Bargain Basement Motoring

[mickthemaverick]

Old favourites number 1,

hammer on an undersized 11mm socket to the 12mm bolt head for which a 12mm socket is too loose.

Regards Neil

A trifle cringe worthy that Neil!! Either your 12mm socket is split or you have a 7/16 AF bolt I would have thought? As the car is Nissan and therefore unlikely to have AF nuts, I'd say in view of your hammering on technique I'd go for the 12mm socket having been hammered on a 1/2 AF bolt in the past causing a hairline crack in it and thus making it loose on a 12mm nut!

[RichardW]

Just rusted I would imagine, making it 11.5mm or something!

I came across a tip the other day that if you press and hold the brake pedal before breaking into the brake circuit this blocks off the ports in the master cyl and prevents the fluid running out.

[NewcastleFalcon]

I'd say in view of your hammering on technique I'd go for the 12mm socket having been hammered on a 1/2 AF bolt in the past causing a hairline crack in it and thus making it loose on a 12mm nut!

Could have been, but no, even a 12 mm hex brake spanner which will never have received such treatment was loose on the head, all down to the dreaded corrosion.

REgards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

Work to the DDAF rule Neil (Don't do anything fast.)

[NewcastleFalcon]

Work to the DDAF rule Neil (Don't do anything fast.)

Just been out again for a brief 5 minutes, surveying the scene, and planning the next move. Took the soldering iron out, sprayed a bit more stuff on the union, tried a few of the hex brake spanners 11 mm is a fit, but not as tight as I would like and might well undo a newly made union, but I'm assessing will not have a chance of undoing a 17 year old one.

The small mole grips may have to get an outing. So much more pain if the undoing doesn't work

I have use of a brake pipe flaring kit. The brake pipe is of steel and an original fitment, and follows an easy access route from the wheel arch to the ABS block in one unbroken length. Steel is a bit hard to make a decent flare with the kit I have got so should butchery be required, that pipe from the ABS block to the wheel arch/ flexible hose joint would need replacing.

Well that's the survey done. Time for a cup of tea.

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Some live action and the union I discover was 11, probably now 10.5 because the 11 hex brake spanner isn't anywhere near being able to undo the union, and the 10 hex brake spanner is unbasheronable.

So I am left with the mole grips and very little room to work in and to date a frustratingly futile task.

I am putting off destruction, but I think its rapidly becoming the only option, with the consequent renewal of the pipe between wheel arch and ABS unit.

Havent enough brake pipe left, and dont have the correct larger end where it goes into the old unit. Could use the one off the pipe I remove but I am hoping that the transaction at the ABS unit end will be an old pipe out new pipe in in a matter of seconds rather than a faff about recovering the fitting and making an end for the new pipe before replacing it.

Thought somehow the job would go like this...

One seized union

The ABS end of the pipe

REgards Neil

[myglaren]

I think that I would be taking a file to a 10 mil spanner.
Or digging among the imperial ones still chucking about.

[mickthemaverick]

I'd be going for the gas torch!!

[NewcastleFalcon]

Gas torch is not something I have.

So a change of strategy to ponder. A picture to assist...for another day...I also discover that the ends at the ABS end are just "normal" which is a good thing

Inevitable now

REgards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

Well worth having and cheap as chips:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274325683955 ... SwOWhh4axg

[NewcastleFalcon]

Well worth having and cheap as chips:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274325683955 ... SwOWhh4axg

I discover we do have one, but rejected going and buying gas for it, thought it would be a waste of time, but I am past that stage now its new pipe new flexi, better solution really than connecting up gnarled rusted connector to new pipe anyway

Reckoned if refill gas cost anything more than a £5 and I have no idea how much it is I was better off fitting a new pipe.

Regards Neil

[myglaren]

I have a similar one and while I don't use it a lot, the refill was approximately £2 and has lasted over five years. Mostly used as a precision weed burner these days.
Torch was about six quid.

[mickthemaverick]

I use mine whenever I want concentrated heat in a confined area. From plumbing to nut releasing and even bbq lighting when I run out of lighters! Very handy bit of kit and I refill it from a cigarette lighter refill tin which was also cheap!!

[NewcastleFalcon]

Seeing as the Pencil torch gets a mention today, this guy did some mods to his and rates them pretty highly. One of them was getting access to the jet which inevitably gets blocked from time to time, and a link up to a big tin of gas.

Probably in the category all you never wanted to know about pencil torches



Regards Neil

[Rp0thejester]

Optical illusion.
Curled up brake hoses in a packet look much shorter than the hose you need. Before opening up the packet, and maybe facing a bit of hassle returning it if it indeed was the wrong length, I measured it with a clothes line, on the car, and in the packet and it appears to be roughly right.

That has got to be the ultimate in Bargain Basement motoring, didn't even use a dress makers/fabric tape, washing line wins!!