OK: I have posed this question to Mike from Inglewood..but I also know that he is likely one of the busiest guys around and may simply not have the time to respond to a PM.

Question is: What material is the solid parts/piping of our 3 transmission lines made of. If it is aluminum (which I believe they are), can someone tell me what type of alloy it is..?? 6061 or some other (CHEAPER), aluminum alloy..?? 5000 series, 4000 series.

If they are steel, pls advise. I plan to buy a new set, cut off the garbage lines/crimps and replace with Hydraulic fittings/braided hose. But...

There are some issues with Aluminum:

1: Steel galvanized ftgs on aluminum tubing or SSteel ftgs for that matter will lead to corrosion issues down the road.

2: When attempting to flare aluminum, there may be potential for cracking on the piping due to the typical lack of ductility inherent in aluminum products.

Thanx,

STK

I'm interested to see what the transmission gurus say, but I also think they are aluminum. Don't know for sure. You are on the right track avoiding dissimilar metals and galvanic action problems. I'll stay tuned to find out for sure what they are made of.

The lines are steel. I've effectively used steel compresstion type fittings to AN fittings to make connections. They stop leaks in extreme cold conditions.

Thanks Crafty1!!

Put a magnet on one of the metal lines. If the magnet sticks, they are steel. If it does not, then aluminum or other alloy.

Well there is no doubt that a magnet will do the trick...my issue is an eeewww thing...lots of snow/slush and dammit..!! someone should know for sure.?? and have it confirmed.

But Crafty, I thank you for your reply. I am about to hit the dealer and see if they have them in stock, what the price is (am ready to be floored as per usual...LOL). And will report back here to confirm your assessment.

I sure hope you are right as that will remove any issues with using the attached DIY posted by Jeremy in the Russel Trans lines thread - top of this forum....as well as edited for spelling - full copyrights version to Jeremy in this doc I made for the fix..pics included. If the price is ok then I am going to buy them, have them re-trofitted and installed .!! yeahoo.

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=288875

Cheers,

stk

OK. Unfortunately, I had to go the dealer to get some new lines today. They only had the two long ones. Brought a good quality magnet....sure enough they are in fact STEEL.

Not that I doubted you Crafty...but sometimes it's nice to confirm what someone has written.

Thanx....should have em ready and done in about a week. It's a busy shop and they needed to purchase some fittings. Seems they are going to silver solder the nuts right on the piping. I like that idea.!

Western Hydraulics: 160 Brock Street, Barrie, Ontatrio - Andre is the man!

cheers,

stk

I was fooled by the color. Thought they were aluminum but Crafty1 is absolutely correct. :o::D

No Sweat Mike.! Just got your PM and replied. But I am thinking that GM has begun to replace either the PN's with new ones or are actually providing a new type of trans line with possibly a better crimp..?? I don't know. Seems to me the crimps on the 2 lines I just bought are exactly the same as the original lines.

I say that because here are the PN's of the 2 lines I do have

21998956 HOSE
20759972 PIPE

OK, fine, they were both steel lines, yet he gave me two different PN's for the short line and that is what makes me suspect they have changed either the actual parts and switched them from Aluminum to steel and gave them new #'s or just changed the PN's themselves...who the hell knows.??

I was given these 2 numbers for the short line:

15826412 (supposedly the old original number)
20759973 (the replacement number)

Anyway, if any of you guys decide to remove your original lines and have them retro-fitted with hydraulic ftgs as opposed to buying new, then it might not be a bad idea to check their composition with a magnet just to be sure. It will save you big time headaches by knowing which type of Hydraulic ftgs to use. You sure as hell don't want to mix metal types and end up having corroded lines/ftgs by using dissimilar materials. I suppose brass would in fact work with aluminum..but not sure how they would last or how well that would work.

Stk

I used the following parts from parker hydraulic hose components. I, however have the crimper, too, so I don't know the hose length.

To replace all three rubber sections:

6 of a 103HY-10-10
6 of a 418-10
6 of a 419-10
and 3 lengths of Parker HY hose in 5/8 (-10) size

These have the compression type ends that are to be swaged (crimped) onto hydraulic hose. They can installed with lines still attached to the truck, with a compact tubing cutter, and a couple of wrenchs. However, they must be crimped by machine to the new hose prior to wrenching them in.


As for the line construction, they are aluminized steel. With one truck out there with 130k miles on the line repairs (160k on the truck), there doesn't appear to be a corrosion issue.