I was a half hour into a three hour trip and my son called me from college back home and said that a brake line had blown on the van. So I turned around and went to the college to check it out and I could see It was leaking near the T on the rear axle. About 2 months ago the right rear axle line rusted out and I had to replace it so I figured the left one probably rusted out now.

Filled up with brake fluid and drove home and then got underneath to took a look. 1 metal line comes from the front and goes to the T and then a metal line goes to the right and left brakes but there are also two rubber hoses mounted to that T. They both go about 1 foot up to a bracket and as my son pressed on the brakes, fluid was just squirting out of one of those rubber hoses on the back side of that bracket.

I don't know what those rubber hoses are for, especially the one that is shooting brake fluid out all over the chassis. I didn't have time to crawl under the front of the rear axle to see what's there. I felt it and it felt like there was a part of a metal hose sticking out that was rusted away or something and I had him press the brakes again and it was definitely squirting out there.

Can anyone tell me what those rubber hoses are for and what is supposed to be on the other side of that bracket?

I needed to get back on the road so I just left it up on the jack stands and I won't be back home till Monday but I'd like to know what the heck that is and what I need to replace. Let's see if I can post a picture that I found it looks like it.



Both of my hoses are black and not clear like that front one. I'm not sure which one it is that is squirting out of behind that upper plate.

 

For some reason it won't let me edit my post but instead of one clear line coming out of the tee I have two black rubber hoses coming out besides the three metal hoses.

 

does your sons van have 2 tees or maybe one tee and one more similar to it beside it?

In the pic the clear line is the differential vent tube. It just goes up to the bottom of the underside of the van body floor and should have a bracket or clip holding it in place so it doesn't fall down, it doesn't connect to anything and needs to be up high so rear axle grease doesn't drip out....
On the tee in the pic, the two steel horizontal lines coming out, one is for the left side brakes and the other is for the right side. The second line going up from the tee (in the pic looks like it might be a steel braided flexible line) (original was a black rubber hose) is the main feed hose for the rear brakes. It should go up to a mounting bracket and connect to a steel line that goes on up towards the front of the van. That line has to be flexible so it can move as the axle goes up and down on the springs.

here is a video talking about the axle vent line and it shows a different set up from a single tee and has two flexible brake lines. If I understand you correctly, you are saying that you have 2 black rubber flexible brake lines. IF you stop this video at 43 seconds, you can see 4 lines going up from the axle.

From left to right,, the 1st hose is a brake hose. The second from the left is the differential axle vent hose and in this video, has a open ended plastic 90 degree fitting on it. The third line from the left is the second rubber brake hose. The far right smaller line (I am not positive) but believe that would be a ABS sensor line... What you are concerned with wold be the two brake lines. In the video you can see how they are connected to a metal bracket. On the other side of that metal bracket should be the two steel lines the brake hoses connect to..
So if you have 2 brake lines, it is one of those 2 rubber hoses that are leaking OR perhaps one of the steel lines that they connect and continue on up to the front of the van is rusted into or has a hole in it.. More then likely it is one of the rubber brake lines.

Here is a video that will give you an example of how the brake hoses are held on to the bracket. They are extremely rusted on this video and the guy cuts the lines. If your steel lines are not rusted then DO NOT cut them..

Here is a video that shows a good example of how the rubber brake hose fits into the bracket where it connects to the steel line. This is a front hose but the rear fastens into the bracket about the same.

 

A couple more things. You should use a LINE WRENCH on the brake line fittings so you don't take a chance on rounding off the fittings. Be careful when loosening the fittings. Sometimes the steel brake line is rusted on to the fitting and when you twist the fitting, so will the steel brake line, you DON'T want that to happen. If the steel brake line tries to turn as you loosen the fitting, stop and spray some PB blaster or other good penetrating oil on them. After letting them soak a bit, lightly rock the fitting back and forth to see if it will break free from the line.. IF not, spray the fitting again, wait a little, and if need be, use a pair of pliers (very gently so as not to crush the steel line) and try rocking the fitting back and forth again to brake it free..
IF the steel lines are not rusted then what ever you do, you do not want to twist, crush, or break that steel line or you will be doing allot more work!

 

I'll have to wait till I get home before I can watch the videos as im on a slow tablet but it's not the steel hose coming from the front of the van as that is the steel line going into the T and its not either of the steel lines going to either brake cylinder as like I said, I know which those are because I replaced the right one a few months ago. The brake fluid isn't squirting out of that one with the 90 degree white plastic fitting but the other rubber line going up to that same bracket. I don't know what's supposed to be on the other side of that bracket. If its for the ABS I have that disabled so maybe I could just plug it. And I no longer can enable the ABS because the front wheel discs are the non abs discs without the teeth that the sensor detects.

 

I think that our vans (2000 E-150) only have ABS for the front wheel. Am I wrong?

 

all I know is I hated my ABS because if I would hit a pothole it would kick on and a pedal would drop a little bit and then I have to hit the brakes harder to come to a stop. So then I pulled the fuse. And I noticed that the abs disc brake disc were $10 more than a non ABS so I bought the non-ABS. I know the newer f-150 we had at work had just rear abs.

This coming weekend is supposed to get into the 40's so that's probably when i'll fix it. I'll get up under it before then though so I can see what it is that's busted.

 

I think it goes to whatever screws into the metal connector on that J clamp in this picture.

 

I still can't use Edit so I have to reply.

In that picture the connector on the left is the T fitting that leads to the right and left rear brake cylinders. The part that looks like A J wire is actually a thin piece of metal that has two rubber hoses connected to it. The one rubber hose not shown is the one with the plastic white L fitting.

 

Mine is a 1999 E-250 but I'm betting it's the same on yours. It sounds like what is leaking is your Rear Brake Hose. One end of the hose attaches to the T. The other end attaches to this:




There is a metal bracket that extends from the underside of the body. A "U" shaped clip (brake hose retaining clip) then holds the end of the hose in place against the bracket. The metal brake line that runs from the front of the van along side the gas tank is what is attached to the hose at this bracket. The end of the metal line has a 3/8" fitting. You shouldn't need to replace the fitting but be warned that the U clip might be rusted in place. I live where we salt the roads so when I had to replace mine it took some violence to separate the old hose from the bracket. When I last did this job in 2012 a new brake hose cost me $14.96 from Rock Auto.

 

I can't delete the post but I will add that the line coming from the front of the van to the T is a metal line and the two metal lines out of the sides of the T go to the wheels. Then this rubber hose goes up to that bracket and it's out of the front of that bracket where the brake fluid is squirting up forward onto the floorboard when the brakes are pressed.

 

If you watch the first youtube video up above at exactly 5:00 minutes into the video he actually touches the very line I'm talking about. It's next to the rubber hose that is the differential vent line. It definitely is an output from the T as the brake fluid is squirting out of it at the bracket towards the front of the van. I do not have that third line shown that looks like a metal line. I only have two black rubber hoses going up to that bracket and one is the differential vent. The other one is the one that's squirting brake fluid towards the front of the van.

 

Ok. So I screwed up previously. I took a video of it as I was standing next to it and then just decided to lay on the ground and look under and it is the line that goes up to the front. However I assumed it would be laying on the ground if it was metal all the way up to the front but I didn't see the other end.

 

Here is a picture of a Rear Brake Hose from Rock Auto. By chance on sale for just $6.15 at the moment.
https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/mor...nid=539&jpid=8

Notice the fixture on the left end of the above photo. In the picture below you're looking at that fixture from end on as it is installed on the top of the rear axle. You can see the nut on top holds it in place. The left and right side of the fixture are different since the metal brake line fittings are different for the left and right side. That little fact bit me in a** first time I installed one.Left (which runs to driver's side) is 7/16. Right (passenger side) is 3/8.

 

Since the fluid seems to squirt forward, apparently my busted metal line must be right near the fitting on the right side of the hose shown above and deflecting off the mounting plate.

Since I just replaced the right rear I probably should replace the left rear while I'm under there. I don't wanna fart with them as I rounded the bleed screw on the right rear even though I used flare nut wrenches. However I'm probably gonna need to bleed all four now.