Unusual Problem

[MrFurious]

A couple months ago I purchased a 1980 K10 4x4 Stepside that needed some serious brake work to get back on the road. I've replaced the MC, PV and SS hardlines so far, but I seem to run into a problem with the front rubber lines.

The parts store lists 5 different front lines for the 1980 Chevy's, and not one of them is remotely close to what came off the truck. All the replacements have a large male fitting on the end that passes through the frame, while the ones that came off have a smaller female fitting.

What's even more unusual is that when we pulled a replacement caliper off the shelf it to looks nothing like what's on the truck.

I considered the possibility of the axle having been swapped out for one from a different year, but that still doesn't explain why the end of the rubber hose that attaches to the hardline isn't correct.

So anyway, I thought I'd post up a couple pic's in hopes that maybe someone can tell me what the hell I have so I can get it back on the road. At this rate I think I've set a new official record (2 months) to complete a brake job, but a good deal of that is from waiting on parts.

Here's a shot of the caliper and caliper end hose fitting. None of the replacement hoses we looked at had a fitting anything like this.



Here's a shot of the female fitting on the end of the hose that connects to the hard line.

[Home Built]

Looks like the same setup on my 77 when I had a dana 44.
Try going back a couple of years on the parts at the store and see what they have.
If you still can't find it take your old line to a place that makes hydrolic hoses and see if they can make you one.
The caliper side does not have to have that big block on it, you can use a standard banjo style end.

[ccatlett1984]

not to add to your projects cost, but imho if your replacing the rubber lines anyway, just get braided steel ones. you get much better pedal feel. and they last longer. you can get them through several major sources, just take a pic of each end fitting and then measure how long it needs to be. www.inlinetube.com makes them. you may even find a local shop that can make them for you. going to SS braided soft lines made a big difference on my little 91 s-10, it always had a soft brake pedal.

[MrFurious]

Originally Posted by Home Built

Looks like the same setup on my 77 when I had a dana 44.
Try going back a couple of years on the parts at the store and see what they have.
If you still can't find it take your old line to a place that makes hydrolic hoses and see if they can make you one.
The caliper side does not have to have that big block on it, you can use a standard banjo style end.

Well, most everywhere I've looked lists the same hose # for all 4wd 1/2 tons from 73-80 and it looks like this. Problem is that it has the big male end on it just like the ones I got from the parts store, and that end doesn't mate up to the hard lines. (Note, this pic is from Inline Tube's website, the same place I got my SS hard lines from. Go figure!)



As for getting customs made locally, I thought about that as well but no one knows any place around here that does that. Besides that, I'd probably end up having as much in them as I would a set of braided SS lines. It's just a daily driver so I really don't want to dump any more money into it than I have to.

[Grumpy_old_fart]

I used the 2wd front brake lines off a 76 chevy, had all the right parts on them. plus, they were 3 inches longer