All the unexpecteds from a new old truck

[safetyfast]

Spent the morning changing transmission fluid and antifreeze on my new to me 96 Ram. Driving home this afternoon, lost the brakes and smoke started coming out from under hood. One of the steel brake lines coming off one of the ABS junctions was spurting like blood in a B horror film. I've never had a vehicle before where I had to replace hard brake lines. This is my first Dodge and hopefully isn't a taste of things to come. Oh well. I wonder if I should replace all the lines now. They look good, but of course rust from the inside I know.

Does anyone know a source for prebent lines? Rock Auto and Advance don't carry them.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

Wrecking yard might be the fastest place to get one...

As for why it most likely failed is because the previous owner most likely didn't change the brake fluid every 30K miles so the water content builds up and starts rusting from the inside. One of the most forgotten fluids...

Brake fluid, power steering fluid, and coolant all need to be change every 30K miles.

 

[safetyfast]

I figure I'm asking for a repeat if I go to the wrecking yard. Can't seem to find prebent lines, so I guess I'll have to make my own.

 

[MikesRammin]

I had gotten a 1994 ram from my dads best friend who was the original owner and he was always meticulious about the keeping up on the mateance and the day after I got it the back brake line busted in the middle of the fuel tank. It was rusted out from the salt in ohio. But what I ended up doing was getting two 6 foot sections of brake line and a 6 inch section and ran a new line from the booster back. On the line that hooked to the booster I had to cut it and flare it but I had never flared before and it was easy. I spent about 4 dollars a piece on the brake line and about 2 dollars on the 6 inch line. Then I did the free rental program on the flare kit which I had to pay a 35 dollar charge but the refunded it all when I returned it then brake fluid and two unions for about 2 dollars a piece so all in all I spent about 20 bucks on fixing it and I've never done brake lines it was pretty easy and took me about an hour to get everything unhooked cut the line I needed to flare flare it run the line and bleed the brakes. A place you could go to get a full brake line would be LMC truck but they charge 200 dollars for it and its basically the same line I got at my local Advance Auto. My brakes are better then what they were before the blow out, it was cheap and I got to say I did it myself. Also Dodge brake lines are a one piece line so its just a connection at the booster and the rubber line to the axle. If you can turn a wrench and never worked on a car before you could do this. And the lines are really easy to form by hand

 

[safetyfast]

Got some line from O'Reilley's and borrowed their flaring tool. Took me a couple of tries to get a good initial flare, but easy after that. Thanks for the help.

 

[V-10 RAM]

Glad you got it fixed. I better check mine & see what they look like.
P/S I have never changed brake fluid in any vehicle I have owned & never had a problem in hundreds of thousands of miles of driving.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

I've always change brake fluid every 30K miles...

I just heard about a local farmer here in Idaho that thought the same thing till his brake fluid froze and left him without brakes. Yes brake fluid is hydroscopic (in other words absorbs water from the air). So as brake fluid ages its gains water content so in a heavy brake usage the brake fluid could possibly boil early from water content or in this case the brake fluid can freeze because of water content.

 

[safetyfast]

Usually change my brake fluid every couple of years. Sometimes I'll wait until a brake pad change though. Previous owner apparently didn't.

 

[wermbang]

Glad ya got it fixed, I should probably look at changing the fluid too.

 

[rambob]

fun stuff. I feel your pain.


I need to change my fluids.

 

[V-10 RAM]

Heck since everyone is changing brake fluid would someone stop by & change mine?

I'm well aware of moisture & brake fluid. But with Dot 3 fluid I have never seen a problem because of fluid NOT being changed. I worked in the field as a mechanic for a major drilling company in very cold country of Northern Nevada & Southern Idaho back in the 70s.
Saying that, I'm not saying it can't happen. But most of what I have seen is systems that had leaks or were open in some way. Bad master cylinder gaskets, etc.
Now these new synthetic fluids may pose a much different deal.
I was ASE certified in brakes back in the day. I also know they recommend changing brake fluids, I just never have & have never had an issue in 45+ years of driving & hundreds of thousands of miles. Maybe my day is coming.

 

[Bigtman07]

Huh I learn something new every day. Didn't know that they could get water in the lines. Thought it was a pretty sealed system. Well guess I get to have some fun changing mine. Its never been changed that I know of.

 

[safetyfast]

Huh I learn something new every day. Didn't know that they could get water in the lines. Thought it was a pretty sealed system. Well guess I get to have some fun changing mine. Its never been changed that I know of.

It's a sealed system, but brake fluid is hydroscopic and thus absorbs moisture from the air, which can get in the brake lines through condensation. That said, my line ruptured in a kink where it was attached to the frame, so dirt and moisture may have ruptured it from the inside. My brake fluid was nasty though and I'm glad to have new in there now.

 

[V-10 RAM]

That was my point. Brake fluid absorbs from the air. If you keep your system closed & gaskets on master cylinder are good then the chances of getting water in the system are very remote. At least enough to rust out brake lines.
I need to start selling products & services that promote spending money for good ideas. I'd be filthy rich in short order.
Old timers like me I guess really shouldn't be on these forums unless we buy into all this new thinking of spend spend & spend some more for all the snake oil ideas out there. I bring 50+ years of experience & 30 years as a mechanic including working for a former Indy 500 Crew Chief.

Someone please explain how you are going to change brake fluid @ home without having a self bleeder?? Also if there is water in your system how are you going to remove it without flushing the system. How do you do that at home with out special equipment?? It is impossible to get 100% of the brake fluid out of a system short of tearing down the entire system & replacing with new.
Great Idea but this is my point HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DO THIS @ HOME. Most of the rust under vehicles today are from Mag Chloride which is way worse than in the old days when they mixed salt into gravel & spread it. Mag Chloride is SALT on STEROIDS. It rusts crap that under normal conditions wouldn't rust. That is were a lot of these problems arise today. Like rusted brake lines. One more point if a closed tube rusts from the inside out you will see very little if any rust on the outside what you will have is a very small pin hole appear & be leaking by the time it is seen.

 

[MikesRammin]

Glad I was able to help! I try to help people save money on stuff I've learned over the years with race cars.

 

[safetyfast]

That was my point. Brake fluid absorbs from the air. If you keep your system closed & gaskets on master cylinder are good then the chances of getting water in the system are very remote. At least enough to rust out brake lines.
I need to start selling products & services that promote spending money for good ideas. I'd be filthy rich in short order.
Old timers like me I guess really shouldn't be on these forums unless we buy into all this new thinking of spend spend & spend some more for all the snake oil ideas out there. I bring 50+ years of experience & 30 years as a mechanic including working for a former Indy 500 Crew Chief.

Someone please explain how you are going to change brake fluid @ home without having a self bleeder?? Also if there is water in your system how are you going to remove it without flushing the system. How do you do that at home with out special equipment?? It is impossible to get 100% of the brake fluid out of a system short of tearing down the entire system & replacing with new.
Great Idea but this is my point HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DO THIS @ HOME. Most of the rust under vehicles today are from Mag Chloride which is way worse than in the old days when they mixed salt into gravel & spread it. Mag Chloride is SALT on STEROIDS. It rusts crap that under normal conditions wouldn't rust. That is were a lot of these problems arise today. Like rusted brake lines. One more point if a closed tube rusts from the inside out you will see very little if any rust on the outside what you will have is a very small pin hole appear & be leaking by the time it is seen.

Good points. Notably, with the mag chloride, the sidewalks and driveways here have been taking much more of a beating in the winter!

 

[V-10 RAM]

Glad I was able to help! I try to help people save money on stuff I've learned over the years with race cars.

This is a great post & everyone has things to bring to these posts. From my years of experience if you don't do the job right then you are costing yourself money. Changing brake fluid is great but if you think you have water in your fluid then you need the equipment & experience to do the job correct. Just draining out what you can or bleeding out what you can is no guarantee you have removed the water. For people to just change it thinking they are preventing or fixing a problem is not saving money.
That is why I brought up what I did.
There is a big difference in brakes & how they are used between race cars & street trucks. I haven't seen a street truck with glowing red rotors from heat yet.
Thanks for your posts you keep thinking.