The brake line burst on the 1999 Bravada- in the spot right above the gas tank. Same exact spot it burst in my 1991 Chevy K2500. The reason they rot/burst at that location is salt gets up there- but has no way to be washed out unless one makes a real special effort. I wish GM would treat this area with a special coating. The 1999 Bravada only has 77k miles and is garage kept- kind of early for a burst.

Took out the old brake line after 4 hours of work. Hopefully the fuel lines that share the same rail and are also showing signs of corrosion were not damages when I carefully pulled the old line. It measured 115" long with quite a few little bends and two 90 degree bends. Had to cut in half to remove it.

I am not fluent with flaring pipe, so I bought 3 pre made brake lines totally 115" in length. Also bought a $50 brake line bender from Sears. SPent 4 hours and can not get the bends to go the proper way without risking kinking the pipe.

Looked for pre made line, especially from inlinetube.com , where I bought the pre-made k2500 replacement lines in 2004. They do not make the Bravada/ Blazer line.

Found this company with a line they claim is corrosion free bendable line. Looks interesting- but wonder why no other company sells anything like it. Would appreciate any comments:

http://store.fedhillusa.com/

It'* pretty simple. That line is brass(copper/nickel alloy). Probably cost twice as much as the normal steel lines. Auto makers aren't going to buy parts that cost twice as much to build their cars. They would have to charge double to make the same profit. They use material/engineering to get you through warranty, and a wee bit extra.

Thanks V... My question is does this line bend measurably easier than the steel pipe. Any thoughts? I know it is a relative question.

Yes, very much so. To the point you can kink it, so easy does it. Much easier to flare without splits though and use compression fittings on.

Whenever my engine and trans come out, I'm replaing all of my brake lines with this. They rent a good flaring tool too.

I have found that it is easier to bent the lines by hand. that way u can make the first few difficult bends then snake it into the engine compartment. then run the line threw all the areas it needs to go to the back. then work from front to back making small progressive bends by hands. u prolly should have got it a little longer than the original line to allow for length to play with, so u aren't so limited.

Nice tips, thanks. Found a tip on youtube where a guy suggests filling the tubing with sand and then use painters tabe to seal the ends and then bend the tube, take off the tape and clean out the sand. Interesting idea.

I've heard that mentioned before. The only trouble is the extra step of getting out from under the car, and of course making sure all the sand is removed.

Here is a good infor sheet on the copper/ nickel brake line material. What is even better is how it describes the exposure brake lines have near wheel wells and discusses options to protect including plastic. Heck, I might consider spraying lines with a water displacer, then wrapping them tight in electric tape- except the tape itself might trap moisture and salt.

http://64.90.169.191/applications/au...rake_tube.html

Tried to edit the above but lost my edit button.....

Autozone now stocks at local stores AGS brand NiCopp brake line in 6 pre-made sizes.