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Thread: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

  1. #1
    Hoosier Daddy?? Turbo Mopar Staff Clay's Avatar
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    What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    You know, where the solid line attaches to the rubber line on the front disc brakes?

    Yesterday I put a new line on the pass. side of the Shelby Z. As happens almost every time I work on any car with any age to it, the nut will break free, but then the nut and brake line are fused together. SO if you keep spinning it, you twist the line in 2 and create a LOT more work.

    Yesterday I even preheated the nut, and then soaked it down with some PB Blaster. The nut broke loose just fine, but the line was seized up it in. I ended up doing the old 'turn the hose off the nut' backwards trick.

    anyone have a foolproof way to get those darn things to free up? Ive got to do the other side at some point.
    Clay
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    Super Moderator Turbo Mopar Staff contraption22's Avatar
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    Re: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    I always end up replacing hard line on older cars it seems.
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  3. #3
    boostaholic
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    Re: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    Buy a car that hasn't lived in the rust belt

    Seriously though, I can't think of anything beyond what you tried. I may have heated it, blasted it and tapped it (medium strikes directly on the nut) to try and free it up.

  4. #4
    turbo addict looneytuner's Avatar
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    Re: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    Cut the flex line. heat the junction, rotate the flex line while holding the hard line absolutely solid. Once it starts to move, work it back and forth until you can unscrew the flex line from the hard line. Then work on the compression fitting to loosen the nut from the solid line.
    NOTE that you will NOT be turning the compression fitting. Once the flex line is off, you can free the compression nut.

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    Buy my stuff!!!!!!!!!!! :O) Turbo Mopar Vendor turbovanmanČ's Avatar
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    Re: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    All whats said BUT if you still can't get it loose, all I do is remove the soft line clip, pull the line down and unscrew the soft line, install is the reverse but you might have to twist the hard line a bit to get the tabs to line up again. I even do this trick on wheel cylinders when I am short on time, that way, some cars with hard to reach brakes lines, I don't have to replace them.
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  6. #6
    Hoosier Daddy?? Turbo Mopar Staff Clay's Avatar
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    Re: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    Quote Originally Posted by turbovanman View Post
    All whats said BUT if you still can't get it loose, all I do is remove the soft line clip, pull the line down and unscrew the soft line, install is the reverse but you might have to twist the hard line a bit to get the tabs to line up again. I even do this trick on wheel cylinders when I am short on time, that way, some cars with hard to reach brakes lines, I don't have to replace them.
    thats what I did yesterday to get the soft line on
    Clay
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  7. #7
    Garrett booster
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    Re: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    Oxy-acetylene torch to head the fittings up hot hot (red) and they have ALWAYS come free. Whether the fitting is seized into the hose, or the fitting is seized to the pipe, it always works. Dozens upon dozens of them and have never broke one. Propane torches do not get hot enough I have found. If they don't come free within a few minutes of playing with penetrating fluid/wrenches, I always grab the torch. I can see how not everyone would have this stuff sitting in their driveway though

  8. #8
    Hoosier Daddy?? Turbo Mopar Staff Clay's Avatar
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    Re: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    oh, Ive got an oxy/act torch...... unfortunately its on the other side of town right now I may have to go pick that up and give it a whirl.

    thanks
    clay
    Clay
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  9. #9
    turbo addict
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    Re: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    I pretty much always just end up chopping the line off with bolt cutters and getting a socket on the fitting.

  10. #10
    Garrett booster
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    Re: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    I should mention the only downside (other than lighting the car on fire) would be that if you are heating up around the brake hose fitting it is possible to pop the hose out of the fitting. It makes a nice pop noise and might spray a bit of fluid around, so use eye protection when heating up fittings at hoses. That is all.

  11. #11
    Hybrid booster
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    Re: What have you found to be the best way to free up brake lines?

    Just take the caliper off the rotor, put a line wrench on the fitting and spin the caliper off. Won't wad the line up. Wheel cylinders the same way, pull the bolts off the backing plate, hold the line with a line wrench and spin the cylinder off. Something I usually do with brake lines and ALWAY with brass fittings it to tighten them up a hair before loosening them. Never twisted one off after doing that.

    If you're wanting to take the rubber line off, just cut it, tighten the line a bit, spin it off and replace with a new rubber line. These hoses are so old it should be mandatory to replace them. I've had two on old skool cars split on me over the years and thankfully didn't wreck 'em when it happened.

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