madrat Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Hi Folks, I'm looking to replace some of the steel air brake pipes on my Leyland Martian. I reckon they are 5/8" (The book says 0.628"). Does anyone know where to buy the tube, and what type of tool would normally be used to make the flares? Can these be replaced by kunnifer (Cupro-nickel) pipe? Any advice greatly appreciated! Kind Regards, Duncan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 shopnut Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Hi Folks,I'm looking to replace some of the steel air brake pipes on my Leyland Martian. I reckon they are 5/8" (The book says 0.628"). Does anyone know where to buy the tube, and what type of tool would normally be used to make the flares? Can these be replaced by kunnifer (Cupro-nickel) pipe? Any advice greatly appreciated! Kind Regards, Duncan Could try replacing steel pipe with modern plastic pipe, type used on trucks nowadays, available from most commericial factors, you would also need to sort unions, nuts etc to suit pipe and where connections are, this I think would be the tricky part. If you want to go down the steel pipe route, try a commericial garage, they may be available to offer advice. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 cosrec Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 long long time since i had a Martian so i cant remember if pipes were flared or had olives on them. Either way i would go down the route of using nylon airline piping. even if pipe is flared you can counter drill unions to accept olives and barrel nuts are long enough to accept olives. i know i did change a few pipes on both the martians i had using this method. Once painted it takes a good eye to detect the difference. the olives you need may be thinner than standard ones but are available they bite in and seal with out inserts in pipe. Saves lots of time and money just depends how much of a purist you are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Zero-Five-Two Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 There is a hydraulic hose company down here that can also make up steel pipes to order, I had them do a couple for my Militant, so I would try your local hydraulic hose gang, if they can't help they may know someone who can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 madrat Posted January 27, 2013 Author Share Posted January 27, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the replied chaps, much appreciated!! I did wonder about modern pipe/fittings but this type of braking system is very new to me! Most of the affected pipes are inside the chassis rails so not overly concerned about originality. Safety is my number 1 priority. i cant remember if pipes were flared or had olives on them That's a very good point, I was speculating they were flared but I guess they could well have olive style fittings, that would make a bit more sense as I guess the pipe is quite hard to flare.... I would try your local hydraulic hose gang That's a really good idea, thinking about it our excavator has rigid hydraulic pipes on it... We have a good local place so I'll drop in there and ask them for advice... Longer term I'd like to convert the air system to the modern fail-safe type, not sure if this would be a can of worms with the insurers mind you.... Cheers!! Duncan Edited January 27, 2013 by madrat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 utt61 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I recently replaced most of the air brake piping on my '61 Iron Fairy (originally steel pipe with olives) with modern nylon pipe. The local truck parts factor was able to supply the pipe and olives without problems. It now holds full air pressure for a month or more without the engine running! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 radiomike7 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 That's a really good idea, thinking about it our excavator has rigid hydraulic pipes on it... We have a good local place so I'll drop in there and ask them for advice... Longer term I'd like to convert the air system to the modern fail-safe type, not sure if this would be a can of worms with the insurers mind you.... Cheers!! Duncan Hydraulic pipes are designed for much higher pressures than an air brake system and will be very heavy and difficult to manipulate. Converting to a spring brake system would be an excellent move as it prevents you from moving off until there is sufficient air pressure to work the service brakes but given the somewhat unique rear brake chambers might be a serious challenge. The current system has one line and a single fault will cause total service brake failure; as a halfway solution it may possible to at least convert to a twin line system needing a new foot valve and a second air reservoir with relevant valves. Incidentally the Martian rear brakes are very powerful, mine would easily lock the rear bogie on a dry road with a 5 ton load in the back; try that with an Explorer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ruxy Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 You need to get a sample identified for what it is and the "burst pressure" established , 5/8" / 16mm would be possibly too large on dia. for steel "Bundy" that would be used on many brake lines . Such as Norgren IMI Technical will be able to supply comparison tables for pressure etc. against Cunifer (Kunifer) & Nylon . Try a cut & file smooth - you should see if it is wound & seamed tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 cosrec Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) as someone has pionted out the brakes on a Martian are actually very good if serviced correctly. I did look into fitting spring pots on rear boggie But it would have been a nightmare and advised it would not be accepted for test as it could overload brake anchor pionts. As a halfway solution i put a spring pot on the hand brake and piped it in to the dead man on the steering column. Thus you could not set of with out full air pressure. It passed at least 4 mots with this set up. Pressure on nylon pipe no problem maximum you will ever put thru is 120 psi Edited January 29, 2013 by cosrec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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madrat
Hi Folks,
I'm looking to replace some of the steel air brake pipes on my Leyland Martian. I reckon they are 5/8" (The book says 0.628").
Does anyone know where to buy the tube, and what type of tool would normally be used to make the flares?
Can these be replaced by kunnifer (Cupro-nickel) pipe?
Any advice greatly appreciated!
Kind Regards,
Duncan
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