Here's an answer to a question no one's asked...maybe? So I was maybe the only one not in the know about all the rubber lines the braking system had. Most cars have just the front and rear brake lines (4 total), ours have 6 total with the 2 center lines. I went and bought the rear lines, since I already had two sets of fronts (1 for the BBK and 1 for the stock line). Lucky the 3rd gen shares the same front lines as the 4th/5th gens. Then I was reading up on the 5th gen upgrade thread and came across info on BFGoodrich's 6 line set. At this point in time, I already had a Toytec lin, but I guess I had a brain fart and forgot about it. I ended up ordering a set of Wheelers lines, which I ended up not using neither one because I wanted longer lines. Then I made a thread asking about the stock line length, but no one had the info on that or the length of other companies. Anyway, here's some extra information in case anyone needed it.
These are the stock lines at full droop. The stock lines measure 14". Can't imagine the case of them breaking if they were at full flex.
I spent alot of time looking into it but there are several companies that make ss center lines for the 4th gen, which would also work for the 5th gen. Crown actually makes them for several companies (MetalTech, Toytec, Total Chaos to name some). They have the crown logo on their lines and in some of their product numbering.Crown Performance. They also make custom lengths and colors, but if you plan it out, getting it from Toytec / Metaltech would be less because I think one off orders cost more than when those other distributors buy in bulk.
Wheelers, All Pro Offroad and Low Range Offroad also provide their own versions of center lines.
There is also a complete set by BFGoodrich and they offer it in +0, +2, and +4 sizes. I found the best price for these are actually on eBay if you shop around enough (roughly 150 shipped).
Individually, you can buy the front and rear lines as well. They're branded Stoptech but the numbers are interchangeable with Centric (who is the parent company that makes the Stoptech components anyway). Sometimes Amazon listings will have the Centric lines for less than the Stoptech ones, and you'll end up getting a Stoptech branded package anyway.
Front Line: 950.44007
Rear Line: 950.44507
And if you happen to have a front BBK without a line then this will be the part number you need: 950.44006
Here you guys see the comparison between the length of the stock lines (14"), Toytec line (15"), and the Low Range Offroad line (20").
From my research and now that I have the measurement for the stock line. Here are the various lengths from the companies I've seen so far for the center line.
Stock line: 14"
Toytec (Crown sourced): 15"
Wheeler's Off Road line: 16"
All Pro Off Road line: 17"
MetalTech line: 20"
Low Range Off Road line: 20"
BFGoodrich: 14", 16", 18"
These plugs that come with the Stoptech/Centric ss lines came in handy while working on the center lines. They work two ways, as end caps to the hard lines or if you reverse them, they can also plug up the rubber female ends on the lines. However, if you use them this way, they will still slowly leak brake fluid but not quick enough to empty your braking system.
I ended up removing both the brackets and the lines to make the install of the new lines much easier.
Makes it easier to remove the spring clips if you have the brackets removed from the axle / frame.
Cleaned up and put on a few coats of rustoleum onto the brackets.
Here are the new lines ready to be installed back onto the truck.
Installed back on. Make sure you don't over tighten the hard lines. I've broken hard lines in the past. Torque ratings for these fittings are in inch-lbs. You can use a micro torque wrench with crowfoot sockets if you want to be cautious. One of my l ines ended up not being tight enough but I fixed it while bleeding the system. Remember to bleed the whole system and not just the rears. You're supposed to bleed everything anytime you open up the system.
I hope that was useful. I read through many posts on the 5th gen upgrade and various other build threads talking about the complexity of this install.
I felt it was maybe a 3 on a scale of 10 in difficulty. Should take maybe an hour to exchange out the lines and bleed depending on how efficient you are at bleeding. I spent a little longer since I had to tackle some rust and paint in between. I also was replacing all my braking components at the same time. I'll add more to my original post as I find more companies that make SS lines besides Centric/Stoptech and Crown. 20" lines are a bit long and I'm not sure if you even need it with the long travel setup but you can never been too safe with braking components. If I had to do it again I would have probably gone with the All Pro line since it added 3" and was the least expensive. Even if you had to buy the Stoptech/Centric F/R lines, you'd still save about 40 bucks in comparison to getting the BF Goodrich lines.
These are the stock lines at full droop. The stock lines measure 14". Can't imagine the case of them breaking if they were at full flex.
I spent alot of time looking into it but there are several companies that make ss center lines for the 4th gen, which would also work for the 5th gen. Crown actually makes them for several companies (MetalTech, Toytec, Total Chaos to name some). They have the crown logo on their lines and in some of their product numbering.Crown Performance. They also make custom lengths and colors, but if you plan it out, getting it from Toytec / Metaltech would be less because I think one off orders cost more than when those other distributors buy in bulk.
Wheelers, All Pro Offroad and Low Range Offroad also provide their own versions of center lines.
There is also a complete set by BFGoodrich and they offer it in +0, +2, and +4 sizes. I found the best price for these are actually on eBay if you shop around enough (roughly 150 shipped).
Individually, you can buy the front and rear lines as well. They're branded Stoptech but the numbers are interchangeable with Centric (who is the parent company that makes the Stoptech components anyway). Sometimes Amazon listings will have the Centric lines for less than the Stoptech ones, and you'll end up getting a Stoptech branded package anyway.
Front Line: 950.44007
Rear Line: 950.44507
And if you happen to have a front BBK without a line then this will be the part number you need: 950.44006
Here you guys see the comparison between the length of the stock lines (14"), Toytec line (15"), and the Low Range Offroad line (20").
From my research and now that I have the measurement for the stock line. Here are the various lengths from the companies I've seen so far for the center line.
Stock line: 14"
Toytec (Crown sourced): 15"
Wheeler's Off Road line: 16"
All Pro Off Road line: 17"
MetalTech line: 20"
Low Range Off Road line: 20"
BFGoodrich: 14", 16", 18"
These plugs that come with the Stoptech/Centric ss lines came in handy while working on the center lines. They work two ways, as end caps to the hard lines or if you reverse them, they can also plug up the rubber female ends on the lines. However, if you use them this way, they will still slowly leak brake fluid but not quick enough to empty your braking system.
I ended up removing both the brackets and the lines to make the install of the new lines much easier.
Makes it easier to remove the spring clips if you have the brackets removed from the axle / frame.
Cleaned up and put on a few coats of rustoleum onto the brackets.
Here are the new lines ready to be installed back onto the truck.
Installed back on. Make sure you don't over tighten the hard lines. I've broken hard lines in the past. Torque ratings for these fittings are in inch-lbs. You can use a micro torque wrench with crowfoot sockets if you want to be cautious. One of my l ines ended up not being tight enough but I fixed it while bleeding the system. Remember to bleed the whole system and not just the rears. You're supposed to bleed everything anytime you open up the system.
I hope that was useful. I read through many posts on the 5th gen upgrade and various other build threads talking about the complexity of this install.
I felt it was maybe a 3 on a scale of 10 in difficulty. Should take maybe an hour to exchange out the lines and bleed depending on how efficient you are at bleeding. I spent a little longer since I had to tackle some rust and paint in between. I also was replacing all my braking components at the same time. I'll add more to my original post as I find more companies that make SS lines besides Centric/Stoptech and Crown. 20" lines are a bit long and I'm not sure if you even need it with the long travel setup but you can never been too safe with braking components. If I had to do it again I would have probably gone with the All Pro line since it added 3" and was the least expensive. Even if you had to buy the Stoptech/Centric F/R lines, you'd still save about 40 bucks in comparison to getting the BF Goodrich lines.
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