99 V70R E-Brake

[abscate]

Remember you can always cut brake lines and put new unions in where needed. There must be a workaround that would let you route new brake lines without dropping the axle! Even running them zip tied on the axle bottom, cased in rubber tubing to prevent chafe?

[kklepack]

Those rear brake pipes are a devil to remove. I remember that well, but fortunately I had pulled the complete rear sub-frame and so had much better access to the connectors. I truly wish you the best of luck.

I recall using emery paper and a small file to get the rust away from the joint on the pipe and kept the PB Blaster soaking it.

I think I also took advice and sawed the flexi-pipe near the joint so I could get a socket onto the joint. As mentioned before, used the Snap-on brake line wrench and eventually got is loose without shearing it.

Neil.

I have Craftsman Flare Nut Wrench set should I invest in Snap-on wrench? Are they that much better?

[abscate]

Craftsman from Sears - ok

Craftsman from Lowes...... Mr YuckyFace

Look at how thick the wrench face is - it needs to be 15-20mm or more on a good flare wrench. The opening weakens the wrench, so more metal is needed to make it rigid.

If it looks like a standard box end with a piece missing, its Lowe Quality.

SK LIsle or Tekton are decent brands at 1/5 the cost of Strap-on. If you find Snap-On Industrial products at comparable prices it isnt Snap On.

A set of 5 Strap ons will cost you about $250

[kklepack]

This is the wrench I have.

and

I found this one on ebay as well.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Snap-On-9-11MM ... SwuWpd0VpI

What do you think should I get that one?

[abscate]

That will be fine, no need for new tool.

If you are committed to replacing the rubber hoses, you can heat the Hades out of that joint too, that will make it much easier to remove. Heat until the rubber goes gooey - cycle three times, then penetrant (not WD40) - big vice grip on one side, flare nut wrench on the nut. Pull slowly and smoothly, in pure torque.

[scot850]

Running a replacement line on a FWD on the rear axle, especially without a hoist is a major pain in the a$$. An AWD is way worse as you cannot easily replace the brake lines due to the way the rear suspension is built and how it attaches to the sub-frame. It has been a few years since I did this, but I recall replacing the line when I had the sub-frame out as I saw how near impossible it would be without having the subframe out.

LHR Brake Pipe

RHR Brake Pipe (2)

RHR Brake Pipe (3)

RHR Brake Pipe (4)

RHR Brake Pipe (1)

I have added the best photos I have on file to try to show why this is a problem on the AWD. In particular the RHR pipe follows a really bendy route around the the rear trailing arm mount and then back up onto the sub-frame cone for the RHR suspension, then across above the fuel tank and to the passenger side. If I recall the connections on the LHR side of the car that carries the brake pipes to the front of the car are also almost impossible to access.

I don't say buy a Snap-on 11mm flare wrench necessarily. If you have a good flare wrench that you know is good, then go with that. When I bought my Snap-on one a few years ago it was $40 CDN (about $30 US) but fealt it was worth the money as I had to replace the flexi-pipes prior to removing the rear sub-frame.

Neil.