The worst feeling...
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Elder User
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 745
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From: North Carolina
The worst feeling...
A couple months back i posted about my rusty brake lines. I was worried that they were getting to the point where they needed to be replaced. I gathered a bunch of advice from all you guys here and bought all the required tools and parts...
but i never did the repair. I played with the flare tool a bit but couldn't get a good crimp, and life got kinda hectic (moved to NC, traveled all over Europe on business, getting married next weekend etc...) so i just kept putting it off.
Well, today it ruptured when i was pulling into a parking space. That is a terrible feeling when the pedal goes to the floor and you are not stopping. I managed to get it into neutral and stop before rear-ending a range rover. I was lucky i was going slow and not barreling down the road at 50mph towards a red light.
Moral of the story is, don't procrastinate when it comes to safety gear. I am ashamed that i put everyone else on the road at risk. I knew better.
but i never did the repair. I played with the flare tool a bit but couldn't get a good crimp, and life got kinda hectic (moved to NC, traveled all over Europe on business, getting married next weekend etc...) so i just kept putting it off.
Well, today it ruptured when i was pulling into a parking space. That is a terrible feeling when the pedal goes to the floor and you are not stopping. I managed to get it into neutral and stop before rear-ending a range rover. I was lucky i was going slow and not barreling down the road at 50mph towards a red light.
Moral of the story is, don't procrastinate when it comes to safety gear. I am ashamed that i put everyone else on the road at risk. I knew better.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 23,174
Likes: 1,678
From: Stephensville WI
Yup, been there, done that. In my old 1956 F-100 I drove in high school. I pulled out of the school one afternnon and the brakes felt funny, so I headed to the tire shop my Dad always told me to go to if the cars needed anything. I downshifted to second, made a right turn into the parking lot and stepped on th e brakes....and nothing happened. Luck was with me as there was a handy pile of used tires to run into. 
The mechanics came out and I jumped out of the truck and said. "I think my brakes need work."
The mechanics came out and I jumped out of the truck and said. "I think my brakes need work."
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,025
Likes: 1
From: Clearwater Fl.
Well, I'm gald to hear that no one got hurt. I think we are all guilty of putting something off here and there. Luckely for you it turned out o.k. I don't know how well the emergency brake would stop a big truck like an F250 that's going 50 miles an hour. Luck was on your side for sure on this one.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 215
Likes: 6
From: Delhi NY
glad you are alright.
My truck is a 99 and my brake lines do not look all that bad for living in upstate NY.
the flaring tool is a little intimidating but the last 3 yrs I have done all my own brake work. Not yet on this truck but My 96 and the tarus stationwagon that I just sold. Now I am a not so proud owner of a dodge durango(It's what the wife wanted)Shes happy so that makes everybody happy
Again glad you did not get in any accidents
Ron
My truck is a 99 and my brake lines do not look all that bad for living in upstate NY.
the flaring tool is a little intimidating but the last 3 yrs I have done all my own brake work. Not yet on this truck but My 96 and the tarus stationwagon that I just sold. Now I am a not so proud owner of a dodge durango(It's what the wife wanted)Shes happy so that makes everybody happy
Again glad you did not get in any accidents
Ron
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Elder User
Joined: Dec 2008
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From: North Carolina
thanks guys, this is totally not my style... i am usually over cautious...
It was towed to the "AAA car care center"... i guess my punishment will be having to pay whatever they say to get it fixed. If i had just taken care of this before, i could have researched a good shop and gotten quotes etc.
anyway, here is a pic of the "before". Looking at it now, i can't believe i put off replacing them... it looks like the only thing keeping brake fluid in there was a hope and a dream... I am going to ask the mechanics to throw the old line in the back of the truck so i can examine the rupture. If your brake lines look like this, it is time to replace them:
EDIT: Notice the gas line right below the brake line... no rust... why would one steel line have no rust and the immediately adjacent line look like new?
It was towed to the "AAA car care center"... i guess my punishment will be having to pay whatever they say to get it fixed. If i had just taken care of this before, i could have researched a good shop and gotten quotes etc.
anyway, here is a pic of the "before". Looking at it now, i can't believe i put off replacing them... it looks like the only thing keeping brake fluid in there was a hope and a dream... I am going to ask the mechanics to throw the old line in the back of the truck so i can examine the rupture. If your brake lines look like this, it is time to replace them:
EDIT: Notice the gas line right below the brake line... no rust... why would one steel line have no rust and the immediately adjacent line look like new?
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,060
Likes: 7
From: Burnsville, MN
Hmmmm. You know I keep hearing that brake fluid absorbs water over time, so that it needs to be changed occasionally just for the hell of it. I wonder if that might account for the difference....?
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Elder User
Joined: Dec 2008
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From: North Carolina
this is true, brake fluid is hygroscopic, but why would this make the outside of the lines rust?
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Elder User
Joined: Dec 2008
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From: North Carolina
This is the long line going along the frame rail to the rear. It starts at a fitting below the front of the drivers side door. Between that fitting and the ABS module, the lines are covered with some kind of plastic or paint of some sort. No rust at all. Why wouldn't they do that on all the lines?
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 17,398
Likes: 317
From: Whittier, CA
I thought the brake lines would be stainless. So that is a surprise to me. Any chance that it is not the original line? Seems like a no-brainer to me that something as critical as brakes should be stainless. I've never lived where salt was an issue, so I have little experience with that. Thankfully.
Sure glad you got her stopped safely.
Sure glad you got her stopped safely.
Cargo Master
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,752
Likes: 5
From: Stillwater, OK
I'm very surprised that there is no sacrificial anode on those lines.
sure it would be one more thing to maintain, but for a very simple addition it would practically eliminate corrosion of important parts.
sure it would be one more thing to maintain, but for a very simple addition it would practically eliminate corrosion of important parts.
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Elder User
Joined: Dec 2008
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From: North Carolina
I have no way of knowing if these are the original lines... but i have no reason to suspect they are not.
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Elder User
Joined: Dec 2008
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From: North Carolina
I thought this only worked in the presence of an electrolyte... like seawater?
Cargo Master
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,752
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From: Stillwater, OK
or salt on the roadways... if the vehicle is rusting, a more active material can protect it. ...the trick is using humid air to close the circuit.
It's the same reason that vehicles on the coast rust through without fail, but you can find abandoned vehicles in New Mexico that haven't been touched in decades that don't have a touch of rust on them...
It's the same reason that vehicles on the coast rust through without fail, but you can find abandoned vehicles in New Mexico that haven't been touched in decades that don't have a touch of rust on them...