Front Flexi Brake Hose.

[axxeman]

Due to Mr Clumsy - my alter ego - I failed to hold onto the brake caliper when releasing it from the coil spring that I had tied it to whilst changing (yet another) wheel bearing ... Of course, the weight and jerk fractured the brake union where it goes into the caliper, meaning that tomorrow I will need to fit a new flexi hose. I imagine that undoing the joint inside the wheel arch might be awkward, and freeing off the bleed nipple and removing the fractured pipe union too could be troublesome. I have sprayed them with some releaser overnight. So what is the process for removal and fitting please?

And what is that strange little piece of metal that runs parallel to the union at the caliper end of the hose? What does it do?

Thanks,

Greg