That brake line failure on a 2008 F-150 taught me a hard lesson

Last Tuesday I had a 2008 F-150 come in with a soft pedal that just wouldnt bleed out no matter what I did. After fighting it for 45 minutes I finally crawled under and saw the rear brake line was rusted to hell right where it clips to the frame. I ended up replacing the whole line from the master cylinder back, cost the customer $380 in parts and labor, and it took me 3 hours total. What got me was the line looked fine on the outside until I hit it with a pick and it just crumbled. Anyone else run into rust that hides that good on older trucks?

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holly_reed5529d ago

That rusted line trick where it looks solid until you poke it is the worst. I've seen it on older Fords where the galvanized coating hides the cancer until the line is basically dust inside. The real kicker is how the clip holds moisture right there against the frame, so that spot always rots first while the rest of the line stays clean. You did the right thing replacing the whole run, patching a section just means you'll be doing it again in six months. I started telling customers to just budget for the full line when the pedal acts up on any truck over ten years old.