Assistance with rear brake line - Resolved

Have you ever started a project thinking to yourself.."this won't take long", "should be fairly simple"???
A couple of months ago I replaced the front brake lines with Wheeler's SS lines. Wasn't that bad of a job.
Yesterday at around 5:15ish I decided to do the rear brake line. Well, at 7:30 all I could think about was Clint Eastwood's line..."A man has to know his limitations." So I walked away from it.
Before starting, I removed the spare tire so I could have some head room. Surprisingly with the spare removed you can get on your knees and have great access to the rear end (I'm 6'2).
It's tighter than a dick's hat trying to get a 10mm flare wrench into the spot in the pics to remove the line.
Anyone done this that may want to share what worked for them??

 

Yes. It’s tight under there. Maybe pull the clip that is holding the brake line. See if that gets you a better angle on the nut. So release the brake line from the bracket. Hold the nut static. Turn/twist from the soft line side. I feel your pain. It took me longer than I will admit.

 

Hmm, I thought the rear line was easier than the front driver side. I used a crowfoot that sockets onto my 3/8" 100-position ratchet, so that gave me some fine-adjustment.

 

That would be a negative for me sir. Round 2 was this afternoon after work. I found a little bit of a better way to get to the 10mm nut but I couldn’t get it to budge. So for now I’m letting the PB Blaster work on it.
If you lived nearby I would gladly buy you a case of your favorite beer to get it off.

 

With that flare wrench braced against the opposite side of the bracket as it is shown in the picture, couldn't you grab the metal crimp on the flexible brake line with some vise grips and loosen it that way? The wrench should prevent the metal line from twisting.

 

I got mine on in about 20 minutes.

 

When we did my rear brake lines installing the OME suspension it was pretty quick and easy from what I can remember. Did you loosen the nut first then remove the clip that holds the brake line in place?

However I know how you feel in general. If it’s the first time you’re doing something to your vehicle, something always comes up. It’s only once you do the same thing a couple times that it goes smooth. A 30 min job can turn into 2 hrs when it comes to working on anything vehicle related.

 

How do you keep the underside of your truck so clean?

 

I took a pair of vice grip pliers and attached to the metal crimp you are referring to so it wouldn't twist/turn. Again, I couldn't get it to break free, and didn't want to damage the nut. That's why I sprayed the hell out of it with PB Blaster.
I'm even starting to doubt myself now in which way I'm turning to loosen. I'm trying to loosen by turning toward the front of the truck.

 

Michael, where are you in Arkansas? I'm at the tip of the Missouri line in Bentonville.

 

Booker I have issues. There is OCD and then there is Extreme OCD...which I am. I would be afraid to post pictures of the rest of the underside and engine because of the crap I'd catch on this site. But I enjoy it. For me it's stress relief.
I'll give you an example of my Extreme OCDness. I have a good friend that lives about three miles off a dirt..I hate to call it dirt, more like clay/rocks. If I go to his house, I drive my wife's car because I don't want the underside getting messed up.

 

I think you misunderstood my comment. I suggested using the flare nut wrench as a hold-back on the flare nut fitting to prevent any damage to the hard brake line while you twist the crimped side with vise grips. For this to work you'd want to have the flare nut wrench on the side of the bracket facing the rear of the truck. It's not the best way to do it because you could damage the flexible line, but it should give you more access to let you see what you're doing, and you're planning on replacing the flexible line anyway.

 

I did mine recently, I think I had the wrench about where you have it and gave it some taps with a 1lb dead blow hammer til it spun free. PITA for a tall person with long arms

 

If you were about 2.5 to 3 hours to the south, I could help. The underside looks like just another AR truck to me.

 

Are you still trying to tighten this nut? Pulling the box wrench to the rear (from the bottom, driver's side) would be to loosen. On the flex rubber brake line, to loosen would be (from the bottom, passenger's side) pushing toward the front (rotating counter-clockwise).

I just noticed this one bit; you doubting yourself in loosening; not sure what you meant by this, so I had to reply, even though it seems pointless.

 

Turn it in the same direction as your arrow is pointing, assuming you're facing it as you were when you took the photo



I don't remember mine being all that difficult but my truck didn't have many miles on it when I did the rear brake line, so it broke loose fairly easily. Try to crack it loose first and then reposition the flare wrench if you can to loosen it more.


When I did my buddies rear brake line on his 2nd gen, that nut was hard as hell to brake loose. We had to hold the other side with a pair of pliers because we were trying so hard to crack it loose that it was twisting the hard line. Spray it down with some kind of rust penetrant spray or PB Blaster and let that sit for a bit first

 

I always like when a member follows up to a problem they have since it can help others.
Letting the PB Blaster soak for a couple of days and coming at the flare nut from multiple angles I was finally able to to remove the brake hose.
These are the lessons I learned. Again, everyone tackles a job differently, and what's easy for one member is a hellavu job for another.....and for me it was a hellavu job!

• Before removing the flare nut(s), soak with PB Blaster, or whatever your poison is for a couple of days in advance. I feel for you guys where they put salt on the roads.
• I removed the spare tire and even the spare tire carrier (just 4 12mm bolts) to have more room.
• For that particular flare nut I wish I had looked into buying a short flare nut wrench. Again, it's a tight fit.
• I always wear the butyl rubber gloves like the blue ones at Harbor Freight. You mix those with brake fluid and everything is super slippery. I highly recommend the textured rubber gloves for this project.

Thanks again guys for all your input.

 

Glad you got it figured out, like I mentioned in my previous post with my buddies 2nd gen we had to quit the first time we attempted to do his because the nut just would not budge. 2nd time we figured out how to get more room in there so that he could hold one side of the line in place so it wouldn't twist, and then I was able to finally crack it loose with enough strength. Those nuts can be a bitch sometimes

 

I usually find myself skimming over threads for information or to provide information. That last sentence had me do a double-take before I realized what was being asked.

 

Lol...yeah now that I read it again I can see where your minds going.