Wheelers Offroad brake lines - Poor fit and finish

[MCgrease08]

Did you check with the mfg? See if they can sell you replacement banjo bolt? As I am sure you are notth only one to do this.

I didn't really want to wait since everything is pulled apart and this brake job has already been a long time coming. I figured it couldn't be too hard to find a banjo bolt until I started hitting up the local Advanced Auto Parts and Auto Zone stores.

The clerks all wanted to look up the part number by vehicle type, so they weren't that helpful when I told them it was a '97 4Runner, but Tundra brake calipers. And the Tundra didn't use an OEM banjo bolt but a regular hard line fitting and I was using Tacoma braided soft lines. Needless to say, most counter clerks were pretty clueless.

Fortunately the guy at O'Reilly's was more helpful. After examing the broken stud we figured the bolt was a M10 with 1.0 mm thread pitch. He was able to order it from another store in town and I had it in a couple of hours. The part is BrakeBest H9466-2.

The only downside is that it isn't sculpted (scooped?) to accept the nipple in the 13WL calipers, so I'm going to have to drill some material out to seat it properly. There are some decent threads on the Tacoma forums detailing the need to do this. Some say to use a 3/8" bit. I've also seen some say to use 5/16" bit so I'll start there are work up to 3/8" if needed.

It also wasn't machined nearly as nice as the bolt that came in the Wheeler's kit, so I've already removed a small amount of material to flatten the end of the bolt and get the starting length as close to the original as possible before I drill it out.

Hopefully this helps somebody else in the future. Or maybe they won't be as dumb as I was and will seat the washers properly first before trying to crank down on the banjo bolt to stop the leak.

 

[T4topher]

I didn't really want to wait since everything is pulled apart and this brake job has already been a long time coming. I figured it couldn't be too hard to find a banjo bolt until I started hitting up the local Advanced Auto Parts and Auto Zone stores.

The clerks all wanted to look up the part number by vehicle type, so they weren't that helpful when I told them it was a '97 4Runner, but Tundra brake calipers. And the Tundra didn't use an OEM banjo bolt but a regular hard line fitting and I was using Tacoma braided soft lines. Needless to say, most counter clerks were pretty clueless.

Fortunately the guy at O'Reilly's was more helpful. After examing the broken stud we figured the bolt was a M10 with 1.0 mm thread pitch. He was able to order it from another store in town and I had it in a couple of hours. The part is BrakeBest H9466-2.

The only downside is that it isn't sculpted (scooped?) to accept the nipple in the 13WL calipers, so I'm going to have to drill some material out to seat it properly. There are some decent threads on the Tacoma forums detailing the need to do this. Some say to use a 3/8" bit. I've also seen some say to use 5/16" bit so I'll start there are work up to 3/8" if needed.

It also wasn't machined nearly as nice as the bolt that came in the Wheeler's kit, so I've already removed a small amount of material to flatten the end of the bolt and get the starting length as close to the original as possible before I drill it out.

Hopefully this helps somebody else in the future. Or maybe they won't be as dumb as I was and will seat the washers properly first before trying to crank down on the banjo bolt to stop the leak.

Super curious if you got that to work as I think those flares are pretty specific. I did exactly what you did and snapped the banjo, looked evverrrywhere for the banjo online couldn’t find squat. Ended up ordering a new one from wheelers lol.

 

[brillo_76]

That is the same as the standard brake line nipples they are m10 x 1.0. I thought it was something special you were after as both these calipers use that thread. I make my own brake lines out of copper nickle.

So the bajo bolts are m10x 1.0mm thread.

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[MCgrease08]

Super curious if you got that to work as I think those flares are pretty specific. I did exactly what you did and snapped the banjo, looked evverrrywhere for the banjo online couldn’t find squat. Ended up ordering a new one from wheelers lol.

So far it hasn't really worked. I made a pilot divot with a drill bit, but I wasn't making much progress scopping out material that way. The nipple in the caliper is tapered and dome-like, so I switched to the Dremel and an conical abravise bit which helped remove material much faster.

I have a nice round, scooped out bolt stud now, but I think the BrakeBest bolt is like 2-3 threads too long. I ground it down a little but didn't want to take off too much at a time. After several test fits, I still have a few millimeters worth of material that would need to be removed to be able to seat the bolt deep enough to crush the washer.

I'm not confident any of this effort will keep it from leaking because there's no way of seeing whether my home made dug-out will actually seat and seal on the nipple. So I quit working on it before I got frustrated. I've spent way too much energy on this dumb bolt already, from finding it to grinding it.

I closed everything back up using the old hardware and I'm just gonna call Wheeler's today. Frustrated that I have to wait, but I'm done fooling around with a $5 bolt modification.

Wheeler's broken bolt on left. My hack job on the right.

I really have no way to get good measurements, so this is all just me eyeballing it, so I have no confidence that it will end up working well.

 

[MCgrease08]

UPDATE as the saga of the banjo bolt continues.

I called Wheelers Offroad. They only sell complete kits so they weren't willing to separate one of the banjo bolts from a kit. I did ask if they could give me the name of the supplier since none of that is listed on their website.

The banjo bolt is made by a company called Techna-Fit in Brownsburg, IN which ironically, isn't too far from me. The part number is 775-101S (10mm x 1.00 / 20mm under Hex length).

Unfortunately Techna-fit doesn't sell direct, so I still have to order one, but at least now I have part number.

Techna-Fit Universal Banjo Bolt

Good grief this process has been a pain in the neck. Learn your lesson from me, don't over torque your banjo bolts kids.

 

[96RedRunner]

UPDATE as the saga of the banjo bolt continues.
Good grief this process has been a pain in the neck. Learn your lesson from me, don't over torque your banjo bolts kids.

Uuhh, I'd order more than one

 

[MCgrease08]

Uuhh, I'd order more than one

Not a bad suggestion, but at this point, if I repeat my mistake again then I deserve to pay the stupid tax. :wacko:

 

[T4topher]

UPDATE as the saga of the banjo bolt continues.

I called Wheelers Offroad. They only sell complete kits so they weren't willing to separate one of the banjo bolts from a kit. I did ask if they could give me the name of the supplier since none of that is listed on their website.

The banjo bolt is made by a company called Techna-Fit in Brownsburg, IN which ironically, isn't too far from me. The part number is 775-101S (10mm x 1.00 / 20mm under Hex length).

Unfortunately Techn-fit doesn't sell direct, so I still have to order one, but at least now I have part number.

Techna-Fit Universal Banjo Bolt

Good grief this process has been a pain in the neck. Learn your lesson from me, don't over torque your banjo bolts kids.

Wow that’s surprising, I was able to order one when I broke mine.. wonder why they won’t offer that anymore. At least they gave you the part #, definitely gunna be cheaper ordering from that website I think.

 

[MCgrease08]

This stupid banjo bolt issue is kicking my butt and I'm just about over it.

I got the new bolt based on what Techna-Fit told me I needed and even paid for expedited shipping. Right away I could tell it was not the same bolt used in the Wheeler's kit. It looked close enough in length and diameter, but there wasn't the nice tapered opening the the Wheeler's bolt has. Oh well, I figured I'd give it a try.

I replaced all the hardware (brackets and brake lines) from the 2-way on the frame down. That all went super smooth. Then I got to the banjo bolt and trying to connect the Wheeler's line to the caliper when everything went south. It seemed tight enough when I got it hooked up. I even torqued it to the correct 12 ft-lbs. I walked away for 10 minutes to wait and see if anything would leak. It did. I came back to a fairly big puddle in the catch pan. The leak was coming from the top of the banjo fitting near the bolt head.

I figured I'd take everything out and try a thicker copper washer there. Swapped that out and reconnected. Everything looked good. Hit torque spec. Things felt nice and tight. Then I pumped the brake pedal to put pressure back in the line. It may have welll been a fountain for how much brake fluid shot out.

Backed the bolt out a few turns to make sure I didn't over torque and risk snapping it again. Adjusted torque wrench to top of the spec (14 ft-lbs) and tried to give it another few turns to get everything cinched back down. But from there the bolt just spun. I couldn't tighten it or loosen it. Meanwhile brake fluid is pouring down the side of the caliper.

I disconnected the top hard line at the 2-Way on the frame hoping to plug the line from there so I could work out how to get the new banjo bolt out without mangling the heck out of it.

I put a vacuum plug over the top fitting but that just barely slowed down the brake fluid. It started flowing over the top of the cap. So I took the cap off and connected a length of clear tube over the fitting, figuring if I could get the tube hung above the fitting, the pressure wouldn't be enough to overcome gravity. WRONG. Even with the end of the tubing a good 6 inches above the 2-Way, it started creeping up to the end of the tube. So I added a plug. Now both ends were closed. That made no difference and fluid started working it's way around the fitting at one end and around the plug at the other.

I dumped the brake fluid to clear the tubing and tried putting vice grips on it. That didn't work either. The fluid still managed to find tiny crevices to work through. All the while I keep dumping fluid into the master cylinder.

I did buy enough time to work the bolt out of the caliper by lighting prying outward on the banjo fitting while wrenching on the bolt. The threads looked find. With the caliper open I could at least reattach all the original lines I had just pulled off and seal up the system.

I'm at a total loss. I have no idea why I can't I can't get a good seal. I've tried multiple washers in various configurations. At this point I'm ready to abandon the Wheeler lines completely and just go back to the stock configuration of hard line, soft line, hard line. But to do that I still need to order new lines because I'm not keeping the crusty 26 year old lines on there.

I may try and get some different (aluminum?) crush washers at the hardware store today just to see if I can salvage this thing. But the idea of taking everything apart again and dealing with leaking fluid only to have it fail is not appealing to me at all. I know the OEM configuration works and can order new parts, but I really want to get the truck out of the garage this weekend. I am sick of looking at it since it's approaching a full week that I've been fighting this dumb bolt.

I'm venting more than anything else, but would appreciate any tips or advice on how to seal up the brake line when everything is apart. I feel like I'm bailing water on a boat with a hole in it.

 

[brillo_76]

Man. Seems like this is a nightmare. I think I stick with the oem setup and just pull the clip the holds the flex line in place while doing my brakes. As that seems alot simpler then the head aches you folks have been dealing with..

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[MCgrease08]

Man. Seems like this is a nightmare. I think I stick with the oem setup and just pull the clip the holds the flex line in place while doing my brakes. As that seems alot simpler then the head aches you folks have been dealing with..

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I couldn't agree more. New OEM parts are on the way from McGeorge Toyota. What I should have done in the first place. Ugh.

 

[brillo_76]

I couldn't agree more. New OEM parts are on the way from McGeorge Toyota. What I should have done in the first place. Ugh.

I been watching and reading and saying.. Holy molly.. Don't get me wrong folks can always do whatever they wish with their rigs.. I know what I will do ...

 

[MCgrease08]

Got the new OEM brake lines from McGeorge Toyota Friday and finally got the brakes put back together over the weekend. A total of 13 days for a Tundra brake upgrade from start to finish. Oof.

Happy to have the rig back. Gonna try and bed-in the brakes later today after the evening rush dies down. There are some nice country roads not too far away that should allow me to do that without too much trouble.

Bottom line for future readers: If you're not a hard core off-roader, think long and hard about whether you want / need to use the Wheeler's extended front brake line kit. If you do, make sure you have a back-up plan in case you run into trouble. Or, just go OEM from the start. I wish I would have.

 

[brillo_76]

When doing brakes just pull the bolt on the flex lines clamp. This way, the calipers can move freely and the little hard lines are a zero issue...

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