the fluid you can get rust from the inside out.

I recently had the same problem on my 90. I could find no preformed lines, not even from GM. Buick's part list shows only bulk tubing for replacement. That was my solution. I purchased 50 feet bulk tubing from the NAPA store(same as the local dealer does) and some 8 inch straight sections to get the fittings from them. I could not find new, correct size metric fittings and this was the easiest/cheapest way to get them. The bulk tubing cost about $18.00 and the fittings $2.25 each. I also bought a small tubing bender and a flaring tool. I did not use the bender much for the bulk tubing is soft in order to facilitate bending. It could be bent by hand over a piece of PVC or copper pipe. I bought a new proportioner valve---about $40.00 I think. I replaced all the brake lines from under the driver's seat area back to each rear wheel. It was a slow and tedious job, especially removing the old tubing in one piece to have a pattern to bend the new tubing by. Then there was the subsequent brake bleeding(2 person job). I searched the web for info on flaring and found a British site that provided excellent instructions for making the metric flare that the Teves system has. I kept the old tubing for a pattern in case I need to do this again (on one of my other Reattas). So far, after 4-5 months, everyting has worked well. Hope this info helps!

Martel Gibson

Thanks for the help. After searching and writing e-mails the only way to replace our brake lines is the hard way. I did find rolled 3/16 stainless brake line at one place(I have to find it again)and the metric 11x1x13 connectors and another place(Ihave to find them again too)that will fabricate stainless steel braided flex hoses, so I guess I've got a project.

I'm interested in the braided steel flex lines. Could you post source/price?

You should practice bending and flaring that tubing quite a few times before you do the final deal. It is not as easy as you think.

I've had to replace more steel lines than i'd ever wanted to and it sucks every time. I'll tell you this though, don't skimp on the flaring tool. The first one I bought I had to use in a vice because the cheap metal would allow the line to slip through rather than make the flare.