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Brake hard lines
by
madmedix
on 28 Sep, 2007 14:38
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Ah, the sudden brake failure...
Jumped on the binders when a young lady cut me off and then heard a "pop" and the brake pedal went to the floor (love that e-brake). Coasted to a stop and discovered a spiral fracture of the brake hard line running from the MC to the proportioning valve (bottom right of 4).
Going to do all the lines while I'm at it. But I cannot get the the lines off! On the lines that run from the prop. valve to the soft/hard line combo to the rear drums, the tab welded to the body threatens to twist off before it'll let that 10mm line connector loosen off. They've been soaking in penetrant for 4 days now and still won't come off ( it's a 90 TD Jetta).
Anyone know any tricks or am I in for a treat here?
Cheers,
Andy
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#1
by
Doug
on 28 Sep, 2007 18:57
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Tried just about everything in the past, but now I use the torch to heat the connections till they are red. Yes, you will have to replace the flex lines because the steel union at them will probably need heat as well which will cause the rubber to blow out. At that age it is prudent to replace them. A flex line failed on my old rabbit when deep into braking one day. That excitement was not needed.
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#2
by
madmedix
on 29 Sep, 2007 07:08
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OK. Got 'em off. There a neat tool my wife bought me at Sears that fits inside a socket. It has clockwise cuts inside it to grab rounded-off nuts etc and worked beautifully. Simply snip off the 3/16" line behind the connector and use this little beauty. Easily pulled off the other 6 that didn't have penetrant on them.
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#3
by
akrallysport
on 01 Oct, 2007 19:27
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Good to know about the tool... we were having problems with my friend's brake lines.
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#4
by
Kneale Brownson
on 03 Oct, 2007 18:50
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Sears sells a $20 kit and a $50 kit of its Bolt-Out damaged bolt removal sockets. I hesitated about buying the more expensive one, but it's proven to be a real problem solver for me. Not sure about the little one, but the larger kit includes a wide variety of bolt head sizes that cover most of the common metrics too.
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#5
by
rob76
on 05 Oct, 2007 02:14
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Hey madmedix how many miles/km are on your car?
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#6
by
madmedix
on 05 Oct, 2007 07:07
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412,000 km
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#7
by
rob76
on 05 Oct, 2007 13:10
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Ah ok, just trying to figure out how long those lines are good for!
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#8
by
madmedix
on 09 Oct, 2007 07:12
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Well, got the lines done only to have the driver's rear bleed valve come right off in my hand. Left half the thread inside. :evil: Now I gotta pull the drum and probably replace the wheel cylinder.....
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#9
by
Doug
on 09 Oct, 2007 10:22
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Well Mad,
If you don't want to change out the cylinder then try this. Carefully centre a 13/64 drill bit in the hole of the bleeder bolt. Drill it as plumb to the direction it enters the cylinder as possible. If necessary go up to 7/32 drill bit. This one will probably tear out the last of the bleeder bolt. If you want to clean up the threads use a 6X1 mm tap and find a new bleeder bolt/screw. Any automotive wholesale worth its salt will carry an open stock selection.
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#10
by
rob76
on 09 Oct, 2007 14:20
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They're not too hard to replace, Those cylinders should be replaced anyway they are only about $15 each for Beck/Arnley made in Germany ones. Avoid the raybestos made in China ones the bleeder screws fall off of those ones by just breathing on them.
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#11
by
madmedix
on 10 Oct, 2007 08:59
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So THAT's where the wheel cylinder came from
(it was done by the previous owner just before I bought it. This guy spent over a year fixing this car up for his 16 y/o son who turned around one day and said he didn't want it! :? )
I picked up another wheel cylinder just in case the fix doesn't work. I'll keep you all posted.
Cheers,
Andy
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#12
by
rob76
on 10 Oct, 2007 10:09
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The shoes come off easiest by pulling the bottom of one side out first with big pliers. Don't try undoing the springs while the shoes are still on the car. It would be really maddening. Well you could easily do the bottom spring but those top ones are nasty.
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#13
by
madmedix
on 21 Oct, 2007 07:55
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