[Jim Zeek]

In the northeast with all the salt and brine they put down its just a matter of time for any piece of metal to rust. Don't get caught behind a brine truck or a road that is still wet with brine. That straight spray gets everywhere.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Originally Posted by mike nixon

Pretty common failure on chevy and dodge. ford not so much that i've seen.

HA!. On my 3rd $2000 Lincoln Towncar: all 3 were mint underneath except for bubble-rusted Brake lines & Driveshafts.

Had Towncar #2 rear brakes fail (under me driverseat) while commuting bumper-bumper traffic. Foot-brake the EMERG brake was mandatory.

Step-son bought me a big coil of green brake-line & been using that to replace the brakes lines. Flare-fittings are fine, ferrule-not-legal, overall splices are not supposed to be "legaL' but I dunno how that really goes. I suppose a Flare-Flare in to a union is a junction, not a splice.

[RAJ7395]

Talked to my brother today and he's forming and flaring his own stainless brake lines. I offered to buy him new lines but he refused.

I told him that compression fittings are not legal so he agreed not to use them. The guy at Pep Boys told him to use them.

Rob

[Simple Man]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

My brother has a 2003 2500 Chevy extended cab 4X4 pickup.<snip>

The line/lines blew out just downstream of the ABS control valve that is bolted to the drivers frame rail under the drives seat.

I'll get and post pictures of the damaged brake lines.

Therefore, if you own a Chevy/GMC truck from this period, I highly recommend that you inspect your brake lines under the drivers side for any signs of rust or damage.

Not just Chevy/GMC, but any vehicle that lives in the rust belt.

[Cammer-6]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

Yipes! I had no idea that this issue was so common.

Mike bought some stainless lines and fittings and is going to bend up his own set. He plans to cut out the bad sections and splice in new lines with compression fittings. I'm trying to talk him into replacing the whole line with stainless.

I will forward the tip about Classic Tube. Heck, I think I'll buy them and put them on for him.

He's not sue happy but if someone got hurt all options would be on the table.

Perhaps, we should tow the truck to the Chevy dealer and change the lines in the lot in front of the showroom??

NEVER splice into a brake line and attempt to repair it.
Compression fittings are also a NO NO.

[6t7gto]

GM has had the brake line problem for years.
My son almost rearended another vehicle towing back from Norwalk last year.
Friends pickup also failed.
Lines sit on top of the frame and the corrosion starts.
I did a search and one that I found, dealer said because of the salt.
Truck was 4 years old and never left the Carolinas.
We repaired my son's on the road then he ordered the prebent stainless kit and replaced them all.

[Half-Inch Stud]

...I got original brake line off rusted old Pontiacs that got reused and still work.
...Brake line coils come coated with this super GREEN coating.

I'm convinced the rusty brake lines [ in Production since 1994 to TODAY ] are:
1. a major liability.
2. a corporate sabotage.
3. bad Company leadership, QC, production-control engineering.
4. the wrong way to implement planned-obsolecense.

[Richman]

Originally Posted by sleepy

That's why I role around on the creeper looking at everything under the vehicle EVERY TIME i change the oil. Check it, Check it, Check it.

Amen to that. My 2003 2500HD gets a brake inspection every time the oil gets changed. There seems to be something wrong with the metal used in thar era vehicles. I've heard of a few of my friends say the same.

[RAJ7395]

You're probably not going to believe this but... I was driving my girls to their basketball game today in the wifes 2001 Durango RT and the brake pedal went to the floor!!

Yep.. blew out the rear brake line! WTF is the matter with the car manufacturers these days?? That could've killed my whole family!

Anyone know who makes a pre-bent stainless steel brake line kit for a 2001 Durango RT AWD??

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by lrosen

Huh? I have never seen a brake line that didn't use compression joints. Is this something new?

Also how many of the rusted lines are on older vehicles? It is recommended to flush brake fluid every 3-5 years especially in humid climates. DOT 4 brake fluid is so hydroscopic it can be 50% water in a couple years and rust the lines from the inside out. I just flushed my wife's 2000 Grand Am for the second time and it must've had 30% water in it and I flush the system on my Firebird every other season.

I use Dot 5.. and no issues, and pedal seems fine......
use dot 5 in the bird as well

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by Richman

Amen to that. My 2003 2500HD gets a brake inspection every time the oil gets changed. There seems to be something wrong with the metal used in thar era vehicles. I've heard of a few of my friends say the same.

The location in the frame there and no way for moisture to escape, combined with nothing on it from the factory ( probably mexico) adds to the problem..
First place i tell people buying a used truck to look is right there.
I mist oil under my truck, but that area I brushed waterproof grease all over it and all is well

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

Anyone know who makes a pre-bent stainless steel brake line kit for a 2001 Durango RT AWD??

THAT, is a certified by the US Government CLUNKER!@( saddly)
saw many destroyed good luck with getting parts

[RAJ7395]

Figures that it's classified as a clunker. It's been the best car I've ever owned.

10 years 100k miles and all I've done (outside of normal fluid and filter changes/flushes) is replace the battery, belt, tires, front brakes, shocks, the drivers window regulator (tried to lower the window when it was iced in place) and replaced the speakers (my fault hehe).

Now I'm looking at a set of brake lines. Not bad if you ask me.

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by RAJ7395

Figures that it's classified as a clunker. It's been the best car I've ever owned.

10 years 100k miles and all I've done (outside of normal fluid and filter changes/flushes) is replace the battery, belt, tires, front brakes, shocks, the drivers window regulator (tried to lower the window when it was iced in place) and replaced the speakers (my fault hehe).

Now I'm looking at a set of brake lines. Not bad if you ask me.

yup, sounds good. For some odd reason,( 8 mpg?) those with the 360 engine were slaughtered in the masses in the cash for clunkers program.

[RAJ7395]

12-13 around town and 18 on the highway when I behave myself. Best riding and most comfortable SUV I've ever been in. My 1995 GMC Sierra got about the same. My 90 454SS pickup is 8-9 around town (I never drive it on the highway long enough to get the mpg).

I ordered a new 2012 Durango RT and it will be here in a couple weeks. We'll see what that one gets.

[Cammer-6]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

I use Dot 5.. and no issues, and pedal seems fine......
use dot 5 in the bird as well

dont use DOT 5 on ABS sytems

[Cammer-6]

I can make a line if I had a pattern

[Sirrotica]

There may be another reason that these lines are failing prematurely other than composition of materials, road salt etc. The ABS system pulsing the brakes I would think has something to do with the premature failure also, spiking any hydraulic line as an ABS system does will find the weakest spots in a system.

I worked in a plastics shop in the maintenance department and the presses we had that would slam valves shut suddenly would invariably be the machines the high pressure feed lines off of the pump ruptured and that would crack and split. There is more than corrosion or substandard materials that's causing line failure in as has been portrayed here many of the big three products, it's not just one manufacturer or particular model that is showing failures from what has been posted.

I would be interested in how much higher line pressure spikes are as opposed to the same system without ABS.

[sleepy]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

There may be another reason that these lines are failing prematurely other than composition of materials, road salt etc. The ABS system pulsing the brakes I would think has something to do with the premature failure also, spiking any hydraulic line as an ABS system does will find the weakest spots in a system.

I worked in a plastics shop in the maintenance department and the presses we had that would slam valves shut suddenly would invariably be the machines the high pressure feed lines off of the pump ruptured and that would crack and split. There is more than corrosion or substandard materials that's causing line failure in as has been portrayed here many of the big three products, it's not just one manufacturer or particular model that is showing failures from what has been posted.

I would be interested in how much higher line pressure spikes are as opposed to the same system without ABS.

You might be onto something here. I had to replace every steel hydraulic line in my side dumps because they broke(about half way down the length of the trailer) from the vibration AND shaking the bucket(slamming against the stops) to get ALL the dirt out(which sends pulse spikes through the lines).
Replaced them all with high pressure rubber lines and never had a blowout after that.
The lines MAY be too rigid to handle the spikes.

[RAJ7395]

Interesting point. The rear line on the Durango blew as I was braking over some rumble strips. I didn't hear the ABS pump go offf but the noise of the rumble strip may have masked it.

Another idea I have is that there might be some cavitation going on in the discharge side of the pump and lines.

If the pump inlet doesn't have enough positive pressure, micro cavitation bubbles will form within the pump. When these bubbles hit the discharge side of the pump, they are exposed to the pressure in the downstream side of the braking system and will collapse. The surface tension and energy released by a collapsing cavitation bubble slamming into steel is very powerfull and will easily erode/severly damage steel lines.

For example, there's a video of a crab that uses cavitation bubble implosions to stuns it's prey. The crab closes his claw so fast that a bubble is formed and the shock wave from the implosion knocks the fish out cold. They put this crab in a fish tank with 1" thick glass walls and the force of the implosions broke the glass!!

At work, we do countless pump and hydraulic system qualification tests to insure that our pumps do not cavitate.

Cavitation can destroy a pump in a matter of seconds. I wonder if the car companies ever test for ABS cavitation?