daltvater

I'm stuck. On my list of winter projects is new brake lines and caliper rebuild. Everything was going well until I got to the rear brake lines. I have a tendency to ruin parts as I'm the worst DIY'er of all time so I thought I would seek guidance from the Rennlist crew before I did it again.

I'm trying to remove the rubber line from the hard line here. My problem is I can't tell how they are attached. I'm guessing the 11mm nut spins on the hard line but I'm not sure. The rubber line is round so there is nothing to grab on there.

Wondering if I just cross my fingers, put a flair wrench on the nut and smack it?

Meatball964

Soak the nut overnight w/PB blaster and give it a sharp tug w/ a quality flare nut wrench.
I had the same problem & gave up, because if you fubar that nut you have to find a small armed person willing to crawl into the far end of that brake line to remove from the distal end (thus replacing the hard line). Sounds fun huh ?

AOW162435

The threaded end of the rubber line should be captured by the body bracket. Yes, the 11mm flare nut rotates on the steel brake line.

Some flare nut wrenches give a pretty sloppy fit. If you notice the wrench rounding off the nut, take a small Vice Grip and get it handled that way.


Andreas

MDamen

I have given up on that nut twice. Once with the engine in and once with the engine out. Even with the engine out it was difficult to get a good grip on it, even with flare nut wrenches. I left it.

daltvater

Thanks guys, very useful. I'm going to get a good grip on it and see if I can't somehow get the dead hammer in there to bang the wrench. I'll let you know when I succeed or fail.

ABCar

I gave up and took it to the local P-Wrench.

Nice Avitar!!!

Roche993

Another trick is to take the flare nut wrench and "squeeze" it closed with a medium vice grips. It sounds like it wont do much but you would be surprised at the extra grip or purchase. Especially if it is not the best quality flare wrench.

firesm

I did this job during my suspension and brake over-haul this past spring. The nut on the steel line tends to bind on the line, and with a good flare nut wrench it's very easy to twist the steel brake line - and then you need a new one. The trick is to start loosening and as soon as you feel enough resistance that the line itself is starting to flex - stop, then move it back to tighten, you may only get the nut to turn very slightly at first, but by constantly moving it back and forth while using some sort of pb blaster/liquid wrench it will start to free up. 5-10min of extra care and you'll have it loose. Good luck.

AOW162435

Good tips.


Andreas

IXLR8

Exactly what was happening to the hydraulic line when I was replacing the clutch slave cylinder on my thirteen year old Honda CR-V daily driver.

It took me well over a half-hour, but doing it right saved me far more time because that hydraulic line snaked its way behind the engine and firewall. Imagine replacing that.

Christian J

I used a torch, but time and a good penetrating oil should do the job.

Marc Shaw

That darn nut is the sole reason I sprung for a set of good Snap-On flare nut wrenches.

Expensive, but worth every penny - I've never regretted buying quality tools.

Marc

David in VA

Even with quality flare wrenches, I found that heat is the only way to get them disconnected. FYI I used one of those jet flame cigar lighters, worked great.

IXLR8

Same here and the flare nuts on the fuel filter didn't even have a chance to rust. I just didn't want to mark up the nuts with cheap flare nut wrenches on lines that aren't easily replaced. Two Snap-On flare nut wrenches ran me some $120. Besides, I already have a tool box full of their products...why stop now.

Quality tools don't cost you money; they make you money. Just look at any hourly shop rate!

As for the OP's brake line, that fitting hardly looks rusted. Hard to tell with those quality pics.

jscott82

I've done this twice... On the first car I was having a hell of a time with the front lines. After much cussing and complaining I stopped, cleaned everything up, and started to take a closer inspection. I noticed what looked to be red locktight on the last few threads. (To relax the locktight it needs to be heated to 400deg) So out came the torch, fiberglass blanket and temp gauge. Sure enough right at 400deg it came free easily. I have not read in the service guide where Porsche used locktight, but I followed the same procedure on all line of both cars and had 0 issues, they all came free easily.

I'm not sure if it was just the heat on an old fitting or whether there really was locktight, but the procedure has been infallible so far. Above all, a good flare wrench is necessary.

Any other thoughts/experience with the locktight theory?