Greetings - I need to replace the drivers side brake hose, and the bolt holding the hose to the the wheel assembly will not come out fully. There is not enough clearance to remove the bolt holding the hose. It seems nuts that there would not be room to back the bolt out fully, but it appears to be the case.
Does anyone know if this is normal, or am I missing something? Does procedure call for removing the axle nut, brake drum, and loosening or removing the brake backing plate? It may be easier to cut the bad section of hose out and splice it, but I really don’t like jury-rigging brakes - lots of hills around her.
[QUOTE=GEMmechanic;9233]Please clarify by telling us what year GEM you have and whether the repair is being made on the front or rear axle of the vehicle.
Daniel[/QUOTE]
Sorry about that, driver side front brake hose, 2002 model. w/750 miles.
There is just barely, not enough space for the brake hose bolt to back out far enough to get the hose out. It unthreads all the way, but hits the grease cup for what I think is the upper ball joint - kind of groggy when I tore it apart…I don’t believe there is any front end damage, and it would be goofy engineering to have it that tight, but maybe there is an explanation.
I got the hose off by loosening the 4 backing plate bolts. It allowed me the 1/4" more clearance I needed to get the brake hose bolt out. It was hitting the upper steering knuckle/grease retainer - whatever the proper name is.