Brake line connectors
2008 Ford Taurus X. What is the trick to making sure connectors are at just the right angle to screw in correctly? It seems like the block has a teeny tiny angle to one side that the connector has to be at to screw in right.
I’m finding that one of the connectors (and of course it has to be the third one back) on the brake booster keeps wanting to cross thread just enough to be a hair loose enough for a leak.
(For what it’s worth I’m of the opinion tonight that whoever thought it would be a great idea to design brake connectors so they don’t self tap to the right angle so they seat right the first time around should be shot, drawn and quartered, and their soul burn in hell forever! - probably won’t feel that way tomorrow, but today I do)
Posted May 23, 2021, 11:40 PM UTC
Some tips from somebody who has screwed up a brake valve block the exact same way:
Set the nut in the hole, and rock it back and forth to make sure it isn't angled and that it's centered in the hole.
Look at it as best you can from as many angles as you can. It may look straight from one angle, but cocked at an angle from another point of view.
If you can't spin the nut with your fingers, free the nut up (spin it around on the line a few times, or use some rust penetrant/lubricant between the nut and the line) to make sure you can turn the nut easily enough to start the threads, by hand, with your fingers. Speaking of which...
Start the threads, by hand, with your fingers. This is the best tip I can give you. Do NOT pick up the wrench to tighten until you've spun the nut enough for 2-3 threads to start. You'll never crossthread the hole with your fingers, but it's very easy to do if you're holding a wrench. I've given in to that temptation before, and it cost me.
P.S. Fuck the (old) Chevy Trailblazers and their brake valve block.