OT tube nuts rusted to the brake line

moonlight machine · May 6, 2018

Every time I have to remove some part of a hydraulic brake system the tube nuts are rusted to the line never to free up, only to break the hard line after you try to free them up. I have put never seize between the tube nut and line to no good result. I am thinking of trying silicone seal. That should keep the water and dirt out and should free up instantly when you put a wrench to it. what do you think?

APD · May 6, 2018

How about slipping a piece of heat shrink tubing on before assembly?
Assemble, coat with grease or anti sieze, then heat shrink it.
Ive never actually done this but I think it would work. Cut the heat shrink off next time you need to get a wrench on it.
Dont know what "silicone seal" is....RTV? Silicone Caulk?

bhigdog · May 6, 2018

Every time that happens replace the line with Nicopp or stainless lines. End of that problem.......Bob

adama · May 6, 2018

Chuck the steel lines in the scrap hopper, fit copper - nickle tubing with brass nuts and slather in your favourite rust prevention goop oh and run silicone break fluid, it will be a decade before you have to look at it again if you do it right the first time. Oh yeah replace all the rubber brake lines with decent brand braided ones, not for the performance gains, but so there not rlying on chinese rubber tubing. because trust me brake's are not something worth saving £30 on!

Brass nuts and cuopronickle (SP) tubing is so cheap these days and labour so expensive i can't even begin to imagine why anyone would fit steel ever.

Hodge · May 6, 2018

Out of curiosity, are you hitting it with a penetrating oil beforehand. Then use a line wrench and lightly work back and forth before breaking loose. I'm assuming you may be dealing with a salt build up on the under carriage?

ewlsey · May 6, 2018

Yeah, the Ni-Copp stuff is great.

You can try some liquid electrical tape. I've seen guys use it to coat bleeder nipples to keep them from rusting solid. I've never done it personally. I use anti-sieze like you.

You can sometimes free them up with heat, but it doesn't work that well. I just figure on replacing the lines.

CarlBoyd · May 6, 2018

moonlight machine said:
Every time I have to remove some part of a hydraulic brake system the tube nuts are rusted to the line never to free up, only to break the hard line after you try to free them up. I have put never seize between the tube nut and line to no good result. I am thinking of trying silicone seal. That should keep the water and dirt out and should free up instantly when you put a wrench to it. what do you think?

I had that problem when I lived in Minnesota, no longer an issue.

CarlBoyd

moonlight machine · May 6, 2018

CarlBoyd said:
I had that problem when I lived in Minnesota, no longer an issue.

CarlBoyd

I had that problem in Minnesota as well.....Then it followed me to Ohio.

DDoug · May 6, 2018

I have tried in vain to finesse the nut off, without twisting
off the tube. Carefully working it back and forth, various
lubricants, etc.

Even resorting to heat.

Face it, the tube is toast, diagonal cutters to snip off
the tube close, and then use a 6 point socket on the nut.

Buy a double flaring kit and a roll of tubing, along with
an assortment of nuts.

Bobw · May 6, 2018

What is this "Rust" thing you speak of???

My '98 Dodge still has paint on the frame, and the factory exhaust. (minus the inside of the Cat).

I'm just rubbing salt in the wounds... I'm a Massoftwoshits native, and I am VERY familiar with the rust.

I don't know anything of the new stuff, others apparently do.. But how often do you have to touch your
brake lines? Every 10years? Just put new ones on.

DDoug · May 6, 2018

Bobw said:
What is this "Rust" thing you speak of???

My '98 Dodge still has paint on the frame, and the factory exhaust. (minus the inside of the Cat).

I'm just rubbing salt in the wounds... I'm a Massoftwoshits native, and I am VERY familiar with the rust.

I don't know anything of the new stuff, others apparently do.. But how often do you have to touch your
brake lines? Every 10years? Just put new ones on.

Yeah Yeah Yeah..... :toetap:

If you got the kind of snow & ice we get, with those hills....you'd be toast..... :skep:

10 years ? surely you jest.

3 years. and I don't try to "patch in" a piece with compression fittings.

Take a roll of the brake line, slid a new nut on, flare the end.
Tape the nut to the end, and cover the end.
Starting at the front grill, feed the line in, along the frame, all the way
to the back (tape keeps dirt from line, and nut from sliding to the front)
Make your connection in the back, come back up to the MS, trim line to size,
apply another new nut, flare the end (under the car this time, a wee bit tougher to do) and make the connection to the MS.

BTW those leetle rubber caps to fit the bleeders work well to keep them from
rusting solid (and snapping off), I have tried all sorts of things including
packing full of never seize etc. nothing works as well, the auto parts stores sell them.

ewlsey · May 6, 2018

Bobw said:
But how often do you have to touch your
brake lines? Every 10years? Just put new ones on.

Depends on the rig. Where I used to have tons of brake line issues was grain trucks with juice brakes and cheater axles. The cheater axles had disk brakes and hard lines right to the calipers. Every time you did the brakes, you had to pull the hard line off the caliper. That basically meant new brake lines back to the T every time. No hoses with banjo fittings.

Basically the same thing for rear axles with leaking wheel cylinders, which is pretty much all of them on those old trucks.

Luckily, most of those juice brake medium duty trucks have hit the crusher. Air brakes are so much easier :cloud9:

Chip Chester · May 6, 2018

APD said:
How about slipping a piece of heat shrink tubing on before assembly?
Assemble, coat with grease or anti sieze, then heat shrink it.
Ive never actually done this but I think it would work. Cut the heat shrink off next time you need to get a wrench on it.
Dont know what "silicone seal" is....RTV? Silicone Caulk?

Never tried it either, but if you do the heat shrink thing, get the 'marine type' that has adhesive inside. That will help your seal...

mmarquette · May 6, 2018

I coat all my brake lines with a spray wax. Kimball Lawson and others have it. I let it soak down in fittings and spray the line too. Then hit all the trans power steering lines. Great for electrical connections . sokes down the strands of wire before it sets up. Battery connection after I tighten them down. Work on alot of electric lift and have no more corrosion problems after I started using it. Some times you need to give it couple coats but its easier than brushing anything on. Better than spray grease since it sets up and doesn't wash off.

Greenwud · May 8, 2018

Lanolin- the hard boat rigging grade.

No issues ever

DDoug · May 8, 2018

Greenwud said:
Lanolin- the hard boat rigging grade.

No issues ever

Uhm....How much snow do y'all get in New Zealand ?

And how much salt do you apply to the roads ?

And do you mix it with "aggregate" (not sand, more like kitty litter)
with the salt ?

And recently, do you apply a nasty "Surfacant" to help the salt work ?
(and rust your vehicle much faster)

jmead · May 8, 2018

digger doug said:
Uhm....How much snow do y'all get in New Zealand ?

And how much salt do you apply to the roads ?

And do you mix it with "aggregate" (not sand, more like kitty litter)
with the salt ?

And recently, do you apply a nasty "Surfacant" to help the salt work ?
(and rust your vehicle much faster)

There’s a product called Fluidfilm A, a lanolin based metal lube. Very common stock on tugs for cable lube on the towlines. That’s a critical component at sea, I’ve been through pallets of it over the years. Also common as wire rope and drive chain lube on cranes.
So yeah it will wear off eventually but it’s job is sticking to a cable being drug through the North Pacific all year, what wouldn’t.

Miguels244 · May 9, 2018

Any time anti seize is used the joint should be brought into and out of finger tight to work it in to the surfaces.
I have also lightly torched the fittings to help the AS work in.
In this case, after assembly, spray, wipe or brush your favorite version of cosmoline on the finished fitting.

The first tip comes from me and RD chemistry up around 1000f in nasty atmospheres.
The second from my cousin who is a truck mechanic in Alaska.

DDoug · May 9, 2018

jmead said:
There’s a product called Fluidfilm A, a lanolin based metal lube. Very common stock on tugs for cable lube on the towlines. That’s a critical component at sea, I’ve been through pallets of it over the years. Also common as wire rope and drive chain lube on cranes.
So yeah it will wear off eventually but it’s job is sticking to a cable being drug through the North Pacific all year, what wouldn’t.

There is ?

simply amazing.

Why not peruse the archives at what I have written concerning rust prevention, recipes, and Fluid film.

And FWIW Dunking in the "North Sea" is not the same as driving down roads in
the "Northeast U.S.A.".

jmead · May 9, 2018

digger doug said:
There is ?

simply amazing.

Why not peruse the archives at what I have written concerning rust prevention, recipes, and Fluid film.

And FWIW Dunking in the "North Sea" is not the same as driving down roads in
the "Northeast U.S.A.".

I do check the archives when I have a question, in this case I don’t. Nothing personal I trust you have your own experiences and I don’t drive in the NE.

What you call “dunking” we call “catenary” and it runs pretty deep, 24/7.
There might be a 10000 ton barge at the other end of the string, and neither it nor the ocean approve of the situation. IOW ocean towlines lead a pretty tough life, but true, it’s not the same.

OT tube nuts rusted to the brake line

Diamond

Stainless

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Hot Rolled

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Cast Iron

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