Hey guys,
Im looking for some advice in removing the 2 front brake lines. I have already removed the metal clips that hold the line in place. The caliper and rotor are removed. I noticed there is a bracket the holds the metal line right where it appears to mate up with the rubber line. But it seems like there isn't really enough of the rubber line end fitting to grab onto with my flare nut wrench... I know if worst comes to worse ill run new brake lines, but id like to have that only as a last resort.


Tips and suggestions are really appreciated!
Thanks
Dan_s_young

 

You're doing a brake upgrade too aren't you? New ss lines are in order, toss the old rubber ones. Not entirely undertanding your question, but the steel line has the nut that backs out of the rubber line. PB Blaster, lots of it.

 

Yes im doing a big brake kit. Yes im going to SS brake lines.

I guess what im wondering is there a trick to getting the metal support bracket out of the way. My flare nut wrench doesn't want to get a good grip on the fitting...

 

If you have removed the clips, you should be able to pull the assembly into the wheel well enough (an inch or so) to get wrenches on both ends of the fittings - one on the brake hose and one on the steel line.

As mentioned previously, get the PB in there and let it do its job. Sometimes tightening is a way to crack the rust as well. I used an adjustable wrench that has a clamping mechanism that did the trick. If the wrenches you are using don't fit good, find or make some that do, it will save you a bunch of grief in redoing the steel lines.

Scott

 

Agreed, loosen the line and slide it out of the bracket so you can get full contact with your wrench. The bracket that the hose sits in is indexed to fit the the flare nut. Sometimes you can break the hard line loose with only a 10 mm flare, but the mounting bracket can easily bend if the joint is overly corroded.

 

pb plaster and take care

 

I have been working on getting the lines off for most of the day. I haven't really had much luck and have found that the stock metal line is probally going to need to be replaced.

How hard would it be to hook up a new metal brake line up to the stainless steel brake lines? (the brake lines thread into the stock metal line, is there an adapter you can buy to do this?)

Thanks
Dan_s_young

 

SS lines simply replace the rubber ones. If the old steel ones look bad, bend up some new ones. Not hard, just time consuming.

 

Im not worried about the time consuming part, theres only the one part that im wondering about. Where the metal line meets the front brake line cable lines (stock rubber lines), the SS lines thread into like an adapter. As far as flaring goes and stuff thats no big deal, im just trying to figure out how the SS lines will get hooked up when there is nothing for them to thread into.

 

I often found that the only way to loosen the 10mm hardline without stripping it is with vice grips.

 

Post pics of the ends. The SS lines should be a direct replacement for the rubber ones.

 

Honestly thats what I tried I had the vice grips on as tight as they would go, and was turning the 17mm fitting on the rubber line with a flare nut wrench. It was turning but after a few turns it turned out that the nut was just turning in the vice grips so it stripped it VERY badily. This was with the vice grips as tight as I could get them on the nut...

I dunno, at the same time im kinda figuring it wouldn't hurt to redo the metal lines because they are pretty old and rusted. Pretty much every other part of the brake system is being changed so why use crappy old rusted lines?

 

Add heat to break the rust bond. At this point, if you destroy the nut, it won't matter much since it's stripped.

Your body is an FB and not an SA, right?

 

Ya its a FB (GSL-SE) heres a couple pictures.


K the second picture there shows what im talking about with the end of the TII SS brake line that needs to hook up. It looks like it should hook up with the stock line if I could get the thing broken loose. Tomorrow ill give it a try with some heat.

If I need to is there a place that sells nuts that have the threads on the lower portion of them in order to push a flared end of a brake line tightly to connect the line? My descriptions kind of suck so try to stick with me as I explain things the best I can.

Thanks!

 

The 4 pot caliper brake hoses are different than the single ones and mount differently. You should be able to buy hardline and nuts, it's just a matter of finding the right metric ones. When I couldn't find the nuts I needed, I bought the shortest/cheapest brake lines I could find and used the nuts off of them for the new lines I made.

If nothing else, get a Russel or Aeroquip catalogue, they will have the fittings.

 

i Highly suggest you go any purchase a pair of these, they are fantastic for rusted bolts you can't get anything to grip on. They pinch on the sides and are exactly what i used for where you are at with the brake lines........ http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/...rwinProd100328

 

Huum....

I would suggest that it might be time for new steel lines to be run based on those pictures. Since they are so bad, it is very possible that there are rust areas internal to the brake line (that you can't see) and having them fail can make for a VERY bad day. It is not a horrible job to replace at least the front brake lines while you are in there... I don't mean to spend more of your money....

Scott

 

Im probally going to go that route anyways, I have a TII brake master, booster, and prop valve coming soon as well. So I figured I might as well do the lines at the same time... I'll see how it turns out... Now I just need to find some bulk line in the size I need!

 

For interest sake, I was able to get the one side off today with heat, and the other side didn't want to come...

Only thing I was confused about what when I used heat on the area of the joint the line literally explodes like a fire cracker. Ummm why??? On the first side I thought it was because the fluid inside boiled and the pressure needed to be released... Then on the other side I cut the rubber line let the fluid out and then the rubber line still exploded off.