Brake Line & Fitting Sizes (Page 1/4)
RWDPLZ MAR 17, 05:22 PM
I've seen this question pop up pretty often, but never seen a definitive answer. So I decided to drive to the parts store, and figure it out.

I replaced the brake lines in my Fiero with the Fiero Store's stainless steel pre-bent lines, and bought an extra proportioning valve and 3-way rear block just in case my old ones were unusable. The prop valve was fine since it was sealed in the spare tire bay, but the rear block was a corroded mess. I cut the old lines off, put the block in a vise, and used a couple Snap-On 6-sided sockets to get the old fittings out of the block. Then I cleaned it off with a wire wheel:



Now, when I was seeing how many different brake line and fitting sizes there were, I was surprised to find there were only two (not counting the two lines going to the master cylinder on top of the prop valve). The big fitting, with it's 6mm (1/4) line, and the small fitting with it's 3/16 line. So I took these to the parts store.

I hate to admit it, but yes, I went to Auto Zone. This is probably the only store in town where I could go behind the counter and do the research in the parts area for half an hour, going through all the fittings. Here's what I found:

The brake lines are European thread bubble flare. Yes, a Pontiac, built in the USA, has European brake lines. I believe this is because the parts probably came from Canada. This is an example of the lines they have:



This line is 3/16 x 08" (line size x length) (4.7mm x 20.3cm). metric thread/bubble flare. European thread bubble flare. All these lines begin with the designation PAE-3__, where the last two numbers are the line length in inches.

They also had PAB-3__ line, which is US thread bubble flare - these will NOT work on the Fiero. The fittings are a different thread.

(Again, the two lines that go into the master cylinder are different, and appear to be regular American-style double flare lines.)

Now the fittings:

First, the large fittings. size is M14 x 1.5 bubble thread size, 6mm tube size. They sell these in a 5-pack, made by the company AGS.
part # BLF-53C-5
barcode # 077146372520
$3.49

The small fittings: size M10 x 1.0 bubble thread size, 3/16 tube size. Also a 5-pack by AGS,
part # BLF-39C-5
barcode 077146368813
$2.99



These are right on the shelf, with the brake lines



If they don't have them, they can probably order them? Forgot to check. They're both available on their website.

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1984 Fiero SE

[This message has been edited by RWDPLZ (edited 03-17-2010).]

Robert 2 MAR 17, 05:50 PM
good to know
Austrian Import MAR 18, 01:05 PM
This is a very interesting development.

Thanks for posting this.

I wonder if the Fiero was meant as a more "global" car at least during the early stages of development. Really wish the Fiero history wasn't buried and hidden so deep in the history of GM.
donnie072003 MAY 12, 08:58 PM
A plus rating for you Thanks
RWDPLZ APR 14, 07:35 PM
UPDATE: I finally got a hold of a used master cylinder cheap, so I could check the sizes of those lines, and the ones going into the proportioning valve. These lines have double flared ends, in contrast to the bubble flares on the rest of the lines. So the Fiero uses standard US brake lines going into the prop valve, where all the lines then turn into European lines.

At the front of the master cylinder, the line going into the prop valve is 1/4" at both ends. At the master, the fitting is 9/16 - 18, and at the prop valve, is 1/2 - 20
At the rear of the master cylinder, the line going into the prop valve is 3/16" at both ends, and the fittings are both 1/2 - 20

These fittings are all also available in 5-packs from AGS. It would be better to get them individually, since you would end up with so many extras, but they're all still available new.

size 9/16 - 18 inverted thread size, 1/4 tube size
part # BLF-43C-5
barcode # 077146372445
$3.49

size 1/2 - 20 inverted thread size, 1/4 tube size
part # BLF-44C-5
barcode # 077146372452
$3.49

size 1/2 - 20 inverted thread size, 3/16 tube size
part # BLF-41C-5
barcode # 077146372421
$3.49

Since it's a popular upgrade, I also check on the Blazer master cylinder. A 94 S10 Blazer uses the same fitting sizes, and has the same cylinder bore, 36mm. A 94 full-size Blazer uses the same fitting sizes also, with a slightly larger bore, at 1.574"

The hoses at the calipers: They all use an M10 - 1.0 thread fitting
02greens10 APR 14, 07:42 PM
my dad's oldmobile Eighty-Eight- from 1989 had the same crap. American and Metrrc parts on the same system. It made a giant ass pain to work on it years ago.

I just took the block off the back wheel on the car i'm working on and someone put 3 adapter fittings together to attach it. I'm saving this post to use later on this month.
theogre APR 14, 08:56 PM
Just to make sure....
Fittings for All years?

I know TFS sell 84, 85-87, and 88, in line kit...
They had to bend three kits, did they use different nut for some line ends?

Even if a few nuts change, we have a source for fittings. Good job. This notes/page will be added to brake section in cave.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top and bottom of every forum page...)

RWDPLZ APR 14, 09:03 PM

quote
Originally posted by theogre:

Just to make sure....
Fittings for All years?




The fittings above are all for 84-87 cars. If anyone has an 88 and could check and see if the sizes are the same, that would be great. I know the 88 uses a different master cylinder, but has the same fitting sizes. Not sure about the prop valve, or the 3-way block in the back.
Robert 2 FEB 24, 11:42 PM
Was not the good infos , sorry .

[This message has been edited by Robert 2 (edited 02-24-2012).]

Robert 2 FEB 24, 11:44 PM
Finally i think that can help .

[This message has been edited by Robert 2 (edited 02-24-2012).]