Quality

travelnutz wrote:
Even a leaking brake line will raise the hair on one's back as I found out late last summer. A trailer hauling junk ahead of us had something fall off and we ran over it and heard a clunk. Didn't know what we hit and pulled off into the next rest area and checked for any damage and none was seen. Back on our way thinking it had hit a frame member. Not that lucky though. Got back home and parked the 2004.5 truck on the south side cement driveway as usual. Next day noticed a silver dollar sized oil spot just behind the front wheel. Obvious because there are no oil spots on either of our driveways. Smelled it and it sure was brake fluid and alarm bells went off, dang!

Got down on the ground and started searching for a leak or wet area. Found it. Was brake fluid on the line and also on the frame side. Got an appointment to have it fixed and all lines inspected. The piece that fell off had hit the brake line backed by the frame and put a sharp dent in the line and that's where it was leaking. Most of the line alongside the frame was covered by the undercoating so he damage was easy to find once the wet was seen.

From where the dent kink was it looked like the tire may have run over or deflected the piece and threw it up to hit the line. Repair place seem to think the same. The line was not rusty but of course had to be replaced anyway and was. Total bill was $208.61 and was too little to turn into insurance. $100 deductible but will save a claim made for a real need.

Checked all the other lines and virtually no rust and we live in Michigan and there's nearly 200K on the 13 year old truck. Wasn't a truck component failure repair as it was caused by a freak road hazard. Such is life!

I do as well (other side of the state, I'm in Monroe County) and my truck never sees winter, it's sleeps in the barn. My lines are all in good shape (as yours was / are but the line that feeds the rear differential banjo that supplies fluid to the rear brakes is exposed to any and all road grit and **** so it gets 'sandblasted' no matter how good the rest are protected. You might want to get underneath you buggy and have a look above the rear end where the hard line transitions to the banjo and the hose connects that feeds the brakes on the rear axle. I did my own in the driveway. Not a big deal. Cut the line out at the frame rail and added a compression union and routed it along the rail, up in front of the rear fuel tank to the clip on fastener that secures the banjo, flared the tubing and called it good. Of course I bled the rear brakes. I use a vacuum brake bleeder but you can do it via gravity too. Just takes longer.

My cost was 20 bucks for Ni-Cop and 50 for the flaring tool.