Brake line failure (1 Viewer)

[irontoejoe]

Just a reminder to check your brake lines. I was driving down the highway last week and when I was coming up to the stop light I was beginning to brake normally and then all of sudden the pedal went the floor. I had to swerve to the shoulder to avoid rear ending the car in front of me. Luckily I was close to home and made it just on rear brakes.
Looked under the truck and found a burst brake line on the passenger side axle to caliper. I've never heard of this happening, and neither had my neighbor who is a mechanic. Just replaced all lines with Slee SS lines. You can see there was a bulge forming close to the banjo fitting. These are original brake lines I believe and I had just had a complete front end brake job a few weeks before which makes me wonder if they didn't tweak the brake line at that time.

 

[kidglove13]

Just got new ones in the mail from Beno and CDan

 

[irontoejoe]

another pic

 

[jonheld]

Dude,
Not be snarky, but those brake lines are 20 years old. How long do you expect things to last?

 

[irontoejoe]

Jon, I just bought the truck and I thought the mechanic that did my brake job a few weeks ago would have inspected them better. I'm the 3rd owner so I cannot say if those are original or not. Just a reminder to inspect them.

 

[Cruisercouple]

I had the same thing happen to me this past weekend, But I was out on the trail. Luckily there was a shop open that got me fixed up, It was the same line and same year as yours. I will be replacing all my lines after this.

Glad your ok and didn't hit anyone.

 

[irontoejoe]

Thanks Cruisecouple, glad to hear your okay as well. Did your line fail in the same spot? Were your brake lines original? I wonder if that particular line is subject to extra stress.
Anybody know what the recommended replacement schedule would be for brake lines?

 

[Cruisercouple]

Thanks Cruisecouple, glad to hear your okay as well. Did your line fail in the same spot? Were your brake lines original? I wonder if that particular line is subject to extra stress.
Anybody know what the recommended replacement schedule would be for brake lines?

Irontoejoe, My line burst in the same spot, where the line connect to the knuckle it make a slight crease. I was told by the mechanics that a slight crease like that is not good for the line. If you get a new line from Toyota you will notice it is a little longer and there is no (small crease where the line connect to the knuckle) I am not 100% sure this was the cause but it might be according to the guy that replaced it for me. I just ordered some steel braided lines, i am replacing all the rubber line with them as the steel braided lines are much stronger. I think mine are original and age has a part in this problem. I agree with you in the fact that people should add this to the PM service when they buy a cruiser,
for $65per line, it's safe insurance.

 

[Douglas S]

I had the exact same thing happen to me...I replaced both sides.

 

[kirkm76]

Just did all of mine with stainless steel ones. Was the final piece in the firm pedal puzzle.

 

[Kernal]

No PM schedule for brake lines AFAIK; replaced both my front flexible lines during the front axle service when I found the outer layers were cracked.

 

[irontoejoe]

I too replaced all 4 lines this weekend with the Slee SS and I have to say I really like them. They went in with no issues and the pedal is definitely firmer, but then again I have no real point of reference since I switched up from the worn out lines.

 

[jonheld]

Jon, I just bought the truck and I thought the mechanic that did my brake job a few weeks ago would have inspected them better. I'm the 3rd owner so I cannot say if those are original or not. Just a reminder to inspect them.

Understood. FWIW I replaced all 4 soft lines with OEM years ago. The combination of a complete system bleed and new lines will make the pedal firm. Makes no difference if they're SS when you're talking about 20 year old parts.
Whenever I'm under the truck I make certain to run my hand over all the soft lines and visually inspect. You can't do that with SS lines. Fine particles tend to get trapped by the SS braid and cause chafing over time.
Personally I think SS lines are fluff.