I played around with fire this week getting the blue wagon back together.

Patient is a 1990 245, 134k miles, spent the first 15 years of it's life in uber salty Boston, MA. Original Volvo brake fittings and hoses... all hopelessly seized except at the junction box and brandy new calipers. I had to replace all of this stuff while replacing the strut tubes. No flare wrench was pulling this stuff apart. I tried everything (penetrating oil, and selectively cutting lines and using 6-pt sockets/wrenches) before bringing the MAPP torch to bear on the problem.

First was unexpected: one end of brake hose unconnected, heat seized fitting on other end red hot (at the treaded portion, NOT the crimp), turned my back and the hose exploded at the crimp. Sounded like a rifle shot.

Second hose (now armed with safety glasses): Snipped the rubber hose flush with the crimp, hard line removed from junction box, heat fitting red hot (torch was only on the fitting for a little over ten seconds), within seconds, BAM! remaining rubber explodes at the crimp. Plus side is that the fitting is now easy to unscrew.

Other trials were similar, when heated red hot, hose explodes, but fitting is easily unscrewed. When not heated red hot, not explosion... but fitting wasn't any easier to unscrew.

I'm only passing this along as a quick safety note. I don't have a vendetta or axe to grind with anyone. These were original Volvo hoses, and in better shape than others that I have seen (except for the seized fittings!). Use of a torch was enough to cause the crimps to literally explode in an open system without any brake fluid to pressurize.

Message is clear: Fittings do need to get red hot for heat to be worth it, but heat damages the crimps in the hose, and explosively for me. Be careful when using heat around brake hoses. Eye protection, etc. If the fittings don't explode during heat application, it's probably foolhardy to reuse the hoses as it's *impossible* to keep the heat at the end of the fitting from conducting to all areas of the crimp itself.

-Ryan

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Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 314k, Dog-mobile
1990 245 DL 134k M47, E-codes, GT Sway Bars, GT Braces
1991 745 GL 300k, Regina, 23/21mm Turbo Sway Bars
Buckeye Volvo Club