Torture - Banjo Bolt on Rack (long)

[Phil Rose]

Rakesh, I feel your pain.

Perhaps you've already read posts describing my method to break loose
the banjo bolt. It involves an _open_ end 19 mm wrench with the
opposite (box end) end cut off to enable insertion into a cheater
pipe. The box-end was cut so as to leave just a bit it--making it fit
verrrry snuggley inside a length of 3/4" black-iron pipe. I think I
wrapped tape around the handle just below the open-end to help keep
it from slipping around inside the pipe.  Once inserted in the pipe
the wrench was very stable. This, I believe, helped keep it from
sliding off the bolt, and all it took was a slight upward movement
(bending aside that damned fuel line) to break the bolt free.

BTW, I tried the maneuver though the opposite wheel-well (using 1/2"
extensions) but couldn't get a socket to line up. I'm sure it's
do-able, but not by me, not then. I never used anything but open-end
and box-end wrenches on this bolt.

When the new hose, banjo bolt and o-ring needed to be torqued down,
the same modified wrench plus cheater pipe was used. Hardest part was
getting the banjo bolt _starting_ to thread into the rack. My hand
was too large to get a grip with finger and thumb, so I enlisted my
spouse to reach down there and get the bolt turned until it grabbed a
thread or two. Fortunately she does have long arms.

Here're my posts from those episodes:

>>X-Sender: pjrose at pop3.frontiernet.net
>>Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 23:08:33 -0400
>>To: Kneale Brownson <knotnook at traverse.com>,
>>         "Chi L. Wong" <montesawong at yahoo.com>
>>From: Phil Rose <pjrose at frontiernet.net>
>>Subject: Re: [200q20v] power steering hose--progress at last
>>Cc: C1J1Miller at aol.com, "200q20v maillist at audifans" <200q20v at audifans.com>
>>Sender: 200q20v-admin at audifans.com
>>X-BeenThere: 200q20v at audifans.com
>>X-Mailman-Version: 2.0beta5
>>List-Id: 200q20v list <200q20v.audifans.com>
>>
>>News flash to the Audi Perseverance Hotline:
>>
>>Victory in sight. A minor bit of tool-customization seemed to do the trick.
>>At a nearby auto supply I purchased a cheap 19mm combination wrench (at
>>$4.49 it seemed pretty decent quality, but anyway, surgery was planned).
>>After a few minutes of Moto-Dremeling (Dremelling?) I had done a
>>boxendectomy. By cutting off the box-end I could get a 3/4" iron pipe (aka
>>"cheater bar") to slide on snugly. I then set the open-end jaws onto the
>>banjobolt, and with a tiny tweek (amazing how easily bolts break loose when
>>you're at the end of a 4 ft lever) the bolt head turned a few degrees and
>>became loose enough to turn without the cheater. A "few degrees" was all
>>the movement I could get with the cheater because of brakeline
>>interference. Anyway I now have  "teased" the bolt around a turn or two
>>with wrenches, and it's just about movable using only my fingertips.  What
>>joy!
>>
>>The new hose had arrived from Carlsen this afternoon. Tomorrow morning I'll
>>finish the extraction and start installing the replacement. I'll try to use
>>one the tips I've read about how to keep the o-rings from falling off the
>>bolt, (thread, rubber band, etc, etc.)
>>
>>Oh yes, I almost forgot: A no-extra-cost bonus, included with every
>>official Made-in-Germany VAG-original-equipment hose (443 498 892 C), is a
>>set of new banjo bolts and o-rings. And the best news is that you can have
>>all this for a low, low price of only $138.00 (or four monthly payments of
>>just $34.50 + shipping.) Operators in Palo Alto are standing by to take
>>your calls. Ask for Didi and have Visa or Mastercard number handy. Some
>>side-effects have been reported; these include insomnia, shortness of
>>temper, transient hypertension, and mild pentosinemia. E-mail the 200q20v
>>list if these symptoms persist.
>>
>>Many thanks to all those who graciously tried to answer my seemingly
>>endless questions.
>>
>>Phil

>>From: Phil Rose <pjrose at frontiernet.net>
>>Subject: [200q20v] PS hose: installation update
>>Sender: 200q20v-admin at audifans.com
>>X-BeenThere: 200q20v at audifans.com
>>X-Mailman-Version: 2.0beta5
>>List-Id: 200q20v list <200q20v.audifans.com>
>>
>>It's finished! Er, I mean: it's completed. :0)
>>
>>Installation of my new PS high-pressure hose was every bit as difficult and
>>tedious as was removal of the old one. I don't think I'd have been able to
>>thread the new banjo bolt into the rack without the beautifully slender
>>hand and long fingers of my very brave, cooperative, talented, patient and
>>lovely spouse. Without the 20 or 30 minutes that Judy spent (last evening)
>>tediously spinning the bolt with her fingertips, I'd probably _still_ be
>>out there trying to do it tonight. She was able to get thumb and forefinger
>>on the bolt head, which was something I absolutely could not manage to do.
>>
>>Once she got the bolt started into the rack (I had already tried
>>unsuccessfully for almost two hours) it was only a matter of time--at a
>>rate of about 1/16th turn per minute--before I got it fully threaded. As it
>>became snug I was able to get a short, open-end wrench on the bolt head,
>>and then the problem became:  how to apply 35 lbs of tightening torque on a
>>bolt that can't be reached by a torque wrench (or, for that matter, by any
>>socket wrench)?
>>
>>The solution was to use the same 42" cheater extension that had so nicely
>>worked for loosening the bolt. This time, the black-iron pipe was rigged so
>>that I could suspend a 1-gallon jug of water from the end. I calculated
>>that an effective force of about 35 lbs (torque) would be created by
>>hanging approx. 11 lbs from the end of the lever arm (42" extension held
>>initially at an angle of about 45 degrees from horizontal). The heavy pipe
>>itself supplied 2 lbs of force while the jug of water added about another
>>8.5 lbs.The weight caused the cheater arm to move about 10 or 15 degrees
>>before it stopped. I estimate the final tightening torque was between 30
>>and 35 lbs. Close enough.
>>
>>The rest of the job was uneventful. That is--until I realized my spare
>>litre of Pentosin 11S actually contained only about 3/4 litre. But by then,
>>the Audi gods were smiling, because that amount was precisely what I needed
>>to refill the nearly-empty reservoir. I raised the front wheels off the
>>floor (jackstands) and worked the steering wheel from lock-to-lock,
>>checking for any change in fluid level. Then it was finally time for a
>>spin. There appear to be no (new) leaks, and the power steering is as quiet
>>as ever.
>>
>>Phil R.

Phil
--

Phil Rose
Rochester, NY
mailto:pjrose at frontiernet.net