Brake line connections

[matria]

Hello,

I am trying to get my brake system put back together and have a question about connecting the tubing and the 3-way connector in the rear. How difficult should it be to screw/tighten the tubing into the connector? I find that I can go about 2 turns and then it becomes very difficult to tighten anymore. I have cleaned the threads. The 3-way connector is new from Blk dragon.

Thanks for your help.

Skip

[Carl Beck]

Hummm.... that's one of those questions that without being there to personally put your hands on it - and feel it.... it's really hard to say.

The brake line fittings are tapered fittings - so they are going to screw in only a short distance easily by hand... but you should feel that they are screwing in straight and when you put a line wrench on the flair nuts, they should be very easy to turn with the wrench until the begin to tighten down...

Is this a Nissan OEM Part?... and are you sure it's the right one?

FWIW,

Carl B.

[matria]

Carl,

Thanks for responding. The brake lines are original to the car and the 3-way is new. It does not feel right to me. One line seems to go in much easier then the rest. I didn't cross thread or damage the threads that I can see. The original 3-way is hiding somewhere in the shop.

[FirstGenZ]

You may have a three way junction that is SAE and are trying to use metric flare nuts as are used on the Z car. Those threads are very close but just enough different that they are not compatible.

Carl.... Flare nuts are not tapered like pipe plugs. They are straight thread. Their holding force is applied to the flare on the tubing.

[Carl Beck]

You may have a three way junction that is SAE and are trying to use metric flare nuts as are used on the Z car. Those threads are very close but just enough different that they are not compatible.

Yes - that is why I ask if it was an OEM Nissan Replacement Part

Carl.... Flare nuts are not tapered like pipe plugs. They are straight thread. Their holding force is applied to the flare on the tubing.

Agreed - that is why I said "tapered fittings",... it was the only way to describe how the flair nut would feel as it was initially screwed into place.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[=Resurected280=]

I would say this is a thread issue, I have found that quite a few aftermarket Z parts (especially cheap ones or generic things like brake line fittings or sway bar end links for instance) have SAE heads or threads when they should be metric . I would try the flare nut in the old 3 way junction and see if it threads in normal or something like that.

[Carl Beck]

Carl,

Thanks for responding. The brake lines are original to the car and the 3-way is new. It does not feel right to me. One line seems to go in much easier then the rest. I didn't cross thread or damage the threads that I can see. The original 3-way is hiding somewhere in the shop.

Ok - sometimes, it's a matter of getting the brake line (the tubing) headed perfectly straight and even into the fitting.. so that the flair nut will also allow itself to be screwed in perfectly straight. A very slight misalignment of the tubing into the fitting... and the flair nut will seem to start - then when the bottom of the nut hits the tubing in the fitting - it stops... nothing will go in - nor come out right... at that point.

Sometimes you just have to get the tubing oriented correctly and seated in the fitting .. and sometimes that takes several tries. The trick is to not get frustrated and not to force anything... If you have one fitting that screws in correctly and feels good while your doing it.... you have at least one example of how it should work..

Try working the tubing a little - as you screw in the flair nut.. it it doesn't go.. back out and try working the tubing a little more to improve it's alignment with the hole... etc etc.

Sorry I can't think of a better way to describe the process.. nor the problems you run into.. Sometimes it's better to just stop - take a break... and come back fresh later..

FWIW,

Carl B.

[matria]

Thanks for the responses. I will keep trying and also try harder to find my origional 3-way connector.

[zcarnut]

I have had to use a tap with brake components in the past just to get the threads to start. And all these were new parts.

Tap thread size is 10mm x 1.0 which any good auto parts store will have.

[ezzzzzzz]

If it is merely a three-way metric connector then you can find these on nearly every asian car in the local junkyards. I used one off a Toyota Tercel for my disc brake upgrade to tie the front calipers into a 280ZX proportioning valve.