1973 J truck breaks.

Area for Offroad Modification Tech
Post Reply

Topic author
20ozjolt
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2022 5:06 pm

1973 J truck breaks.

Post by 20ozjolt »

So got a non running truck in a trade to make a wheeler.
Running now :-bd

Next step to drive it off the trailer is breaks.
Went to bleed them and the lines to the rear are shot.

BJs and team wagoneer don't seem to have much for me.
I do plan on lifting it and she is all stock drums, supposedlythe master cyclender and breaks were all rebuilt before it was parked 10 years ago....

Any one happen to know a good source for lines and parts?
Might as well do a full re pipe I figure.....

akguy09
Posts: 328
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:11 am
Location: Ellicott, Colorado

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Post by akguy09 »

Put the e-brake on and back it off. The engine will over come the brake, but it won’t roll on its on. That’s all I got for ya
1979 Jeep J-10 304/T-18
2017 Jeep JK 2DR
2021 PowerWagon
User avatar

Kowpie
Posts: 155
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:41 pm
Location: Southern Oregon

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Post by Kowpie »

I'm in the middle of a full restoration with the body off. I'm replacing every brake hard (making my own from stainless tubing) and soft line along with converting to disk front and rear. The hard lines that came off are serviceable but old and crusty. If interested, you can have all the hard lines (the soft lines are no good), including the proportioning valve, new master cylinder, and new brake shoes front and rear all for $150.00 plus shipping. Shipping might be prohibitive though. Zip is 97526. These are from a 1973 long bed J4000 (4600) with power drum brakes which I believe are 11"x2".
20220731_202338.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
'65 Wagoneer, 230 OHC, IFS, Column Shift T90/D20
'73 J4000, 6000#, 258, T18/D20, 33", full disc.
'79 CJ7, 304, T18/D20, 35", 4.56, SOA, shackle reversal.
User avatar

Harry Dawg
Posts: 343
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2021 3:59 pm
Location: Georgia
Contact:

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Post by Harry Dawg »

Kowpie.
One note of caution regarding stainless steel lines. The 45 degree double inverted flare required for brake lines can only be achieved with a high end flaring tool. I tried doing it with a garbage freight hand flaring tool and about went insane.
I found that automotive grade lines flared fine with the hand tool, which is what I ended up going with, as the SS lines I made leaked like crazy.
Good luck!
1968 J3500 - 1985 CJ7 - 1998 Grand Cherokee 5.9 Liter Limited - 2006 Grand Cherokee Limited
Rhino USA Brand Success Manager
South East Offroad Activist
User avatar

Yeller
Posts: 1821
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:54 am
Location: Rogers County Oklahoma

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Post by Yeller »

I always use Nickle Copper brake line it is much, much, easier to work with and is very corrosion resistant. Stainless is such a pain to work with that I just refuse.
The bus I ride is so short it is a yellow Smart Car full of squirrels, monkeys and clowns.

1970 J2500 Resto Mod
https://www.fsjnetwork.com/forum/viewt ... 12&t=21395

1974 Bronco “Broncno”
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threa ... st-3411909
User avatar

Kowpie
Posts: 155
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:41 pm
Location: Southern Oregon

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Post by Kowpie »

Thanks for the tips.
I have a turret style press that mounts in a vise that I've used for a few vehicles now to flare all of my lines. It took a little practice but I get very good quality flares from it on stainless lines. Granted, stainless tubing is very picky about being flared. A good square cut, solid inside and outside reaming, dry lubrication, and tubing dies held very tight for no slippage are the keys to success. In addition, I use small copper flare gaskets that have worked well for sealing the harder stainless tubing flares.
Tool.jpg
Gasket.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
'65 Wagoneer, 230 OHC, IFS, Column Shift T90/D20
'73 J4000, 6000#, 258, T18/D20, 33", full disc.
'79 CJ7, 304, T18/D20, 35", 4.56, SOA, shackle reversal.
User avatar

Harry Dawg
Posts: 343
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2021 3:59 pm
Location: Georgia
Contact:

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Post by Harry Dawg »

Interesting technique with the copper gaskets. I have not seen these used before, but could see these leading to a much better seal. I will have to try these out next time I run some SS line.

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk

1968 J3500 - 1985 CJ7 - 1998 Grand Cherokee 5.9 Liter Limited - 2006 Grand Cherokee Limited
Rhino USA Brand Success Manager
South East Offroad Activist

Topic author
20ozjolt
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2022 5:06 pm

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Post by 20ozjolt »

Kowpie wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:27 pm I'm in the middle of a full restoration with the body off. I'm replacing every brake hard (making my own from stainless tubing) and soft line along with converting to disk front and rear. The hard lines that came off are serviceable but old and crusty. If interested, you can have all the hard lines (the soft lines are no good), including the proportioning valve, new master cylinder, and new brake shoes front and rear all for $150.00 plus shipping. Shipping might be prohibitive though. Zip is 97526. These are from a 1973 long bed J4000 (4600) with power drum brakes which I believe are 11"x2".
20220731_202338.jpg
Man wish I were heading south any time soon, I'm in Boring OR

Topic author
20ozjolt
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2022 5:06 pm

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Post by 20ozjolt »

After napa tried to kill me.... tried to sell me a mix of bubble flare, metric, and SAE lines with plumbing couplings to connect them......
I got some suff cobbled together to get her working until I do a full upgrade.the old wheeler at another shop helped me piece it together. Just took all the scrap lines in. When I upgrad I'm definitely getting one of those flare tools so much better then the ones the store rents
User avatar

Kowpie
Posts: 155
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2020 3:41 pm
Location: Southern Oregon

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Post by Kowpie »

Glad you got it going. Too bad about the NAPA experience. When I have to get parts locally they are my go to. They tend to have the more experienced folks (at least with what I have been exposed to) than the other national chains that usually can only ask, "year, make, and model please?"
'65 Wagoneer, 230 OHC, IFS, Column Shift T90/D20
'73 J4000, 6000#, 258, T18/D20, 33", full disc.
'79 CJ7, 304, T18/D20, 35", 4.56, SOA, shackle reversal.
User avatar

Pablo
Posts: 208
Joined: Sun Dec 15, 2013 6:58 pm
Location: Arizona

Re: 1973 J truck breaks.

Post by Pablo »

20ozjolt wrote: Mon Aug 29, 2022 4:06 pm After napa tried to kill me.... tried to sell me a mix of bubble flare, metric, and SAE lines with plumbing couplings to connect them......
Napa did that to me on my XJ. Told me the connector was the size I needed, but it was always another. It never would seal up. I made so many pretty brake lines... but none worked till I got a connector elsewhere. It must be a NAPA thing they do to sell more brake parts... :lol:
  • 64 FSJ Wagoneer, under the knife
  • 67 FSJ Wagoneer, peacefully taking a break
  • 94 XJ, long-armed on 33's. Bolt on ghetto fab fantastic
  • 16 BU, wife's snow commuter
Formerly: 06 KJ CRD (Constantly Repair Diesel)
Post Reply