I had a rear that the nut was frozn to the hard line.  I ended up freeing the flex line from the other end first, then loosened the jamb nut a little and finally unscrewed the entire hose from the nut frozen to the hard line. It was a bit tedious as I had to continually loosen the jamb nut as I went.

And much to my surprise when I put the replacement line in it actually sealed.  But again it was a bit tedious to spin on the whole rubber line while continually tightening the jam nut a little at a time but it worked.

Obviously the proper way would have been to replace the hard line but I just didn't want to go there.

MORE TORQUE! (and overnight with more penetrating oil)

Got them off.  One side installed. Just put a pot of sauce on and now back downstairs to get the second one installed.  The right hand side came off WAY easier than the left.  Combination of knowing what I am doing, pentrating oil, and the Mini Gods smiling down at me.

This usually happens when the nut is binding on the tube, either because of corrosion between tube and nut or because the flare on the tube has been squeezed too hard or too often and is jamming inside the nut.

I guess, you´ll have to replace the tube.

If possible, have new tubes made up from kunifer tubing with brass nuts. Kunifer is an alloy from copper, nickel and iron. Is corrosion resistant and a lot easier to work with that steel tubes.

If not possible, order copper tubes:

//www.minimania.com/part/SPB6/Pipe-Proportioning-Valve-To-Right-Rear-Hose

//www.minimania.com/part/SPB24/Brake-Pipe-Proportioning-Valve-To-Left-Rear-Dry-Suspension

Cheers, Diddi

Yup, I am lessening the right things. Getting the right most nut to come loose is very hard without it just spinning and twisting the brake line.  

Just to make sure you're turning the correct parts...

In your picture there are three different places to wench: the left most one is part of the hose fitting and needs to be held steady while you loosen the right most fitting.  The center is a jam nut that tightens against the subframe bracket and hose fitting.  So after you have loosened and backed all the way off the right most nut (which disconnects the hard line from the rubber line), you will then continue to hold the left most nut and loosen the center jamb nut.  Once the jamb nut has been removed you can pull the hose out of the subframe bracket.

Hope that helps.

Image Gallery

I am in the middle of replacing the rear rubber lines with my shiny new steal braded.  My question is how the heck do I get that subframe to detach?  I am trying to get a 16mm open socket round the "hose-side" and a 15mm line wrench (yay! new tool) on the outside.  But i just can get a good grip on the damn thing.  Any tricks?

This video showed up on my YouTube feed

//youtu.be/ugdPqNfhc1k

I'll just take them off the car, seems like the  "more right" way to do it anyway. 

Thanks All

It also can be done on the car, if your "assistant" is again willing to help 

This time lying under the car and supporting the backside of the backplate with a deep socket, just larger than the outside diameter of the adjusters and a heavy enough hammer to give it some "weight", while you punch the backplate from the outside.

And her knitting gear will not be needed this time 

If she´s not happy with this, it would be better to do it on the bench, as otherwise the backplate will "flex" too much without a solid suppourt...

Cheers, Diddi

I would so you have a solid surface to work on when using the punch.

If clamping the hoses did in fact ruin them they were junk anyway, a small price to pay for finding out one of the problems and the front ones must be in good shape as they survived being clamped.

Gotchya, should i do this with everything off the car then?

This center-punch in your link is more suitable for thin sheet metal. I´d use a solid one with a hammer.

Yes, start with a 12-3-6-9 o`clock pattern and try to move the adjuster in between applying the dots. If it still feels too lose, apply some more dots and re-try again. Repeat until you are happy with the adjusters.

Cheers, Diddi

Yeah that is a fair point about the hoses.  The clamping was the finally straw that made the old rubber fail.  

Would this be the right tool for making the "dot"?

//www.homedepot.com/p/General-Tools-Hardened-Steel-Center-Punch-89/202025674

How many dots do you think would be good?  Should i start at 12-3-6-9 (o'clock), then test and add?  Also confirm the process.

1. Remove shoes

2. Create center punches around the loose adjuster (see picutre with green marks)

3. This will push out on the adjuster and the washers on the engine side of the back plate giving more "bite"

4. Test

What did you mean by move them betwen the dots?

So, you finally found the reason for your brakes unadjusting themselfes at the front.

As I allready mentioned in my 1st reply, the front adjusters may unadjust themselfes when they are too loose.

With a new set of backplates, you might even have the same problem as they sometimes seem to be assembled too loose from the production.

A method that worked for me in the past is to use a centerpunch and apply a set of "dots" close to and all the way around the adjuster on the shoe side of the backplate.

This will tighten up the seat of the adjuster. Try to move them between "dots"! You don´t want to make them too tight.

As Shrimps mentioned, to prevent too much fluid draining out when replacing components, is to "lock" the brake pedal half way down. It works perfect! The "foil under cap" method also never worked for me.

You also can empty the whole system, using your pressure bleeding kit without fluid. Open the bleed nipples and catch the fluid until only air flows out. If the fluid is fresh and still clean and catched in a clean container, it might even be reused.

Regarding your rear brake hoses: As tsumini notes, the hoses might have become damaged because of clamping, as if done too hard, they will brake up internally.

I don´t think, that the mechanic is to blame not to have it spotted...

Cheers, Diddi

I can offer the following obserzations referencing a cross section view of a bean can MC:

Notice The small hole connecting the MC bore and the reservoir is just forward of the Primary seal cup lip. As the piston moves forward a small amount of brake fluid can be observed (looking down into fill hole) squirting back into the resevoir. Most noticable when tank is half full. If the resevior is kept topped up you may see cap discharge such as reported.

Additionaly notice that as the piston travels forward the secondary cup pushes brake fluid out the larger hole (Rearward of primary cup) and back into the resevoir. Normally I would say this is minimal since the pistion (Pedal) doesn't travel very far. However Poster has reported discharge thru the cap when the pedal goes to the floor. Constant top up and pedal movement would aggrevate the situation IMHO. I never fill MC resevoirs. They need a little room for fluctuation.

Rhetorical question: Why is it OK to clamp off a rubber hose and risk hose failure. Yes they do fatigue.

I've tried the plastic wrap under the cap which was not helpful for me.

What does work very well is a section of PVC pipe long enough to push the brake pedal down about half way and then wedged behind the steering wheel.  It wasn't my idea (read it on here though) and I'm not sure of the specifics but I believe the concept is the master cylinder piston when pushed into the bore will close off the passageway to the resevoir creating a sealed hydraulic system which will not allow the system to drain as easily.  You'll lose a little but nothing like if you didn't do anything.

Finish yourself the last mechanic did nothing for you and just left you with a car with no brakes, at least you will know it is done right.

I don't plan our replacing the back plate on the rears, they are in decent condition.  But i do follow you on the process.  Either way I am going to have to rebleed EVERYTHING.  robably a good time to replace my brake light switch while I'm at it.  Super tempted to farm this out to a mechanic, but I've come so far, might as well finish what I started.

Put some plastic under the vented cap it should slow it down some. Sometimes those rubber brake hoses come off relatively easy sometimes they are a bear. I would spray the hard lines with some pentrant before you start the job as the lines want to twist up on you if rusted. Some Mini rubber hoses i have had to cut up to get the necessary tools on them for removal. Glad you found the problem(s) it took a while but you got there eventually.

Ahhhh!

I beleive some people use the plastic wrap trick - remove the cap, cover opening with plastic wrap and replace cap lightly. The less air below the film the better - you're going to bleed it down later anyway, so fill the reservoir. Replace hoses etc. Remove plastic wrap and re-bleed system.

As you take the hose apart, wash down any painted surfaces affected - brake fluid makes an excellent paint remover (if you didn't already know that). since the bleeder is at the other 'end' of the cylinder, the hose may not drain out, so I'd just remove the hose. If you are relacing the backing plates to get good working adusters, then it's a bit academic anyway.