Checking your brake lines for wear and tear

The picture was borrowed from http://www.aa1car.com/

Thank you!

All this news about Toyotas speeding out of control - and brakes not working - got me thinking about my Toyota truck brakes. So I crawled under it this weekend to check them out and when I got done, I thought that our customers may benefit from a quick checklist on what to look for when inspecting automotive brake lines.

Here is the short list of what to look for:

• Spongy, weak hoses
• Hard, brittle hoses
• Cracks in the outer skin of the hose - you may need to bend the hose in order to see this
• Blisters or bubbles in the hose - have someone pump the brake pedal so you can see this better
• Chafe marks - from the hose rubbing against some other component
• Wet stains where the hose is starting to leak
• Obvious bulging or expansion of the hose
• Loose hose mounts or twisted hose

I also put up a page under Technical Info: http://www.hoseandfittingsetc.com/technical-info/inspecting-brake-lines/ with more details.

Happy driving - and braking!

More information on brake lines:

• Stainless steel braided brake hoses (high performance)
• Rubber brake hoses (OEM quality replacement)

Posted by Marek Bobik