Getting Broken Brass Tubes Out Of Petcocks

[moonpup]

I had two 350 petcocks that had the brass fuel tubes broken off right at the base with no way to get pliers or anything else clamped on them. I tried an easy-out but that wasn't working and I was afraid of breaking it off in the tube.

So late last night while thinking about it, I thought why not try to find a small enough tap so I could maybe screw something in it and use that to pull it out. So that’s what I did. I tapped it out this morning with a 4mm tap, went to Lowes got a 4mm bolt and some large flat washers, came home and grabbed a clyinder head nut that I could insert the bolt through and provide leverage.... and voila out it came!  

You can see the broken off piece still on the bolt in the pic below.....

[slawsonb]

Great idea Moonpup!
...bert

[dcr]

Necessity truly is the mother of invention. Thanks for sharing your idea/discovery Moonpup.

[moonpup]

Necessity truly is the mother of invention. ...snip...

You're absolutely right about that Dan.

What I really hate though, is when the simple solution is the last one to come to mind. I've been dragging my feet on this for over a year now. 

[BRT-GTR]

         Great when a plan comes together, Moompup. The question of extracting these tubes has come up a number times, you've solved it. Keep this one handy, I'm sure you'll be providing a link back to it in future.
         Brian.

[ziggy stardust]

From my gallery, tubes were removed using a Dremel fitted with a small slot drill then replaced with new tubes and secured in place with an epoxy filler, this was then coated with POR 15 to be petrol resistant.



Z

[BRT-GTR]

         Z..............  To be fully PC, I will say that other methods of removing the tubes are available.  

     From your experience, are you able to say whether the original tubes were just pressed in, cast in or were they bonded/soldered, I'm just curious.

    Brian.

[ziggy stardust]

Hi Brian, to be honest I can't remember only that it was quite easy to remove most of the material surrounding the tubes and yes other ways of removal do apply. No animals were harmed during removal.

Z

[moonpup]

Brian & others, I'm pretty sure they were just pressed in. After removing the 2 pieces, I didn't detect any residual material such as solder or a bonding agent on either the brass tubing or the walls of the opening they go in.

Also, in a previous thread, 3 sizes of tubes were mentioned for use as replacement tubing > 5/32, 3/16 & 5mm. Yesterday I tried some 3/16 tubing and while it fit ok, it wasn't a tight fit and I didn't think that I could rely on it staying in without soldering or bonding. I took a piece of the original tube with me to the Hobby store and checked out the 5/32 stuff but it seemed too big and that I would need to adjust the openings to get a good fit, which I wasn't ready to do.

Steve Reed stated the size was 5mm (he's usually right  ), so I went and bought some off eBay and will let you know how it fits after I get it.

Here's the other thread... http://bridgestonemotorcycleparts.com/index.php?topic=1117.0

[Sye]

5mm brass tubing fits fine, that's what I used when I did mine.

I heated the base of the tube and ran some solder around it and it worked just fine. I then fitted the filter screens afterwards.

[BRT-GTR]

                                     Quote,      No animals were harmed during removal. Wink  ??

        Bet you got rid of the old 'seals' though and put new ones in.        Used to work for British Gas where we used mice, pushed pigs through pipes getting them out with pig traps, lots of seals, had to be careful how we phrased things at times in case Greenpeace became upset.

   Thanks everyone for good tips and info, we should really collect these items into the tips section.                 Brian.

[srpackrat49]

Well i just replaced a tube the other day.... got a new brass tube..... it was just a red-one too big....put it in my hand drill.... spun it up and used emery paper..... now it fites..... its a wonder the things we seam to find to repair....like a big ass C-clamp to break the bead when changing tires....

[ziggy stardust]

Just read an earlier post of mine regarding the brass tube removal, seems they were set in lead or solder?

Z

[CL-100]

I restored a petcock for a 350 GTR that had good brass tubes and used 5mm filters on the tubes.  It was a perfect fit so 5mm brass tubing should restore it to original specs. 

[moonpup]

Just read an earlier post of mine regarding the brass tube removal, seems they were set in lead or solder?

Z

Not sure why Ziggy, but I'm just not seeing that. Like I said earlier, I couldn't find a trace of solder or anything else for that matter in either the hole or on the tube. Maybe yours had been repaired at an earlier time?

Here's a pic of the broken piece I removed and other than shiny brass and a little mild corrosion staining... it's spotless???

Edit: Remembered I had a nos petcock, so I thought I'd take a look at it and see if anything stood out. It's clean as a whistle where the tubes are inserted. There's even a gap at the main tube as a result of it being installed at a slight angle and there doesn't appear to be any solder/lead used.

[ziggy stardust]

Yep you have good evidence to put your case forward there moonpup, maybe I was misled by the ease the material cut when using the Dremil thinking it was solder or lead when in fact it was the zinc/whatever alloy. Well done.

Z

[slawsonb]

This has been a great discussion. Both of you guys have been there done that, so both points of view are valid. It seems logical that the tubes would have been initially press fit. Any subsequent repair could have been made with undersized tubing, especially in the US where metric tubing is not always available, creating the need to fix the tube with solder or epoxy or ??. This is why I love this site. 
...bert

[reed]

All my fuel taps i have the brass tubes are pressed in etc.
Thanks.
Steve.

[Mopar392]

Thanks for more useful information DM. Took a random of 3 and all appear to be clean as a whistle with a precise pressed fit...DL

FYI: If anyone is looking for Fuel/Oil Tank Screens Moonpup has some available.

[moonpup]

Ok folks, time to re-visit this thread.

After overcoming the obstacle of getting the old tubing out, it was time to put the new tubes in. Since I don't have a press, I though I'd be able to just pound them in with a hammer as long as I was careful and took my time. Wrong.... soft brass = bent tubes! Back to the drawing board. 

So today, I buzzed over to Lowes and picked up 6" long 8/32 threaded rod and a small pack of 8/32 nuts. I cut the rod to fit the longer fuel pick-up tube. It ended up being 4 1/2 inches long, which accommodated the 2 nuts I used on one end and also leaves it short enough that it doesn't extend into the bottom area of the tube that will be slightly compressed when fitted in the petcock body.

It worked perfectly, providing both the strength needed to prevent the tube from bending and a hammering surface (top of nuts) to keep from mashing the top of the tube with the hammer.