mike tangas, calling mike tangas

[kpb]

dude -- just did my subframe mounts. your diy cut my time in half, at a minimum. also, kudos to psfred for the follow-up notes which were exceedingly useful as well. BTW, have not seen much of you lately in the vintage forum, you OK?

do not have the beast back on the road yet since I've got a few other piddly projects to accomplish whilst it's up on jackstands. cannot wait to feel the difference. Also, each of my (original) mounts was completely torn through!! Not difficult to remove when they are in two (2) pieces...

Furthermore. anybody know any magic to get the &*^%$# brake lines off?? I have new, but cannot get the old to loosen up.

KPB

[Arthur Dalton]

BP Blaster overnight and Flare/Line wrench.
.. if all else fails , cut the old line close to flare nut and use 6 point socket.

[kpb]

thanx arthur -- they've been liberally doused with PB Blaster to no avail. I do not have the flare wrench. I like your idea about cutting and using a six point socket, so here goes...

[Arthur Dalton]

Originally Posted by kpb

thanx arthur -- they've been liberally doused with PB Blaster to no avail. I do not have the flare wrench. I like your idea about cutting and using a six point socket, so here goes...

Get a set of those wrenches , they come in handy .. Sears has a set for fair $$$$
When you cut the old line , I cut it close so that you can tap the fitting with a small ball pean a few times to shock/break the threads seal.. then do the socket and hope they don't shear off..
Good Luck..

[Tomguy]

If a 6-pt socket still won't work, try a pair of quality vice-grips.

When set properly and very tightly, vice-grips can be your best friend. They WILL destroy the old nut.

[kpb]

you're right Tom -- I've had many positive experiences with visegrips. Unfortunately, the three pair I now own do not latch on too well given the confines at the upper hose junction. I think they are crappy quality since they are "knock-offs" which do not carry the "ViceGrip" name. Gotta get me a good set soon. I suppose if all else fails, a bit of torch to the junction will not hurt, particularly if I've cut the line and the system is devoid of fluid.

[MikeTangas]

Glad to have been a help.

As for the brake lines, you have disconnected them at the junction prior to attempting to remove them from the caliper, correct? Continue to hit the fitting with PB Blaster and if you can't get ViceGrips to work you might try a small chain wrench or a strap wrench.

Been bouncing shifts lately, swings and mids (currently on mids...good morning y'all) plus traveling and doing lots of practice at the range. I've been hitting the vintage forum about every 3 days or so, I really should try to hit it more often. It's raining like hell today, thunder & lightning so I'm not getting any practice in but had the time to venture on in .

[kpb]

thanx for responding mike t. i figured i needed to get the top connection free first so then the whole hose could spin while i back it out of the caliper. i have not yet tried the caliper fitting but assume it will be a PITA.

glad no bad stuff has befallen you to lower your profile around here.

oh yeah, put the 108 on the road today. a sorta hummy-vibration i was hoping to remove has been only noticeably lessened. the wobble and float from 75 mph onward have wholly disappeared -- yee-haw.

[MikeTangas]

Could the hummy-vibration be coming from the propshaft support (center) bearing?

[kpb]

I suppose it could be -- have not checked it since I had it ingrained in my head that it was front suspension bugaboos. I still desperately need an alignment and my tires are in the last one-third of life too. Tire balance may even be suspect but the hum is pretty constant from about 40mph on up. Also, I'm pretty sure I'm still on the original Bilsteins.

How do I check the center bearing - just look for jiggle or slop?

[joshhol]

I think you can check the condition of the rubber of the mount

[kpb]

Thanx Josh. Hope to crawl under the beast tomorrow to insepct.