Thanks, Bob. Not all the way. I hope like Fred said it can be saved.

That shower felt good and clean dry clothes. A break is what I needed! :)

Thank you, Fred. You always have my back man. Much appreciated!

Yeah that was pure stupidity on my part letting the truck roll off. Just tired and wasn't thinking.

Glad no one was hurt in your lunchroom!

Will keep you posted and thanks for your number in case I get stuck. SmileWavy

One other thing you can do is cut the long lines in half to prevent removing the tank or box. This would allow you to put a coupling in the middle but you can work from both ends. If you do this, plan it out so the coupling doesn’t wind up behind the tank...

Good idea....thanks Billy!

I thought about getting some couplings but decided it would be best if I didn't have any. I guess if they are installed correctly like most things they will do their job.

As it is the auto parts guy gave me the wrong size line fittings today. 12 M instead of 1/2". I ended up reusing two from my old line.

It's always something.....:rolleyes:

They also , now make steel compression unions that are DOT legal for brake lines .

Yes - that’s what I was suggesting.

Right shoulder is sore. I don't know how you do it Fred.

Helps to have a lift I suppose.... :)

I just went back out and saw brake fluid dripping down just downstream from the front. I may have another break or - who knows. :(

I may end up taking the box off to finish the repair. Too much work trying to do it on my back and guessing at stuff.

It crosses your mind to just trade the old girl in and be done with it. I'm not a quitter though so that won't happen. Not yet anyway. :)

I still have a mechanic here as my ace up the sleeve. He is fantastic on Porsches and can fix almost anything.

Something to think about. Man's gotta know his limitations....

Walk away for a bit. Clears the head.

My brother backed out of my shop and straight into the corner of my pole building. I said "dude.. ya hit my barn!" He didn't believe me so I took a picture and zoomed in showing him the "dimples" from the rubber mark left by the back bumper on the Avalanche.

It's kind of a pain but if you have a helper you can trace each line back to the block. This was the majority of my role in helping my brother with his two trucks... that and supplying the heated shop. Try not to get much air in the block. There are solenoids that you'll have to cycle if air gets in that block, happened on both of my brother's trucks since we (he) took off every line. You might try getting fluid flowing through the line before attaching to the block and working one line at a time.

some shade tree mechanics should stick to shade trees............

:)

Sorry for your troubles.

I guess if we could call anyone a " shade tree" mechanic, it would be Baz . SmileWavy

That was the joke..................

ok, never mind........

:)

Thank you Bob - great advice! Should have done that last night when I was struggling with that line fitting.

I spent the morning cleaning up the garage a bit so I can move the 914 in and out easier, as that will be my wheels until I fix the brakes on the truck. I'm taking a break from it today. Feel much better about the situation.


Yeah, a helper would have "helped" with the spotting yesterday. I tried to take a video but couldn't get my camera at the angle though. Thanks for the advice about the fluid/lines.


I think you're onto something! :p


Yup......;)


I got it....and I resemble that remark! :)

===========

Like I said upstream, I'm going to hold off on trying to fix it right away. Might work on it over the weekend. That will give me time to get more brake fluid anyway. :D

Thanks again for all the help, guys. Will keep you posted....SmileWavy

Those lines just twist and turn all over the place don't they?

The original lines?

When I did the hardlines on my jeep way back when (lifted it to the point where i needed new brake lines), anyways I used a pressure bleeder to pressurize the system, and had to redo two fittings. The learning curve on the flare tool is simple, but you'll notice a good flare from bad.


On the hmmwv's A0. m998, and m1038's they used hard lines from the master to the calipers. No rubber hoses. later models used rubber hoses at the body due to flex. Anyways what i'm getting at. They coil the hard hardlines to accommodate movement...

I did this on my 2006 Sierra 1500 crew cab. Took the bed off the truck and wish I'd taken the body off as well. Those stainless pre-bent lines only 'kinda sorta' went into the original locations. I gave up on using the factory wire looms and got creative with marine stainless steel wire clamps.

Had to replace the ABS unit.

But all that was a piece of cake compared to eliminating the rust on the frame!! I love this ol' style GM truck and hope to keep it, well... forever. So, I spent hours, with brushes and bead-blaster. I took an air chisel and replaced the spring with a bungy cord tied around the handle. Make a perfect impact hammer for banging the rust scale off the frame.

Next, POR'ed the entire frame of the truck -- MESSY JOB. If I ever have to do this job again, I'll take the truck apart and fabricate a complete frame out of fiberglass and carbon fiber. Yeah I'm nuts. That job drove me to it!

Good luck on your project!

Robert

It's disgusting.

I would say now that you are done with that, get a gallon or two of Fluid Film ($100 for two) and a schutz sprayer ($30). Warm up the Fluid Film, pull the plugs on the rockers and go to town.

I like POR 15 but not that much. It's only as good as your prep. I like Cosmoline as well, but as expensive as Fluid Film and it dries too much.

For crusty-crust work, drowning in Fluid Film ain't the worst way to go.

Bob, that's really great information!

My rocker panels are starting to show rust spots again; two seasons after body work and a repaint. The joys of living on the New England coast! My truck is also my ski support vehicle, so it sees plenty of that nasty stuff they're putting on the road these days.

By the way, I agree. I like POR 15, "but not that much." Semco has a similar product that I like a little better, but not much!

And you're right the prep is everything. I find it difficult when a part is partly rusty. I use the POR etch on the no-rusted area and then apply the POR. Sometime the POR doesn't adhere well to the etched areas. I forget that the POR 'likes' rust and often make the mistake of trying to get too much rust off.

I will add a gallon of Fluid Film to my inventory, poste haste!

Robert