Stainless Steel Lines or not?

Is it true that stainless steel lines (Brakes & Fuel) are proned toleak?

There is not a significant differance inprice... what would you recomend?

Th stainless is harder and doesn't seat as well on compression fittings which can cause leaks. It also requires a high end flaring tool if you make modifications. I went with mild steel for my brake andf fuel lines. I knew I would be cutting and flaring and didn't want to deal with the leaks. Plus the original steel lasted well for 40 years so I'm not too worried about corrosion on a car that will not be driven in winter salt conditions.

Stainless. I haven't had any issues with the stainless lines. If your fittings are messed up it may leak, but plain lines might leak also.

with having Galvinized steel lines over stainless for the same reason

I have stainless and cannot stop a weep at one of the M/C fittings. Any suggestions?

I prefer stainless lines, they always look good, never rust or flash rust, and if you like a little bling, they buff out super easy with just a cloth and polish before install,....I like to do the car once, that's it, you want to avoid leaks, regardless of the line, stainless or steel, use the proper tubing wrenches, and on stainless, use some liquid teflon on the treads, never had a leak, and I've done plenty of cars and trucks with stainless, not just brake, but fuel, emissions, etc, basically everyline in the car

I won't go stainless again. It doesn't appear correct(too shiny) and the stuff can be very hard to seal as many have attested to. It isn't worth the hassle.
If you go to a salvage yard you will find many vehicles there that have very good looking brake/fuel lines on them and they have seen more weather than your car would ever see again in its life.
Save your money for something more important.

Wow, I was not expecting such a debate!

Yea I don't think stainless is worth it either. Like what was said mild steel lines will last another 40 years.Ton's easier to work with also.

Tips on getting stainless to seal. Lube the fitting real well and tighten and loosen a few times, the lube will allow you to get it really tight. What PIA stainless is.

I experienced the same leak issue when installing a full set of pre-bent stainless steel brake lines on my '96 RAM 2500 4x4 truck. Best advise I can give is to definitely check for leaks after installing and keep tightening the fittings until all leaks are stopped. Sometimes, I tightened the fittings so much, I didn't think I could tighten them anymore, but finally did get all leaks stopped. Stainless is some hard stuff, but in the end, looks great and will be the last set of brake lines that truck will ever see!! I had rust issues with the OEM mild steel lines and didn't want to deal with that in the future again. Also, never wanted to have a metal brake line failure in a 3/4 ton truck while on the road, so I felt stainless was cheap long term insurance. Just need a good set of flare nut wrenches (and sometimes crowfoots) to install the lines properly.

Like the man said a little liquid teflon on threads and flare will seal it right up without having to over tighten

MY 72 cuda is all stainless. Not one leak from get go.

..isn't stainless 37 degree as opposed to 45 for regular lines...they can still seal with this mismatch but not as easily.
..stainless won't look stock though.

Quote:

---

..isn't stainless 37 degree as opposed to 45 for regular lines...they can still seal with this mismatch but not as easily.
..stainless won't look stock though.

---

SS should be 45* like the mild steel. AN fittings however are made on a 37*