Pissed off at my '70 Charger...front brakes

[Coelacanth]

I'm working on my front brakes and every step forward, I'm taking 2...or even 3 steps back. Literally every damn fitting and bleeder is seized up solid!

I was fortunately able to break the left side caliper bleeder free, and that was only after squirting it with PB Blaster, 50/50 mix of ATF + acetone a couple times over a few days, hitting it with a blowtorch...but no such luck on the passenger side, where the *(&($)(* bleeder sheared off the caliper.

I wasn't going to trust the caliper pistons anyway so I have a pair of new Dynamic Friction calipers coming from RockAuto. I'll definitely keep the Kelsey-Hayes originals.

So, on to removing the passenger side brake hose so I can remove the old caliper...but the effing hose fittings are seized solid on both ends. Even with all the aforementioned precautions and flared nut 3/8" wrench, I rounded the damn fitting where it mates with the brake line. The other end threaded into the caliper doesn't want to budge, either. So now it looks like front brake lines have to be replaced too, even though they look good.

The driver side brake hose fittings also look pretty seized up.

I just needed to vent.

 

[MWbirdLOVER70]

Good luck brother and be patient

 

[RemCharger]

Oh what fun an old car would be to make;
If only the brakes were a piece of cake.

 

[Coelacanth]

I bought one of these, hopefully this will work better than flared the flared nut wrench did(n't).

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00004SBBE

As it stands, I'll be replacing the right side brake line...it would be a lot cheaper to make my own line, especially with the cost of shipping a pre-formed line. I have a tubing cutter and flaring tool already. I'm guessing the front brake lines are 1/4"?

 

[Aron Gleason]

Take a break and come back to it later. Gibbs lubricant oil is better than pb blaster.

 

[Coelacanth]

Has anybody else tried the 50/50 mix of ATF + acetone? Supposed to be very good too. Just not in my situation...

 

[threewood]

Heat works better than penetrant fluid.

 

[Coelacanth]

I used that too. I threw everything at the wall to see what stuck...but the fittings stayed stuck.

 

[69Bee]

One trick to try (when you first started) is to tighten first and feel for it to nudge. This breaks it free and will remove easier. I use this on all pipe plugs and have greatly increased the number that come out without stripping and requiring drilling and using an extractor.

 

[Coelacanth]

I was doing that too...plus putting a wrench on the fittings and tapping the wrench with a hammer in both directions, and tapping the fittings themselves with a hammer...my front brakes are kicking my ***.

 

[dadsbee]

You'll get a real wake up call one day taking a torch to a brake line!!!

Freeze Off... that shats the bomb.....

 

[493 Mike]

May we assume everything gets anti-seize upon reassembly? I always coat the tubing just behind the flare to stop the nut from rust-welding to the tubing.
Not to take over your thread but, I recently had a rupture in the braided stainless section of the line from the master cylinder to the ABS box on my daily winter beater, 2008 T&C. Well Chrysler decided to discontinue one of the master lines-guess which. It would have been a piece of cake if not for having a bubble flare on the ABS box end. Of course, my local auto parts tech told me to just use the first step of a double flare. It seems that was incorrect! So, I found a good flaring set on E-bay (OTC) and all is well. I had heard of bubble flares but, this was my Virgin experience. I rolled the tubing around a pipe nipple 3 times to get vibration insurance required, and found a drop of oil on the insert die really made for a beautiful cone. FYI. I'm glad I can still learn new tricks!
Mike

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I bought one of these, hopefully this will work better than flared the flared nut wrench did(n't).

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00004SBBE

As it stands, I'll be replacing the right side brake line...it would be a lot cheaper to make my own line, especially with the cost of shipping a pre-formed line. I have a tubing cutter and flaring tool already. I'm guessing the front brake lines are 1/4"?

Brake lines are 3/16"

 

[YY1]

If the rest of the stuff is that bad....I'd not think twice about new lines considering the relatively low cost.

I even spent the extra on stainless.

(...and I had no trouble getting things seated tight despite other's complaints)

 

[kiwigtx]

I'm working on my front brakes and every step forward, I'm taking 2...or even 3 steps back. Literally every damn fitting and bleeder is seized up solid!

I was fortunately able to break the left side caliper bleeder free, and that was only after squirting it with PB Blaster, 50/50 mix of ATF + acetone a couple times over a few days, hitting it with a blowtorch...but no such luck on the passenger side, where the *(&($)(* bleeder sheared off the caliper.

I wasn't going to trust the caliper pistons anyway so I have a pair of new Dynamic Friction calipers coming from RockAuto. I'll definitely keep the Kelsey-Hayes originals.

So, on to removing the passenger side brake hose so I can remove the old caliper...but the effing hose fittings are seized solid on both ends. Even with all the aforementioned precautions and flared nut 3/8" wrench, I rounded the damn fitting where it mates with the brake line. The other end threaded into the caliper doesn't want to budge, either. So now it looks like front brake lines have to be replaced too, even though they look good.

The driver side brake hose fittings also look pretty seized up.

I just needed to vent.

Sounds like a lot of clean up and rust removal is coming your way. A great time to totally rebuild everything on both sides.

 

[Don Frelier]

I've found it's way easier to just replace everything on a classic.

( I've done a lot of brakes over the years living in the northeast)

Old hoses are a liability anyway.

 

[dvw]

Old stuff needs heat. It's a fact of life. And by heat often propane won't get it. Oxygen/acetelene is required. I just did front suspension and brake work on my 95 3500 ram. Couldn't have done it without the torch.
Doug

 

[69Bee]

May we assume everything gets anti-seize upon reassembly? I always coat the tubing just behind the flare to stop the nut from rust-welding to the tubing.
Not to take over your thread but, I recently had a rupture in the braided stainless section of the line from the master cylinder to the ABS box on my daily winter beater, 2008 T&C. Well Chrysler decided to discontinue one of the master lines-guess which. It would have been a piece of cake if not for having a bubble flare on the ABS box end. Of course, my local auto parts tech told me to just use the first step of a double flare. It seems that was incorrect! So, I found a good flaring set on E-bay (OTC) and all is well. I had heard of bubble flares but, this was my Virgin experience. I rolled the tubing around a pipe nipple 3 times to get vibration insurance required, and found a drop of oil on the insert die really made for a beautiful cone. FYI. I'm glad I can still learn new tricks!
Mike

A double flare tool compresses it into a "Diamond" shape, and the screw end pushes it in essentially making it fold over. I ISO Bubble flare is more like and ovel or at least more rounded, so not the first stage of a double flare.

 

[Cranky]

My beater Dakota needs a master.....and I'm sure if I tackle that, I'll be in the same boat! Not wanting to do that work knowing the history of the rest of the truck but I miss driving that old thing with the straight pipe lol

 

[MWbirdLOVER70]

Has anybody else tried the 50/50 mix of ATF + acetone? Supposed to be very good too. Just not in my situation...

@dadsbee Has mentioned some great stuff that Mikey on here used for his exhaust bolts and worked like a drean some type of penetrant that’s a namebrand may be permit tax that also goes on cold and freezes and it worked like a charm. Hopefully one of them will try them in.