Hey guys, Pretty much stuck trying to replace a AHC line on the rear passenger side, Drowned everything in WD40 for about a week and cracked loose the 10mm bleeder, Haven't drained it yet just want to crack everything lose first, The 17mm I tried to crack loose with a flare wrench, Nothing so I'm pretty sure cutting it and putting a hardened 6 point socket over it is the best approach. However I dropped the spare out, Removed the back half of the exhaust and where I'm royally stuck is on the 2 12mm's holding the line on the dampener, I can't see any safe/feasible way to remove them, Can't find any videos but followed this thread here 04 LX470 Rear AHC Cushion, Bushing, and O-Ring Replacement - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/04-lx470-rear-ahc-cushion-bushing-and-o-ring-replacement.1303364/ and maybe 1-2 more where a flex head wrench was mentioned working in very small increments but as others said with the amount of rust there was no way, I already tried cracking the first one loose, Can't fit a socket/ratchet, Flex head not happening it's on there like a lug nut, Flare wrench too much wiggle so i stopped super high risk of rounding it off good luck after that, If that's the one I can get to the 2nd one is out of the question. My opinion is that cutting an access hole is gonna be the best/safest option but I wanna make sure i'm not missing anything or if I can avoid it if at all possible, 07 LX470 with 160k. Any tips or tricks are appreciated, Thanks.
AHC Line rotted out (Rear Passenger), Best way to remove 2x 12mm?
- Thread starter Broken470
- Start date
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I did a few rusty ones like that, first you need a lift, i wont' even try to do this on the ground, 2nd you need to use a torch to heat up those 12mm bolts and then use a flex wrench with a socket to get them out. Very slow process. At this point i'd just remove AHC if the line look like that, others will follow soon.
best of luck to you. this is the reason why so many ditch AHC..
- Thread starter
- #5
No access to a lift unfortunately, Yeah I have a torch I'll definitely heat it up, I tried a flex head ratchet, Barely got it on but I think if I grind down a socket just a smidge to knock the height down I can get a decent hold of the first one but I still can't see what tool combination will firmly grab the 2nd one with enough leverage.
I used a 1/4" slim flex head ratchet and regular length socket and i was able to clear it. 3/8" stuff might be too big/long/thick to try and fit in that place.
And a tip is to make sure to use a six sided socket on a six sided bolt. That gives you max contact and torque. Don’t use a twelve point or one that has rounded teeth inside. An impact socket on the flex head is even better if you have a choice.
Use a better penetrating oil than WD-40. I would heat those up and smack them with a hammer to get rid of some of the adhesion and then hit it with a penetrating oil like pb as it cooling. Old timers use a crayon after heat so you’re not just vaporizing solvent.
Use a better penetrating oil than WD-40. I would heat those up and smack them with a hammer to get rid of some of the adhesion and then hit it with a penetrating oil like pb as it cooling. Old timers use a crayon after heat so you’re not just vaporizing solvent.
I used a bolt buster induction heater to break mine loose. Just make sure to open the bleeder before heating it up as the fluid and gasses will likely expand with heat. I did this for both the bolts on top of the shock tower too. That induction heater has been a great purchase.
- Thread starter
- #9
Huge thanks for the tips guys, 6 Sided sockets definitely at play and good call on draining it before heating it with the torch, Fluid kept coming out trying to get the big end off even after emptying it.
1/4" Ratchet is for sure the only way, Broke 2 in the process. Found my old snap on and got the first one off then remembered the 2nd one is the real challenge, Socket couldn't get low enough onto the bolt with the line holding the ratchet up too high so I cut it and eventually got it off as well as the 17mm end with a solid wrench/socket from a serpentine belt tool kit from HF, Heated/Hammered maybe 4 - 5 times before it cracked loose it was on there solid, Next hell after getting the bolt supporting the line off is the harness attached to the bracket, Just plastic + rust no big deal, Give me 30 minutes with a flat head to twist and expand the clip open but have no way to pull it because I'm on the ground can't fit another hand, I believe what i did was flip it over otherwise the plastic clip is facing up.
Installed a new bleeder/cap then went through absolute hell trying to get the new line on, Plenty of masking tape around both ends to protect them through the adventure but eventually squeezed it through kinda going over the mid muffler at an angle and whatnot.
Now to get those 2 new 12mm bolts on, First one no worries, 2nd one, Well it's the new line now so I can't cut it (duh) so a flex head ratcheting box wrench through the wheel well over the frame rail ended up working, 1 Click at a time and having to go back & forth to seat it down onto the bolt to make sure I'm not rounding it off, No help and on the ground so that part took minimum 20 minutes.
Flare 17mm on the other end tight but not godzilla tight then 2 cycles of filling the AHC reservoir and draining it to get any air out, Blasted it off with brake cleaner and at first the bleeder looked a little wet around the threads, I read I should back it out and tighten a couple times to get a good seal but all I did was tighten it a bit more and so far so good 2 weeks later.
Overall it's a 10/10 on the Punch Through Drywall scale and wouldn't do it again, Thanks again i'll post a seperate thread with parts/tool list when i get a chance incase it could help someone else even though as everyone says if it looks this bad just delete it, Other 3 will leave you stranded 3 more times who knows when or where and there's still a dozen more places for it to piss from so why bother.
1/4" Ratchet is for sure the only way, Broke 2 in the process. Found my old snap on and got the first one off then remembered the 2nd one is the real challenge, Socket couldn't get low enough onto the bolt with the line holding the ratchet up too high so I cut it and eventually got it off as well as the 17mm end with a solid wrench/socket from a serpentine belt tool kit from HF, Heated/Hammered maybe 4 - 5 times before it cracked loose it was on there solid, Next hell after getting the bolt supporting the line off is the harness attached to the bracket, Just plastic + rust no big deal, Give me 30 minutes with a flat head to twist and expand the clip open but have no way to pull it because I'm on the ground can't fit another hand, I believe what i did was flip it over otherwise the plastic clip is facing up.
Installed a new bleeder/cap then went through absolute hell trying to get the new line on, Plenty of masking tape around both ends to protect them through the adventure but eventually squeezed it through kinda going over the mid muffler at an angle and whatnot.
Now to get those 2 new 12mm bolts on, First one no worries, 2nd one, Well it's the new line now so I can't cut it (duh) so a flex head ratcheting box wrench through the wheel well over the frame rail ended up working, 1 Click at a time and having to go back & forth to seat it down onto the bolt to make sure I'm not rounding it off, No help and on the ground so that part took minimum 20 minutes.
Flare 17mm on the other end tight but not godzilla tight then 2 cycles of filling the AHC reservoir and draining it to get any air out, Blasted it off with brake cleaner and at first the bleeder looked a little wet around the threads, I read I should back it out and tighten a couple times to get a good seal but all I did was tighten it a bit more and so far so good 2 weeks later.
Overall it's a 10/10 on the Punch Through Drywall scale and wouldn't do it again, Thanks again i'll post a seperate thread with parts/tool list when i get a chance incase it could help someone else even though as everyone says if it looks this bad just delete it, Other 3 will leave you stranded 3 more times who knows when or where and there's still a dozen more places for it to piss from so why bother.
Good job. Now clean it all up with some degreaser and spray the s*** out of it with some fluid film…
