# removing a rusted nut on brake line



## reznik (Nov 12, 2009)

First things first, the truck I have is a lemon. It's a 94 Nissan D21 XE V6 4x4 hard body pickup. The frame, and everything else beneath it's beautiful body, is rusted through and through.

Now to my problem. My brake light came on a few days ago and just yesterday, on my way to work alllll the way up to Mt. Mitchell State Park, NC, I started leaking brake fluid. While I was at work, I found where it was leaking on the brake line but one of the nuts is "fused" onto the frame with rust. I sprayed it with WD40 and tried, awkwardly, to untighten it. To no avail. I damn near stripped the thing, to be honest. Is there any tool that would be aptly suited for removing this rusted nut so that I can put on the new brake line? The other nut came off with no problem.

It was a sketchy ride down the mountain, all 6674 feet of it, and I really want to get it back in working order. The truck's just sitting in my yard right now. Please help, guys, because I don't think any mechanic will work on truck that they would deem a liability. If you catch my drift.

- reznik.


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## zbb689 (Nov 10, 2009)

I think you're going to have to step up your rust-killing game with this one. You could try some penetrating oil or coat the bolt in hydrogen peroxide, let it bubble up then go to work. Either one of those should work.


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## white toy (Feb 5, 2009)

PB Blaster works great just spray it let it set a while then do the same thing again. Use flare nut wrenches if you have them on brake lines.


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## tkisling (Oct 27, 2008)

Use a vice grips and a propane/butane torch to heat it up first. It's worked for me.


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## reznik (Nov 12, 2009)

Alot of great suggestions, guys, thanks. Just curious though, will I have to rinse and clean the area before using the torch? There is still WD40 on there. Would that ignite? Thanks again.


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## zanegrey (Dec 5, 2005)

it might catch fire if you lit it right after u sprayed it but if it has sat overnite u should be ok w/o have to clean it off...


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## tinworm (Aug 20, 2009)

what are you using to loosen the fitting? if its not a line wrench AKA Flare/nut wrench, id get one for this job. 

If its too late, the suggested nice heavy set of vice grips and a torch is the next thing id try. 

If that does not work, is this a junction its threaded into? or something else? Can you bypass it with a union? Unions may be illegal in your state, they certainly are where I am, but that might also work.


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## Grug (Aug 20, 2009)

Hey rezink. Whereabouts is this nut you're talking about? Is the nut holding a bracket which holds the brake line? Front? Rear?

Vise-grips and WD-40 are definitely (in my experience) the way to go. Now, since you're gonna' have the system open start spraying the bleeder nipples on each brake cylinder with WD-40 as they're gonna' have to turn to bleed the system.

And as far as a lemon with brake issues goes..."If you're going through Hell...keep going!" (Winston Churchill)


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## gpieon (Jun 10, 2008)

Just went through this exercise with my 2005 X-Trail LE. Lot's of PB blaster and patience. First I thoroughly cleaned the area with a small wire brush. WD-40 is kerosene based and WILL burn. You have to remove as much of the rust off the threads as you can. use a torch and gently heat the union. hit it with some PB blaster or equivalent rust buster. Spend the bucks and get the correct flare nut wrench, unless this nut/union is expendable. It took me three days of heating, spraying and trying. ( I have a day job, so it wasn't 8 hours every day) It's important you try and heat the union the most, not the nut. Once I had PB bluster bubbling up from the threads, I was done. On one nut I tightened a little first, then loosened. Once it loosens, be careful. work it back and forth gently, keep spraying. The nut may have rusted to the steel line also, unless it was coated. Those flare nuts are pretty soft, so you must be patient. Some tapping from a spanner or small hammer will help. When it comes off, it may look like the threads are pretty dry, but some PB did get in.

Good luck. It can be frustrating.


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## reznik (Nov 12, 2009)

Well, things didn't go exactly as planned. No matter how much I tried, with PB Blaster and everything, that nut refused to come off. So, much to my dismay, I took off the brake hose that it connects to and ordered a new one. Now my problem is that the banjo bolt one the old brake hose broke in half. So now I need to find a new one. I decided to just look for a new one (in case you were wondering) because I figure it will be cheaper than buying something that will remove a broken bolt (bolt out, etc). I just posted a new topic/thread on that, but does anyone happen to know where I can find one to buy? Thanks again though, you guys really did come to my aid and I truly appreciate it.


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## zanegrey (Dec 5, 2005)

this is" scraped knuckles" on the badd ass scale...


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