Other folks have mentioned the difficulty of removing the brass fitting where one of the hoses goes into the pump. The one you need a T30 bit to remove the brass plug.

I had the ultimate failure today.

I applied pressure to the wrench and it would not budge. So I applied more pressure. The T30 bit sheared off and the end of the bit remained in the plug. It would not come out with anything we tried.

I considered just putting the pump back in the car, returning the valve and calling it a day. When the green shower comes, it comes.

As a last resort we disconnected the six hydraulic lines to the pump and took it to a machine shop where they will attempt to remove the sheared off bit. We cautioned them to not ruin the threads on the pump. We asked them to take care not to get any filings in the pump. Maybe this will work. Maybe it will not.

If it works I will install the valve and be delighted.

If it fails it will probably destroy the pump and I will have to buy another at huge expense.

You live and you learn.

Jack

 

Two words: 0.2 ohm resistor in series with the +12vdc power circuit.

 

Sam, I am not trying to trash the relief valve. In fact the reason I took the pump to the machine shop is in the hope that I can install it and be a happy customer.

I was following the instructions when the bit sheared off in the plug. If I had known that this was a possibility I would not have applied as much pressure as I did. The plug was really stuck in there and did not want to move.

The fact that I may be facing a huge bill to replace the pump does leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Hey, maybe the machine shop will be able to get the sheared bit out and remove the plug and this will end up fine. If so, this is just a bump in the road. If not, I will be out a lot of $. We will see.

Jack

 

It's hard to believe a torx bit could have sheared. Warnings about that fitting being ultra tight should be included in the instructions. Maybe it would be good advice to spray some WD40 or thread penetrant first and tapping the fitting a bit for the penetrant to work.

I would not let this issue be the deciding factor to say that the resistor solution is better than the valve. As we have seen already, there are plenty of things that can go wrong with the resistors.


Doug

 

I wasn't trying to trash the relief valve either. I think it's a superior solution, even though I went with the resistor in my car simply because of the price difference. I'm sure the machine shop will be able to remove the plug. and everything will work out. And if they can't get the plug out, two words: 0.2 ohm resistor in series with the +12vdc power circuit.

 

BlkCat
You may have not have applied to much pressure. A lot of Chinese tools haven't been heat treated properly I don't know if that's the case or not but discount tools are not always the best value. I've seen wrenches, drill bits, and other tools that have broken prematurely.
Good Luck at getting this resolved, the valve installation really is a easy procedure, sorry you have to go through this.
Doug
2001 XKR Silverstone

 

Thanks Doug. I don't know if it was Chinese or not. The Torx bit was from my friend's toolbox who was helping me with this. We were working in the garage at his house.

As a side note, it is really easy to remove the pump from the car altogether. To get it to the machine shop we disconnected all six hydraulic lines from the pump. We marked them so we know where to reattach them (assuming the pump is still workable after the machine shop does their work). The connections unscrew very easily. Wish I could say the same about the brass plug. We wrapped the ends with a little tin foil to try to stop leaks. I thought the fluid would leak out. I did not see anything leaking from the open hoses. I was a little surprised at that.

Assuming I can put this back together I wonder if any air has gotten into the lines and if so if it needs to be removed.

Jack



Jack

 

The system is self bleeding so don't worry about that.

 

The air in the lines will purge itself when you operate the top. One less thing to worry about.

 

This is the second out of MANY valves install that the unit had to be removed and taken to a machine shop to remove the plug. It is like many of the things that go wrong with this system from the hoses to the seals and now the plug. Like others the hex plug was difficult to remove but I know of only two that had to go to the machine shop. It appears to be a compatibility problem between the two metal products or that they used a lock tight on the plug when it was installed. Like everything that is associated with this hydraulic system replacements and modifications have been a true challenge.

I have confidence in the machine shop removing the plug and all will be well, if this is not the case I have a pump housing in storage that is available if necessary.

PS this system will self bleed removing any air in the system. You do not need to worry about it now.

 

I should add my statistics to the mix. With the pump that was originally in the car, the torx plug was tight but not all that difficult to remove with gentle constant pressure on the ratchet wrench that I used. This pump was eventually replaced and I had to go through the procedure of installing the check valve again on that second pump. Like the first, the torx plug was tight but not really a big deal to remove.


Doug

 

Gus,

Thank you very much. You have been a huge help through all of this. I appreciate everything.

Let's see what the machine shop brings and take it from there.

Thanks,

Jack

 

When I was doing mine, I noticed the Torx bit was twisting, so I stopped and bought a good, hardened bit. Boy, am I glad I did.

 

Let me add my experience - my pressure relief valve went in like a snap in 1/2 hour. Absolutely no problems at all.

 

BlkCat - Any news from the operating room??

 

Larry,

I got a call from the machinist yesterday afternoon. He said he was able to remove the sheared off Torx tool from the pump. He said he stopped at that point for fear of destroying something attempting to remove the brass plug. I suspect a Torx tool may not now fit in the plug. He asked me about what was underneath the plug. I told him I did not know. I told him that I had the piece that was to replace the plug. He said that if he saw that it would tell him what he was dealing with and how to proceed.

I am going to take him the pressure reduction pieces tomorrow morning so he can see the hydraulic tube that is to be installed in place of the brass plug.

I have decided if he says he can remove the plug without stripping the threads or ruining anything else, I will have him do it. I would then install the pressure reduction piece.

If he says there is significant risk of destroying the pump, I will ask him to stop and not do any more. I will then install the pump back in the car without the pressure reduction tool and live with it. The previous owner had the "green shower" fixed mid 2010. I suppose another one will occur around 2014. I'll worry about it then. If you factor in the high cost of buying a new pump now against the future cost of paying to fix the hydraulic lines when they leak, it doesn't make sense to risk buying a new pump. I would return the pressure reduction tool to the manufacturer.

I will keep you posted.

Jack

 

You could try the 'other' method of pressure reduction. It works too and cost $10.

 

Also, even if the threads get stripped it's not the end of the pump. There are thread inserts that allow you to re-tap the threads to a slightly larger size, insert the, uh... "insert", then screw in the tube. I'm not sure what they're called. On airplanes they are called helicoils, and here's the Helicoil website so you can see what I'm talking about: http://www.noblefix.com/helicoil.htm

I just found some at Harbor Freight. It looks like they only have 4 different sizes, but I'm sure you can find the correct size for the pump on the internets somewhere (assuming the worst case scenario happens).

Now that I think about it, your pump is already at the machine shop. I'm sure the machinist knows about these thread inserts. In the worst case scenario he could just re-tap it for you, install the inserts, and then you could take the pump home to install the hose. You won't have any leakage from the inserts. The most common usage I'm aware of for them is for the spark plugs on airplane engines. Airplane engines are VERY expensive (the cheapest ones START at $20K) and it's not uncommon for someone to cross-thread a spark plug. Helicoils are FAA approved. If they can withstand the pressure of combustion in a cylinder, I'm sure they can withstand the 1000 PSI or so from the pump.

 

And the easiest pressure reduction method of all is to always operate the top with the key from the drvers door without the engine running. This gives you about 2 volts less to the pump.

 

If I recall correctly the area behind the plug is vacant with no devices behind it. It may taper but not sure.