Temporary Defeat

"NinetyQ" (NinetyQ)
10/17/2013 at 23:07 • Filed to: A90Q20V

After being defeated by the rusty/intensely stuck bolts on both rear calipers, I bled the brakes, put the Audi back together, and had to take it to my in-law's barn for very temporary storage since my mom needs the space for a party she's having on Saturday. Looks like I'll probably have to detach the brake line on the rear calipers further up and probably replace the line itself plus the calipers. (Problem pictured in the second image)

So when the oppo+ party in Illinois this weekend was first planned, I was hoping to take the Buick. Then that was sidelined by general unreliability, but the Audi was making progress quickly, so I hoped for that. But it looks like it will probably take me another week or two to get it mostly sorted to where I'd feel comfortable driving it long distances. So the barn is home to the losers who can't make it beyond county lines. May they both escape the clutches of unreliability soon.

DISCUSSION (23)

Ramblin Rover - The Vivisector of Solihull > NinetyQ
10/17/2013 at 20:58

Time to sneak down to a rail yard in the dead of night with ramps and hitch a ride with one or both in the direction you're going.

Joey Quinn > NinetyQ
10/17/2013 at 23:21

Hey, I'm new here, where in Illinois is the oppo party? I assume an S2000 would be welcome.

Raphael Orlove > NinetyQ
10/17/2013 at 23:32

dang dude, keep at it I'm sure you'll figure it out. Either way, the cars still look great!

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > NinetyQ
10/17/2013 at 23:43

I think you should make friends with someone who has a pneumatic impact wrench. Still looking good though.

NinetyQ > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
10/17/2013 at 23:47

Just out of curiosity, how exactly would you fit an impact wrench onto a nut like that? :P

My cousin has an impact wrench, and I do often do a lot of work on this car at his shop, but I'm not hopeful for that particular tool coming in handy here. He might have something else though. The man is brilliant. I can only hope.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > NinetyQ
10/17/2013 at 23:50

You'd use an extension with a swivel and come at it from an angle.

NinetyQ > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
10/17/2013 at 23:53

I'm still not seeing how I would get on it with a brake line going through it...

NinetyQ > Raphael Orlove
10/18/2013 at 00:01

Thanks, Raph! I'm sure I'll post back with updates when I get another chance to work on it sometime next week.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > NinetyQ
10/18/2013 at 00:11

Hard to tell from this angle how close the brake like is, maybe a short socket can fit. You will probably have to remove the brake like of find someway to get more leverage on the wrench.

GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo > NinetyQ
10/18/2013 at 00:12

Brakes can be a real pain in the arse. When I was putting new pads and rotors this July my uncle and I had a really hard time getting the float pins out to re-grease them. Turns out some rust had formed and we contemplated replacing them but the local store didn't have any for my particular car so we cleaned off the rust, put them back in, and crossed our fingers. Then the replacement rotors caused my rear driver's side wheel to stick and lock, so that had to get grinded down, what should have been a 3-4 hour job took a whole week (mostly figuring out what the hell was causing the wheel to lock up).

Good luck!

NinetyQ > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
10/18/2013 at 00:15

The bolt that I'm having trouble getting off (and which is rounding off) is the one on the brake line, not one of them holding the caliper onto the hub. You can see it on the caliper end of the stainless brake line. It absolutely refuses to budge. Other side too.

NinetyQ > GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo
10/18/2013 at 00:19

Thanks! Sounds like you had quite a time with your brakes. I'm hoping mine go more smoothly once I figure out what to do about that one nut on the brake line at the caliper.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > NinetyQ
10/18/2013 at 00:20

Oh shit that one, oops sorry. Hmm I'd try a flare nut wrench and a 4 pound hammer.

NinetyQ > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
10/18/2013 at 00:25

That's pretty close to what I did! I had a flare nut wrench that didn't fit very well, so I tried an open end wrench that fit quite snugly. Pounded the end of the wrench with a smallish hammer to make sure it was on as good as I could get it, then tapped the wrench with the hammer kind of like a manual impact wrench. Eventually, the wrench either popped off or turned off, further rounding the corners. I still have a barely passable edge, but I'm not sure it'll be enough to get it off. I might have to disconnect the other end of it and throw the brake line out with the caliper.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > NinetyQ
10/18/2013 at 00:28

Have you tried heating the nut? If you have to take the caliper you could probably drill the nut out with a left hand drill bit and save the caliper.

GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo > NinetyQ
10/18/2013 at 00:31

Looks like you've already tried WD40...and you probably have also tried hitting a wrench with a hammer, so I'm fresh out of ideas. Best of luck, fellow opponaut!

NinetyQ > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
10/18/2013 at 00:37

I'm replacing the calipers on both sides with reman'd units and sending the old ones back as cores. Do you think they'd give me much trouble for leaving the brake line on?

I thought about heating it, but thought that was probably not wise with the brake line being attached right there. I might try it though once the caliper is removed and the other end of the brake line detached if that's what I end up having to do.

The other thing I considered is putting the caliper in a vice, welding a cheap wrench or something onto it, and then spinning it off.

Either way, it looks like I'm getting a new brake line, and I haven't found the part yet. :/

NinetyQ > Joey Quinn
10/18/2013 at 00:44

It would definitely be welcome. The problem is, it's kind of an oppo+ get-together (old Jalopnik commenters who migrated to Google+), and it's being hosted by one couple, so I'm not sure I'm at liberty to invite anyone who isn't already invited. Most of us have "known" each other on the Internet for years. But hey, if you want to be added to our Google+ Jalopnik circles, I can share mine with you, and you can add all ~270 Jalopnik people I have at once. My profile is here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/1109161993…

Raphael Orlove > NinetyQ
10/18/2013 at 00:46

please do - I'm more than a little in love with that Buick

NinetyQ > Raphael Orlove
10/18/2013 at 00:50

There's still an open offer for you to come out and test drive it sometime. You should have been there to watch me try to maneuver that car over a bit inside the barn. It's huge, I can't see the corners, and there's no power steering. Still, it's always entertaining.

Joey Quinn > NinetyQ
10/18/2013 at 01:11

Thanks, didn't realize it was that kind of get together. Thought it was like an oppo cars and coffee. Do those ever happen?

NinetyQ > Joey Quinn
10/18/2013 at 01:21

We're such a geographically diverse group that it's hard to coordinate, but things like that do occasionally happen. Sometimes people plan to meet at major car shows, races, or things like that.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > NinetyQ
10/18/2013 at 04:22

Bugger. To be honest, I'd scrap the hose, soak it in WD40 (or the equivalent) and get some mole grips onto it.

Plus, if you drain it of fluid you can get some heat on there to free it up.