Fitting braided brake lines

prahunt · Post by **prahunt** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 2:47 pm

So I've got some black diamond braided lines sitting in my garage.
They seem relatively straight forward to fit, however when I went to do them I found that the bolt connecting the original hose to the copper pipe is a bit rusty.

Any hints/tips for not rounding this and causing a world of grief?

mercutio · Post by **mercutio** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 3:04 pm

brake spanner?

Post by **Pushki** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 3:13 pm

I think it's 10mm you need.

Post by **ek9sid** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 4:21 pm

Always thought they were called pipe spanners...or something like that

Bludge · Post by **Bludge** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 4:30 pm

Flare spanner is what i know them as. definitely get one, dont attempt it with a regular open ended spanner or you may end up with a serious headache on your hands!

lots of penetrating fluid too.

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 5:11 pm

I find the only way of undoing these is a good quality set of mole grips that are nipped up just right so the y don't crush the nut, but also so there's no chance of them slipping.

You will need to grip the other half of the fitting (the side on the flexi) with a spanner too.

prahunt · Post by **prahunt** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 9:28 pm

I wasn't even aware there were separate tools for this...

noob level.
I will check some out this week and hopefully get the job done.

Post by **ek9sid** » Sun Jun 21, 2015 10:09 pm

Was gonna mention, if you ever head up my way, I have that tool...I do believe it's a 10mm too (Mildenhall, Suffolk)

G-lude · Post by **G-lude** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 1:16 am

the back of a hammer also works great for prying out the clips which hold the brake line in place. You will need to remove these too to hold in place the new lines

Craig_85 · Post by **Craig_85** » Mon Jun 22, 2015 6:32 am

Quite often the union nut is seized to the brake pjpe. My preference is to hold that with a brake spanner and turn the brake hose itself with a pair of molegrips clamped at the top...