quote Originally posted by Zentaury: I can’t remove the melted brake hose... how can I do it? A socket? A box end wrench? I tried wit I have it with PB blaster for 2 days but can’t get it loose.

You mean the banjo bolt into the caliper? (#7 below) That can be tricky as the caliper is aluminum and the bolt is steel, so it might have been rusted in there even before the fire. Dissimilar metals and all that.

Penetrating oil like you said, PB Blaster, Kroil is a good start, After than I'd put it in a vise, wrapped in a rag, put either a box end wrench on it or maybe a flare nut wrench, and tap it with a ballpeen hammer.

Or do you mean at the top end where it attaches to the hardline? There's a clip that holds the soft line in ... umm...



a picture can be worth 1000 words, this from the FSM. #3 is the thing. Get that off with a flathead screw driver, then CAREFULLY hold the flare nut (#12) on the hard line (#8), either with a flare nut wrench, or if you absolutely have to, vise grips. At this point you can use anything for the softline since it's shot, and hopefully they'll come apart?

-- A

[This message has been edited by dremu (edited 06-12-2020).]

Well, if it were me, I'd just replace the hardline. I'm a "Might As Well" kind of guy, as in "If I'm gonna replace part (x) I Might As Well replace part (y)", which is why my recent experience with bad rear calipers led to new rotors, all four calipers, new soft hoses, and master cylinder. There were actually good reasons to replace all of these parts, mind you, I wasn't shotgunning it, but it definitely snowballed. As my bank balance reminds me I just don't like the skimp on safety items like brakes, nor do I want to do it twice. I hate, hate, HATE bleeding brakes. Especially on the Fiero when you have to tilt the stupid car nose down to get it to bleed.

Anyway, Fiero Store has a kit for the whole car, which is expensive and the long lines are bent to fit in the box and have to be unbent to use, but you could get the kit and only replace the lines that you really need. That flare end is looking a bit beat and it's only gonna get worse; this is voice of experience talking IIRC it's hard to find whatever weird metric size hard line that is in off-the-shelf lengths, and flaring the end is also a challenge, so making your own is probably out of the question.

However, the usual rules for getting fasteners un-stuck apply. You can try ATF, as it's a good penetrating oil, or a 50-50 mix of ATF and acetone. You can try a propane torch on the soft line side, expanding it a hair might crack it loose. It will also sizzle out all of the oil you've sprayed in there and melt what's left of the rubber and whatever other goop, so use safety glasses, and keep your shop fire extinguisher handy. Again, voice of experience ..whistle..

Then big honking vice grips, the round ones, on the hose end and again, being careful with that flare nut, the needle nose kind on the flare nut, and see if it twists. And slight shock, e.g. with a ballpeen, is like using an impact wrench and can help. In moderation, though; don't beat it with a sledge!

Oh, absolute worst case ... Dremel with a cutoff wheel. You can slice lengthwise into JUST the softline fitting (red), and then maybe across (blue), without getting into the threads on the flare nut. That will require a very steady hand, but once sliced, you can spread it with a flathead as a prybar and then turn it off.




I really like the "EZ-lock" fiberglass-reinforced cutoff wheels, fwiw.

My two cents, which in today's economy doesn't matter if .02 USD or CAD, still worthless

-- A

[This message has been edited by dremu (edited 06-12-2020).]