78SilverCam

Good morning all,

I'm installing new calipers/rotors/brake hoses and discovered that the brake line nut on the front right wheel has been rounded off. I've tried to work around it, and did more damage than good.

Anyone else have experience with this? Grind off two sides and try again? Something else?

Thanks for your input.

bobbarry

I've always had good luck with a vise-grip and heat at the threads. Lock it on TIGHT, with the serrations grabbing hard into the nut, and tap the handle of the vise-grip with a ball-peen to shock the nut (steady pressure can just round it off more).

You'll ruin the nut, but you've already not got replace it anyway.

Easy Mike

Vise Grips applied judiciously.

Chinaski

That's what I did.

Garys 68

Vice grips, but if it's that bad you might as well cut it and replace that line.

billcarson

make sure the vise grip has a curved jaw.

78SilverCam

ulgh, Im hoping to salvage what I can - replacing the line looks like it could be really easy or really annoying. My experience is given the option - its always annoying.


For instance - remove the rivets. Sounds easy...these things won't budge. (rotor off, just cant get them out of the hub.)

Chinaski

Everything is annoying when working on these cars. It's the proverbial "Can of Worms" everytime.

Bagpype

Couldnt have said it better. I started with a simple pad change on mine. I rounded one nut off like you. One thing led to another and that pad change turned into new calipers all the way around, new pads, all new brake lines, new master cylinder. Fun. I got my rounded nuts off with this http://www.lowes.com/pd_314851-281-1...ers&facetInfo= I got the smallest one I could find. The rounded nuts came off perfectly with these pliers..

7T1vette

If you can break that fitting loose with a Vise-Grip, you can tighten it back up with the Vise-Grip. Having a rounded-off fitting should not cause you to change a brake line, if you don't want to.

Buying a good quality (Snap-ON) tubing wrench would have been a good investment so that you would not round off the fitting. But, as that is a missed-opportunity, just re-install it "as is".

Bagpype

You can put it back on but using the "it came off like that, it will go back on like that" logic is not something you should be using on a Corvette. Unless you don't plan on ever touching that brake line or having anyone else touch it either.

billcarson

bagpype i know what you are saying and i agree but sometimes we all cheat a little as it gets expensive and time consuming to replace everything.also some after market stuff is complete garbage.check out this ac delco boxed brake hose.it had sunsong written on it.

Bagpype

I understand and completely agree with you. Having said that, I absolutely would not cheat anything involving the brakes.

7T1vette

There should be no problem tightening that fitting so that it won't leak. If so, the fact the fitting is 'rounded off' will have NO EFFECT on the brake system.

If the OP cared about the fact the car was a "vintage Corvette that should be handled with kid gloves", the OP would have used a better tool in the first place (like I recommeded...after-the-fact). As he rounded it off to start, putting it back on that way should not be an issue, IMO.

But, thanks for your attempt at teaching me some better "Corvette manners"....

Bagpype

If you read the OP's post he says he discovered it was rounded off. This, one would have to assume was that way prior to him even putting wrench one on it. Also, we can deduce that it was probably put back on like that by someone who didn't want to fix their car right, or for lack of a better term, lacked "corvette manners". Had the previous owner done it the right way, as I merely amicably suggested, then we wouldn't be posting on this thread and 78silvercam would have been able to do his brakes. The right way...

7T1vette

Why do I suspect that not everything on your car is "perfect" either?

oldschoolvette

+ heats and mechanically massage

arklacat

I used a small pipe wrench. I could only find a 10" locally. An 8" or 6" would have been better. I didn't want to wait for the ups truck.

I applied a bit of heat to the hose side but I don't think that really mattered. I ended up ordering all new lines and that same line was stuck in the combo valve. The pipe wrench broke it free without any heat and did very little damage. I had soaked them pretty good with pb blaster.

edit: i tried two different vise grips, trying to work the nut back and forth. they just rounded the nuts more.

john 72-04

Man...... I've never seen someone who likes to try and start arguments as much as you. The OP says he found it that way when he went to do the job. Oh and by the way it's not a tubing wrench it's a flare nut wrench.

billcarson

john 72-04, really i have.seriously though he has helped me in the past with his suggestions and when you start posting for a few years you might get a little sharp with your comments.try and give the long time posters some slack,they have helped many guy's over a long period of time and deserve it.