On the way back home from exchanging a defective reman caliper for my Chevy brake job, the brakes failed on my '92 Club Wagon today. What are the chances of having brake failure on both vehicles at the same time?

The Econoline steel brake lines have a lot of spiral wire wrapping & at one point along the frame rail ended up covered in accumulated dirt, hastening corrosion. A brake line rusted through under the driver's floor, dumping the brake fluid out of the rear chamber of the dual circuit system. This is just forward of the RABS valve. I was able to limp home, with a soft pedal that went half way to the floor & both the ABS & Brake warning lights glaring in my face.

Have not considered all my options & thought I'd ask FORD TRUCK ENTHUSIASTS for recommendations 1st. Presume FORD would quote shocking prices & not stock what's needed. Figure it might be easy to custom make lines, but did not find any information in Chilton or Haynes on what type of flaring is used. I own a nice flaring tool kit & have made quite a few brake lines for classic vehicles. Perhaps the parts houses stock brake lines to fit these applications.

Need help dechiphering the cryptic instructions about the need to center a proportioning valve after a circuit fails, w/o even mentioning where this valve is located or how its accomplished. Not sure how to bleed the RABS valve either & worried it's bleeder screw may be frozen. Done a fair amount of brake work on this 230K Econoline, don't even remember all of it.

 

The RABS system really shouldn't be too bad. Replace whatever brake lines there are and bleed at the back wheels. There really shouldn't be any surprises.

 

I agree. I am a brake specialist. I own and opperate a "Brakes Only" repair business. Just started year 13.

 

Too late. I've already been "surprised". My hilarious local FORD dealer didn't even have P/Ns & recommended NAPA. Looking like its a pull the fittings, match what you can, reuse what you can't match & make up your own lines kind of job. Figured somebody would have worked out a parts list & indentified the fittings & steel line sizes/lengths, perhaps put together a kit. Still need to confirm that my trusty flaring set will make the correct flared ends. Am considering combing a couple of wrecking yards & installing used exact fit lines, but the heat & distances involved makes me want to conserve energy.

 

Bull**** ................. I just changed my line on my e-250 from the proportioning valve, all the way back to the axle and it was an easy job.

1st, cut the line at the fittings on both ends, this way you can put a 6 point socket on them and pop em loose. Measure the line loosely with a tape measure and bring the fittings up to NAPA. They have an ample supply of LONG LINES with fittings already attacted. If they don't have a nice display of brake lines, then find a parts store that does.

This is NOT the nightmare that it seems to be.

Jim

ps ... btw - do NOT waste any more of your time telling ANYONE what year/make/model you have. That don't mean crap. You need a brake line of "x" length, with "these" fittings on it. Walk over to the rack and start going thru them (find a nut that fits your "fittings", and then the "new" fittings, just to be sure).

OH and by the way ...... do not waste a moment trying to remove the old line. Just leave the thing there. Attatch the new line to the old with cable ties.

 

In no way, shape or form did I suggest this was a "nightmare". Just very annoying to have both vehicles' brakes go down at once.

I've seen brake line kits for various classic cars, but did not find any for Econoline. Figured I'd ask around instead of reinventing the wheel. While the system is down I intend to replace several other rusty looking lines, instead of waiting for them to fail. If there were slick custom kits I'd consider replacing them all since I expect to keep this Econoline for awhile.

 

Umm ...... go back and read your last post.

Going to wrecking yards looking to "salvage" a brake line from another old vehicle ....... would be a nightmare.

Sorry to have wasted my time. Good luck to you.

Jim

 

It's 3/16 inch line, pretty much industry standard for cars and light trucks. It MIGHT be metric, but in '92 I doubt it very seriously.

 

Yours & mine both. I promote & practice recycling whenever possible, but am not against making up my own custom fit brake lines. I am intolerant of reinventing the wheel however. Apparently you've never seen the brake line kits offered for classic & offroad vehicles where "what year/make/model you have" is critical.

Used original brake lines in excellent condition from my nearby You-Pull yard would be my preference. Trouble is its unlikely they have another late model Econoline there, so I'll need to wait until I can make the trip to Jax. There had been a perfect donor at the nearby yard, but they foolishly scrapped it recently.

Really dislike your suggestion of leaving the old line in place too. If I make up lines I'll remove the old lines to use as a template for accurate bending & carefully reroute the new lines in their proper locations using proper hold downs. No wonder it was such an "easy job" most sloppy jobs are.

 

You're an idiot. If you have all the answers, why did you start this thread in the first place? Are you doing a frame up restore with this old junky van, or are you wanting to get it back on the road? I thought you needed help getting it back on the road ..... my bad. Sorry.

 

Go back & read my posts. For a newbie who leaves rusted out brake lines in place & cable ties 'new one size fits all' lines to them, you're mighty quick to start calling anyone else "an idiot" or describing their van as "junky".

Try not to repeat insulting & saying you're "sorry" in the same breath, while wasting everyone's time. I'm still hoping to find a brake line kit, custom fit lines, or specific details on common parts store items that lend themselves best to restoring the rusty brake lines on this fine "old" Chateau. A junker with good brake lines would be even better. I've been aware of the racks of generic brake lines, the practice of just slamming these ready made lines in place, stuffing the excess length, or using end to end 'splice' connections, for many years. Please, don't waste any more of your time replying via sloppy advice & insults, its becoming a "nightmare".

I'd already learned that NAPA & others, do not stock lines with the size fittings that match the master cylinder. Cutting, flaring, bending & reusing these fittings will be neccessary, unless I can find lines that match this large Wagner thread size. The RABS valve & connections to flex hoses are standard sizes. The front brake line out of the master cylinder also looks rusty in it's very exposed position on the front cross member, meaning both these critical lines may need to be 'made up' reusing the old fittings.

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh noooooooooo...... NOT, 'made up" Cutting the new line, slipping the old fitting over it, and flaring the end. OHHHH NOOOO. I can make up these lines in 10 minutes, (so could any other decent brake mechanic). Clearly this job is over your head. You are making a mountain over a mole hill. I sure as heck hope you keep this thread updated, cause I am truely interested in following your progress with the repiar of THIS problem. Good luck man!

Topic notification ON !!!

Jim

 

Does a "decent brake mechanic" leave rusted out brake lines in place & use cable ties to attach new lines to them as you've recommended? You've made a mockery of your own posts & are unable to stop pointless exaggeration. If you don't know any source for brake line kits or custom made brake lines you really don't have anything to contribute. If you know for a fact nobody sells what I inquired about you've failed to mention it. All you've done is whined & bashed.

Clearly you can't resist wasting your own time vainly trying to make my simple inquiry into a soap box to attempt to boast about your alleged abilities. Your baseless conclusion "this job is over (my) head" is as useless as your previous posts. I hope you take your own advice & stop wasting your time attempting to bash.

It took more than "10 minutes" just to trace where the lines run & will take longer to inspect & evaluate which must be replaced, before I can even estimate their lengths. If I could find a 'kit' I'd just replace them all & might just makeup a set, like I've done so many times before. I'll give the local You-Pull yard a shot 1st, got a short list of other parts needed. No "nightmare" no "mountain" nothing "over (my) head" just choices among possibilities.

 

Like I said ...... good luck, and PLEASE keep us updated.

 

So the week is almost over.

How's that repair coming?