Clutch hard line - Slave to MC - Help! (1 Viewer)

[bsang]

Looking for some insight from you FJ gurus.

After very quickly losing clutch pedal pressure from one day to the next, and noticing a good leak inside the cabin, I bought a new AISIN master cylinder and slave unit as well as an OEM slave soft line replacement.
Went to town yesterday and got everything done pretty easily considering a lot of this hadn't been touched in 35 years.

Right up until it came time to reconnect the hard line to the soft line. I have tried everything but cannot get it in far enough to reach the treads. I pulled it out and tried the old one again and had the same amount of difficulty. It won't go in.

The clutch line, although looks older, might be a replacement as it looks different than the brake lines that run with it.

Are there any tricks to get it in?

 

[gbogh]

If the threads are damaged enough, the line nut/fitting is toast. If that is the case, you can:
A) Find another line nut, cut the tubing, and make a new flare (somewhat involved repair & you will want to buy some specialty tools)
B) Purchase a new clutch hard line (prefferably OEM if they are available)
If you are just having trouble lining things up, undo the retaining clip so you can move the soft line around. Clean the threads with a soft wire brush. A drop of brake fluid will help lubricate threads and you could put a little on the face of the flare too. The fitting/line nut needs to be at the end of the line against the flare.
HTH

 

[SteveH]

On my '98 4Runner, that hard line fitting had been so overtightened (at the factory) that it belled out the OD of the fitting, and wouldn't clear the ID of the soft line fitting. All those parts are soft and prone to distortion if overtightened. Mine was grossly too tight.

I had to carefully grind down the exterior of the fitting (which is not where the sealing takes place) to get it to clear the soft line fitting inner diameter. A Toyota tech buddy of mine said this is not unheard of.

This is a marginal explanation, but study all the pieces, you might see interference long before the threads connect, and that's why you cannot get the threads started.

 

[60Works]

Bend the tab on the firewall up or remove the C-clip from the flex line so it passes through the tab to greet the hard line. If you can reinstall the C-clip after tightening the B-nut, do so.

That B-nut looks toasted. If you get it tight you may never get it loose again. The solution is to replace the line so you've little to lose.

 

[60Works]

On my '98 4Runner, that hard line fitting had been so overtightened (at the factory) that it belled out the OD of the fitting, and wouldn't clear the ID of the soft line fitting. All those parts are soft and prone to distortion if overtightened. Mine was grossly too tight.

This fitting has been over torqued on every 60 I've ever worked on.

 

[bsang]

Thanks for the help guys.

SteveH- The nut was definitely overtightened and I have a feeling it has flared out causing internal interference as you've stated. Grinding is going to suck with it still in the car, what did you use to grind the area?

To my knowledge the hardline is NLA. What are you guys using as a replacement if I decide to go that route?

 

[NCFJ]

The beauty of the over tightened lines is that the bell of the flare often expands larger than the 10mm threads. So when you loosen the tube nut it drags the bell across the threads of the hose and creams everything. Buy or make yourself a new hard line and save yourself a huge hassle. Looking at your photo, I think maybe your flare is enlarged and will not clear the new hose end threads. This is just a guess, your results may vary

 

[bsang]

NCFJ- Sounds about right. I haven't made hard lines before, but I am up for the challenge.

Any insight on this would be great.

 

[FJACS]

You can buy lengths of line made up with the fittings already on. Pull yours off and go to an auto parts store and see what they have. I doubt you’ll find one the perfect length, buy a bit bigger and put a few extra bends in it to use up the added length.

 

[Skeet]

3/16 copper nickel brake line is much easier to work with than the prefab lines from the parts store. I bought a 12” prefab line from the parts store just to get the 2 metric fittings. You’ll need a double flare kit, the line, cutter and the 2 metric fittings.

Measure the length of the old line. Cut a copper-nickel piece 6” longer to accommodate for slightly different bends. Slide one fitting on. Double flare one end. Make the first few bends and attach to master cylinder. You can bend the rest by hand as you go. You’ll have to remove the air cleaner and valve cover to get to two of the line clamps. Clamp it down as you go to hold it in place. When you get to the last few bends, measure the remaining distance to the soft line connector and cut the line with about an extra half inch. Place fitting. Double flare. Screw on soft line. Secure with U-clip.

 

[Spike Strip]

Both SOR and JT outfitters sell a Stainless Steel Braided replacement line. Way easier than making your own hard line if you don't have the tools - There's also a learning curve to making a double-flare that won't leak.

And you may want to buy a 10mm line wrench so you don't bugger the nut.

 

[cps432]

I just dealt with this problem on one of my brake lines. I took the fitting and used sand paper around it to get it to fit. It wasn’t fun, but it worked. Now I’m starting to wonder if perhaps that fitting got split or damaged in some way and that’s what allowed for the eventual leaking... hmmm... the world may never know.

 

[davegonz]

I made a new clutch line for my 1HZ swap (clutch slave is on the opposite side) using the pre-made 3/16 Nicopp tubing assemblies from Advance Auto. They come with M10x1.0 fittings and you can get different lengths. Easy to bend too.

Poly-Armour Japanese PVF Steel Brake Line 3/16" x 30" Part # PAJ-330
Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

 

[bsang]

I bought a 5 ft line with fittings from O reilys but it wasn't long enough. I also bought a cheap flaring tool and attempted to reflare the original line. As stated above it takes some practice to get right. After 3 attempts the cheap flaring tool wouldn't make a nice flare and it bent. I'm worried now I've cut too much off.

I just ordered a lot of copper nickel line, and a quality flare kit. I'm going to practice with it and hope to salvage the original line, otherwise I will be using the copper nickel line as a replacement.

Thanks for the help!

 

[gbogh]

Couple little tips to get your flares looking cleaner.
-Use a tubing cutter to make a clean, 90° cut
-Clean cut tube with a chamfer/deburring tool
-Lubricate face of die/anvil when flaring

Get some extra line to practice on. Also, the saying "you get when you pay for" when buying a flaring tool stays true.

HTH

 

[bsang]

You said it! after a couple practice rounds, the $100 flaring kit was much more accurate than the $20 one. I ended up replacing the stock line with the copper nickel and everything seems to be leak free thus far. Although not a fun or quick job, I've definitely dealt with worse.

Thanks for the help guys.