where can i find a new brake flex line? seems all my hoses are clogged up,, 1973 144 sedan,,, thank you,beanbag..............

I got mine from a dealer. They weren't that expensive.
c

Hello Beanbag!!!
Any of the chain parts-houses--such as NAPA--that handles
the Beck-Arnley line can get them. The B-A hoses are cheaper than
the dealer, too. Only caveat is that the B-A's are slightly
larger in diameter than stock; this makes for a very tight fit
under the swivelling clamp that holds the hoses to the sway-bar
link. After installation, have a friend turn the wheels from
lock-to-lock while you check for any excessive strain at either
end of the hose connections.
Oh, if you're in the West, Poop-Boys handles Beck-Arnley.
(I shouldn't be so hard on Manny, Moe & Jack--they're one of the
few places left where you can get 165-15 tires.)

Gary in Arizona, with two 164's.

Try these web sites: RPRUSA.com or IPDUSA.com . Volvo should also be able to get them for you

IPD used to sell them (non-clogging) but stopped because of
1 or 2 incidents of bad installation leading to brokn hoses near
the end. Might check with them first and also RPR.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

ipd still has the lines for the 164; the 140 lines were the ones that had problems. I'd assume that RPR has them also.

Best,

Cameron
Rose City

> ipd still has the lines for the 164; the 140 lines were
> the ones that had problems. I'd assume that RPR has them also.

Considering that I just pulled the front lines two evenings ago to replace them along with putting in all new rubber in the calipers this thread has made me a little curious. Does anyone remember what the failure mode was and why it's specific to the 140s? I've done a lot of brake work and I've handled tons of swaged connectors, aside from a careful attitude regarding cleanliness I don't see the difficulty.

Joel

I'm not sure that they do still have 164 lines. When I did mine I
first called IPD and they said that they stopped selling them.

I don't remember the name of the fellow I spoke with. He said that
they had an instance of the brake line snapping at wheel lock and
full suspension travel. The failure was at the point where it screwed
into the brake and it failed apparently because the flex line is a
little too short and the part that threads into the brake itself had a
thread adapter so it was twice as long as would be expected but rigid
and not terribly strong where the hose thread screwed into the volvo
thread adapter. Plus it would be prone to fatigue as it gets jerked
back and forth. I hope nobody was hurt. Of course, I've had total
loss of one brake circuit on my 164 and the car did stop; not as well
and it pulled to the side but it stopped and I knew instantly what had
happened.

bad ascii illustration:
hardline on body -> steel hose -> rigid wacky thread connecter -> rigid volvo thread adapter -> volvo brake caliper


It's totally reasonable that IPD stopped selling these if one failed.
I think that there are places that will custom make a set of steel braided
brake lines if you take them a set of rubber lines as templates. I'm not
sure of the cost, though.
chris

If you find a local Goodridge dealer (http://www.goodridge.net) you can do a lot. Same thing with Earls, maybe moreso because they have the spring that spupports the fragile part of the hose.

Either way S.S. braided covered teflon line (which is what they are) is not really a good year after year street use product. Stock ones are better in that they last almost forever.