All vehicles manufactured after 1967 have dual master cylinders that will stop your vehicle if one side fails. That, and I'm the Pope. When a front line breaks, and the brake pedal hits the floor, that tells you your back brakes weren't properly adjusted if you have rear drums. If a rear line breaks and it hits the floor I have no idea what that tells you except to bail out.
Thank you very much for posting.I have posted this before probably a couple years ago when one of my brake lines blew out in the drive way.(2001 ford f150)The previous weekend we had towed the boat quite a bit in Tennessee.I started checking all the brake lines and found out rust was a problem on all of them.I was very lucky.I went ahead and replaced all of them with the flexable tubing made for brake lines.This will not rust.I am surprised the manufacturers still use tubing and fittings that will rust because this is a safety issue.People are keeping their cars and trucks longer now than they ever have.
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My son blew l/r on 2000 2500 chevy leaving college. Luckily he hit the grass and called dad.
Just a reminder, as part of your routine maintenance, make sure you are changing your brake fluid regularly as well. Brake fluid absorbs moisture, which can contribute to lines rusting from the inside out, as well as affecting performance.
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02 Silverado, luckily mine blew in the driveway as my wife was getting ready to pull out.
When mine went on my 03 1500 I was towing a boat at 4:00AM and a drunk in front of me decided to just stop in the middle of the highway.....luckily it was a gradual ditch so I took that and went around him...turned around and limped home with no brakes towing the boat (which also didn't have brakes).
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The brake lines on our 2003 Trailblazer, 2010 Malibu, and 2001 Blaser all rusted out. So, where is the DOT demanding that car manufacturers upgrade materials to stop this nonsense?
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2006 Ford Expedition 4x4. At the ramp....of course.
1998 Ranger R93
1998 Mercury 200 EFI
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My thoughts are its more of a bad design vs bad materials. Or at least thats the way it was on my Silverado. The area which rusted out was near the wheel well in a perfect position to catch salt / mud etc. It was part of the hard line which they bent in an almost dip that collected everything from the road. Well Salt / time won the battle. Looked over the remainder of the lines on that truck and everything was fine.Originally Posted by Jeff Hahn
I dont think you can go stainless as I dont think it will seal.. But could be wrong about that just something stands out about that in my mind.
Stainless, copper and coated steel lines are available aftermarket. I'm sure the factory could use any of these but then new trucks would cost $70,020.00
Ahhhh had no idea stainless would work. Not sure why I thought stainless had issues sealing.
Dont new trucks already cost that ?? LOL. kidding.. Well sorta
Yes they already cost 70k, S.S. would add 20 dollars more.
Those goofy trucks the Post Office drives are something like an 1986 Chevy S-10 chassis with millions of miles on them. They're soon to be replaced, but they are maintained by the USPO and have scadillions of spare major parts. One kit they use us replacing all the mild steel brake lines with stainless steel. Th lines are pre-bent.
Morning to ya Pope...............not sure what to tell ya, but the rear brakes were adjusted properly, and the pedal did very little to slow the vehicle until the parking brake was used....BTW, it took very little movement of the parking brake lever to slow the vehicle....cuz the rear brakes were adjusted properly (like 3 clicks was all it took).
Last edited by TRCM; 10-20-2018 at 12:44 PM.
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'99 Silverado on the day I bought the boat 80 miles from home in 2006. Line ruptured in the dealer's lot as I backed up to the hitch. Lucky they didn't wait another 30 minutes and blow when I was coming down one of the steep grades on the way home with the family in the truck.
I'm like the furthest thing from a mechanic but aren't a lot of semi's running some sort of PEX lines now that are colored on the outside? At the highway check stations the inspectors are looking for any sign of white plastic showing through the solid color. One of our long haul drivers got parked by an ME inspector for a tiny scruff that you couldn't even feel with your finger.
had the issue on a 1999 Tahoe. In fact, in research I found it was a major issue with any chevy truck in this timeframe and the only reason it was not forced as a recall is because some obscure line about check your brake lines in owners manuel
it was just not brake line but entire underbody. Will never by Chevy again. A Tahoe even in 1999 was like $46K list
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2024 merc 175 pro xs 3B411947
My Mint 2003 Tahoe Z71 (115K) just had a rusty brake line last month. I should have replaced them all but will be selling it in a few months.
I've got one car that we've not been using the last year. I thought the brake pads were bad, and I replaced them. The real problem was rust on the mounting hardware--on the slides. A little grease and I'm back in business.
If you have any vehicle not used all the time, make sure the brake hardware is properly lubricated.
Threads like this one sure make me glad that I drive a Toyota!
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