Yesterday I rear ended a guy when my brakes failed- I was going maybe 20mph, he stopped quickly and I braked slightly harder and faster than usual, which slowed me down most of the way, then, no brakes at all and I bumped him. I got towed to a garage, where we discovered a hole in each brake line. They are the braided kind, and the holes look like sort of like punctured/burned. The mechanic said it looked suspicious, that someone had to have done it, but I don’t have any enemies (I don’t think) And I’d really prefer not to have to think that someone is trying to kill me. So I’m hoping this is the real cause: a few weeks ago I was going pretty fast down a country road and didn’t notice a stop sign until a little too late, I slammed on my brakes and skidded a ways and noticed after that the brakes were a bit looser after that, I had to push the pedal in halfway before the brakes would catch, though they still worked fine. Would slamming on the brakes cause both brake lines to weaken such that they would both burst a few weeks later on a fast stop?
Also, they said that type of brake line had been discontinued and I have to wait 2 weeks for them to come in. Any idea how much would be too much for them to charge? He said he guessed it would run me around 300 total
Has this vehicle been altered from stock? Raised, lowered, after-market wheels or different size tires? Or even an after-market brake upgrade. Any of those could have caused the brake lines to abrade against some part.
Most of the brake lines are fixed, hard tubing. The braided part of the brake lines need to move with the wheels and suspension. Sounds like they were rubbing on something.
To say that holes in four brake lines sounds suspicious would be a gross understatement. Very hard to imagine. Either the diagnosis is wrong or someone is trying to kill you. I doubt the latter because all one would need to do is compromise the integrity of a single line. No need to do all four.
While brake lines are maybe 90% “hard lined” (steel in most cases), where they terminate at each wheel they are flexible, maybe the last 12" or so. They need to be in order to compensate for the suspension travel.
I’m not up on late model technology, but historically these flexible pieces were made of rubber-based products. In higher-performance applications braided steel lines are preferable because they do not expand under pressure, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the brakes.
I’d like to know exactly what parts are affected. It would be helpful to know the year, make, model, and engine size so I can access repair info.
As mentioned, brake lines typically have steel tubing for most of the system, and then reinforced rubber hoses at each front wheel and one at the rear axle area; some cars might have two hoses in the rear. Armored hoses with braided steel sheaths are available, though I’ve only seen them from the aftermarket. The armored steel tubes I’ve seen have spiral wrapped sheaths, not braided.
It sounds like you’re describing two armored hoses that are leaking. Is that correct? And if so, when you say “punctured” does that mean the braiding is poked into the hose, rather than blowing out from it?
Where exactly are the leaking parts (e.g., left front hose going to the caliper)? Is it only two that are leaking (“each” suggests more than two, as the car has more than two)?
I think this is wrong. My understanding is that a loss of brakes at one axle will not disable the brakes at the other axle; this is a deliberate safety feature. So you’d have to pop one line at front, and one line at rear to completely disable the brakes.
I lost my brakes a while back. There was a hole in one of the solid lines. The mechanic said that sometimes they just rust, and replaced all of them because he found a few other bad spots. It seemed like a low spot where salty water drip down and collect in the winter. 1996 Escort, with rust everywhere else, so no surprise.
I believe it was in 1967 that cars were required to have independent systems between front and back, or crossed (left front right rear and right front left rear).
But 4 hoses failing at once, I think you and your mechanic should be callling the police.
If they were poked then you should have oil spots on your driveway. Looking at it from a probability aspect it would be unlikely that 4 brake lines failed at the same time. it’s possible for an old car to burst rusty lines from hard braking but not 4 lines at once. Particularly with a divided master cylinder. If one line breaks it should only affect 2 wheels as a safety margin. Also, one line breaking takes the pressure off that circuit. At most you should only have 2 burst lines.
Gary T can answer this but you may have had one set leaking which drew down the reservoir so the safety margin was eliminated without you knowing it (you do most of your braking with the front wheels).
There were holes in 2 of the lines. Its a 2000 Chevy S10, and it did sit in a driveway for almost 2 years back in 2005 or so. And again, the brakes did seem a little tweaked after I hit them hard a few weeks ago. Im just hoping that could cause it
The brakes will not be disabled, per se. However, the hydraulic system will be compromised rendering the brakes ineffective. Whether it be the front and/or the back depends on whether you have a dual master cylinder or an “old fashioned” single.
Didnt think to see if the hole went in or out. Ill have to look again. Its an '00 Chevy s10, and the mechanic said braided lines that were discontinued so I have to wait 2 weeks.
The mechanic said he thought it looked likesomeone went at them with an ice pick, which seems would be a weird way to sabatoge a car.
It’s possible that what’s happened is that you lost one of the lines when you hit them hard a few weeks ago, and then lost the other one when you braked hard yesterday. However, I would imagine it would have to be some sort of a strange manufacturing defect or non-standard stress (like the part rubbing against something) that would cause two brake lines to fail in short succession.