Sorry for the stupid question, I need a second opinion on this before I go drive all over town looking for a replacement, and my godfather/mechanic is out of town.

Anyway, I was driving though the Circuit City parking lot last night when I heard a loud pop and my brake pedal want to the floor (thank God I wasn't pulling up to a red light). I got it parked and my buddy tole me something was leaking on his side so I went over to check it out and the flex line had blown off the caliper and sprayed brake fluid everywhere. I cleaned a bunch of crud out of the connector and got it back on as tight as I could, then took it easy on the way home.

Today I got around to pulling the tire off so I could get a batter look at it, and it would appear the hard line that connects to the caliper has had part of the end rust off. I tried cleaning it up, but it just doesn't look right. Here are some pictures (56k warning, huge pictures):

Line that blew off
Rusted connector
Inside of line

Thanks.

 

go to the parts department or auto store and buy new front brake hoses ,x2

 

i second that motion. get two new lines,also flush as much of the old fluid out as u can, refill with a quality fluid.old fluid breaks down rubber lines.

 

I went to Pep Boys got the new lines, but I'm having a hard time removing the old one. I tried unscrewing the fitting on the back, but itwon't budge and it's begenning to round off. Any tips on how to get it off without destroying it?

 

spray a little pb blaster let it sit for a few minutes, then hit it with a propane torch for like 5 seconds. then take the wrench to it. do it right after when its still hot.should spin right off.

 

Use either a 6-point socket, or a 6-point box wrench (or one of those wrenches that grabs the flats... forget what they call them). A regular 12-point or crescent wrench will likely round off that bolt. (It's called a banjo bolt)

If push comes to shove, you should be able to cut the head off that one, remove what's left of the brake hose, and grab the old stud with a pair of vice grips to twist it out of the caliper.

Also, make sure you replace the other brake hose too. It's probably just as old, and close to failure itself.

-Joe

 

its called a flare nut wrench i think.

 

Nope... a flare nut wrench has six faces, but is open on one end of the face to allow you to slip it over the line. It's a better choice than a regular 12-point, but that lack of a continuous ring around it makes it weaker than an enclosed 6-point box wrench.

Flare nut wrench:


12 point box wrench:


6-point box wrench:

 

line wrench

 

If it was me, I would also be taking a good look at the lines to the rear of the truck as well. Like Keith said, a little heat and it should come off easily, just work it back and forth as your taking it off or it may take the threads out with it.

 

I just did mine recently, heat does wonders - i used a 3/8 offset wrench after cutting the line (replacing anyway) The the 13mm banjo bolt came off easy with a little impact.

But Holy Chit!! The rears were freakin nasty (have drums)- the bleeders were so bad that the holes were rusted shut lol - I replaced the calipers in the front so I had an extra set of bleeders thankfully ..

After flushing the system , the truck has that new vehicle cush affect again when I just barley hit the brakes. I forgot what that was like lol

 

Had any brake work done recently? Were the calipers left to hang by the lines?

Defiantely do both sides.