Some time ago I replaced my clutch and flywheel with a Southbend DXD clutch + fly combo, which came with a few extras such as a stronger pivot ball for the clutch fork, and a braided stainless clutch line. I knocked out the clutch and fly install fairly easily, and was going to install the SS clutch line, but decided to wait. With the OE cats in place, there's not a lot of room to work, and I was shopping around for some HFC's at the time. I figured I'd do the clutch line when I did the cats.

So I sourced my Berk HFC's, and intended to do both those and that SS clutch line at the same time. Unfortunately, the fitting that connects the stock hard line to the rubber line is completely frozen. I would break/bend the hell out of the hard line before that fitting would loosen. In all the exhaust/suspension work I've ever done, using the trusty blue wrench works wonders for stuck and rusted fasteners, but obviously isn't really an option for this situation.

Does anyone have any tips for breaking these types of fittings loose without breaking anything else, or am I going to have to replace the factory hard line also (which I really don't want to do)? This fitting is similar to those in the brake system, so if anyone has run into the same problem with installs of SS brake lines, any tricks you may have used in that install are welcome as well.

 

Vise grips on the hard line side of the fitting, works every time.

 

I put some heat to the area around where the bolt screws in to. That will cause the metal to expand before the bolt and loosen it up. Not too much heat though, don't want to damage the hard line.

I had to do that to get mine apart.