Induction heating brake line fitting removal - GIF

Induction heating brake line fitting removal.

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Previously:

https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...983#post226749
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...792#post190531
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...014#post217601
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...842#post190714
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...408#post208620

That is the bleeder valve, heating it is a real good way to twist it off, if doing it while hot or making it too hot. Better to heat it only to 400f then spray a good penetrating solution on it while still at temperature, this will preserve the temper as well as help to break the corrosion (rust) bond.

Like Frank S said, heat it and shock it...

Yep, heating makes it expand making it tighter in the hole. Got to cool it, then take it out.

But I do wonder what is in the business end of that heater.

It looked to me like the coil was putting most of the heat into the threaded boss of the casting.

I'm not sure of the difference in expansion rate of cast iron vs. the steel bleeder, but the difference in mass should make the boss expand more than the fitting. Then it comes loose.

Us poor mechanics without induction heaters just use a torch...

I think you guys are right. To much heat or twisting to soon wod just peel the fitting off in two pieces. 400° sounds about right not to boil the fluid or to pull temper out of the fitting. Penatrating oil... a must. But here we don't see it that thou. Hum...

I would juet replace the whole rusty caliper.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by olmike

I would juet replace the whole rusty caliper.

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The trouble with replacing, unless you get NEW ones, you have only a 50/50 chance of getting a GOOD caliper. I will NEVER again replace a caliper with rebuilt unless I absolutely HAVE to. I used to but always had trouble after replacing calipers. Turned out the rebuilt calipers were junk. You give your good, maybe dirty, calipers back as cores and get a shiny on the outside piece of crap on the inside back as a rebuilt one. Since I had so much trouble I started investigating. I got rebuilt caliper so bad that the pistons would not even budge with the 150 psi in my shop compressor. Yes I know, brake pressure is much higher than that. Keep in mind, if you cannot move the pistons with air, they will they will continue to rub your rotors when you let off the brake. Try it next time you have one off. Put a board between the pistons to keep them from blowing all the way out. Keep adding air pressure See when they start to move. If one starts to move at 20 psi, and the others don't not move till much higher, you have a bad caliper that will ruin your brake pads. If you use unbalanced calipers, one side will brake harder than the other.

If I have to get rebuilt, I take the pistons out and check to be sure they are not pitted to cause problems down the road. The one I got that would not move, I got apart with a grease gun, and grease fitting in the bleeder hole, until the piston came out. The piston was pitted. The pits filled with some kind of stuff, like bondo only green. I was not happy when I took that back to NAPA.

You can buy NEW seals, pistons if necessary, to rebuild your own for cheaper than rebuild and you KNOW what you have when you are done. It is rare you need to replace the pistons.

So true I have had the same issue with rebuilt. Junk...

It's a good trick, thanks for sharing. I replaced a brake line on one of my son's friends F-150 in the woods once and couldn't get the bleeder out for anything. (Kroil, PB Blaster, 6-point socket). I drove it out to the mechanic on a super spongy pedal and the e-brake. I never thought to try heating it. In hindsight maybe I should have.

<blockquote>The trouble with replacing, unless you get NEW ones, you have only a 50/50 chance of getting a GOOD caliper.</blockquote>
Yep. I just replaced an aftermarket front-calipers on an f-250 diesel where the phenolic piston in the caliper broke in half. Weird.

Also weird is that Ford was still using unsealed greasable bearings that have to be serviced to remove the brake rotor in trucks as late as 2008. I was surprised to see that. On the plus side, "can't be driven, brakes are bad" let me get the truck for an absolute song. :)