I also experienced the broken brake line to the rear while out of state on vacation. No fun at all.

 

All,
So--I'm worried about this pulling my 9K travel trailer with my family in the Ex around the Rockies.
My question is does replacing the flex hoses with the stainless/braided hoses cure the problem...or are these failures happening in other areas of the line system (...and if so, should those components be replaced?). This type of failure could doom me where I do most of my heavy towing.
[And I don't know much about the brake systems on these, so ur gonna have to dumb it down for me.]
Thanks in advance!

 

Any vehicle at any time can have a failure and you should never forget that. I have towed easily over 100k mi and never had a brake failure, but I always think about "what if" while I am driving. Plan ahead. Slow down. Keep your distance. "No Hurries, No Worries" is what we always say when towing. Tow with your headlights on to remind people you are there and coming at them.

Now as for Super Duty brakes: The brakes work great if properly maintained. This thread has brought about the need for visual inspections. I used to do it once a year, but considering how important stopping is, I think I will do it while I am changing the oil. I will look for rub marks as I would imagine that will be the key sign.

Just remember that mechanical failure can happen at any time on a new or used vehicle. Take your time and enjoy the scenery, camping and your family.

 

I ALWAYS inspect the brake lines while changing oil on all of our trucks and cars. They are almost all rusty just because WI but I look for the flaking and growing rust spots. If you can flick off chunks of rust off the lines they should be replaced. A little brown surface rust is fine but will get worse so keep an eye on it. The rubber lines should be replaced every 10 years. No need for SS braided if you don't want to spend the extra cash, the stock rubber ones should be good for 15 years but replace at 10.

Normally if you are replacing the rubber lines or the metal lines EVERYTHING should be replaced. (This is based on my experience in WI) Unless you just replaced stuff the year before and one part failed down the line. So long as everything holds up and doesn't rot away I will replace pretty much the entire brake system every 5 years in our trucks. Lines, rubbers, calipers, pads, rotors, etc. And at the same time I clean and repack the bearings, change rear end fluid, install new axle seals, and stuff.

I hate only rust more than doing a job and then having to do it again because of that one part I didn't replace.

 

I've had brake line failures in several cars of varying ages and from different manufacturers with single and dual circuit systems and in EVERY case it led to an immediate and complete brake failure.

You can't really blame Ford, it's just the nature of hydraulic brake systems.

 

Here are some images of a rusted brake line. Hope everyone checks to make sure yours are not rusty like this one. (ok... this is under my truck. D'oh)

 

So what is involved in replacing the line? It is a matter of:

1. draining the system,
2. undoing the existing line
3. installing the new line
4. refilling and bleeding?

Is it more of a pain to DIY as opposed to taking it to a Pep Boys/shop that can do it more easily? Has anyone found a better price than ~ $160 for a stainless steel replacement?

Cheers
Homie

 

Just picked up the Ex from the shop after replacing rubber brake hoses and entire steel line (I found one hose to have it's outer layer split for 1.5 inches and many areas of severe rust on steel line). Really appreciate this post--big piece of mind towing in the Rockies this summer. Couldn't find any braided SS hoses for stock-height (they're all kits for lifted trucks, it seems), and shop had to custom bend steel line as pre-fab part couldn't be located.

 

the andy's kit just replaces your rubber hoses. The most common failure spot is the metal line, since it rusts. The stainless hoses won't help with that. The only way to guarantee that doesn't happen again is to use stainless steel hard lines, which are rare. You'd have to buy the stainless line and tools from someplace like summit and bend it up.

Really brake lines aren't that hard. Flaring can be tricky but its easy if you have the right tools and you practice on a bit of spare line first. To make bleeding easier you can replace your stock bleeders with speed bleeders. Autozone is selling them now, like $10 each. Worth it if you work alone like I do.

I agree with everyone who says there is nothing unusual about the ford system, thats just how most cars and almost all trucks are set up. Thats why its so important for street cars and street trucks to have a mechanical E brake. I'd actually rather lose brakes when towing my trailer than without it, at least then you'd have the trailer brake to drag you to a stop! the best thing you can do, as said, is to check those brake lines, particularly around the rear axle where the tires throw salt on them, on a regular basis, and replace the lines if there is any sign of corrosion. Once they start to rust, its game over, whether its next week or next year. Not wise to take chances. Besides, once they get rusty they are a real bitch to do anything with. Spray everything with pb blaster a day before you plan to replace.

 

Good pics! You can see in his pics the rust is growing and starting to get flakes that you can flick off with your fingers. Its time to replace these lines. Most rust on hard lines starts at the plastic clips that hold the line in place because they also hold dirt and moister.

 

It's really strange how the brake lines are badly rusted but the fuel lines look brand new. My truck is the same way.

 

This makes me say hmmmmmmm.

I have had a rear brake line rust out and fail on my 97 Chevy 1500 a couple times and in a 2000 Chevy van once and in all cases I still had front brakes. The lines are separate coming right out of the master cylinder and the resevoir is split as well.

I'm real surprised that a single line failure would cause total loss of brakes, poor design. I don't have a lot of confidence in the E brake on the EX. Only bright side for me is my EX is a garage queen all winter so it misses out on the lovely salt.

 

The "total loss" of brakes is a bit over exaggerated. In all modern split reservoir vehicles if a line breaks there will be some brakes yet. I know compared to normal it does feel like "nothing there" but at the very bottom, just before the peddle hits the floor there will be 1-2" of brake. What has to happen is the plunger in the master has to travel past the port to the open leak before it can put pressure on the remaining brakes. Yes the brakes are nearly non existent when this happens but there is the little bit left by the floor. If this happens to you keep in mind: Pumping the brakes does no good, stab the E-brake down, then just stand on the main brake peddle! Push it all the way down into the carpet and literally "stand" on the peddle. The weird thing in a line failure is for some reason the "power" brakes seem to quit working so that last little 1-2" of brake always seems like old time mechanical brakes.

 

Snow,
Thx for the procedure outline on handling brake failure--good thing to file away (esp re: don't pump brakes, just stand on 'em) since that may not come naturally in a sudden failure scenario.
Sure glad the OP started this thread up—I had a big split in one hose and a bunch of rust on the steel line. I'm a lot safer now...thx FTE!!

 

Snow, what you describe has been my experience in the past. Not much of a pedal, but enough to stop.

Got me looking at my lines today, they look remarkable for a 12 yr old truck. I think it's led a lucky life and never seen salt.