Had a brake line blow out on me in a customer's driveway last Thursday

I was bleeding the rear brakes on a 2012 F-150 and the line just snapped near the ABS module. Rust had eaten through it in a spot I couldn't see with a quick glance. I learned to always check the hard lines over the axle on these trucks before doing any brake work. Has anyone else run into hidden rust spots on late models?

2 comments

2 Comments

emma_hart21d agoMost Upvoted

Little bit of a correction here - these trucks came out in 2009 as 2010 models. So a 2012 F-150 is a 12th gen, not late model. But your point about the rust is still solid. Those steel lines over the rear axle are notorious for rotting out from the inside. Salt and moisture gets trapped in the nylon coating, eats the line from the outside too. Ford switched to a different coating around 2014 I think, but those earlier ones are ticking time bombs.

elliotw3720d ago

Read a tech at a local shop say those pre-2014 steel lines are one of the few jobs that'll make him walk away from a truck. He had a 2012 come in with a pinhole leak right over the axle, said the nylon coating was still shiny on top but the line underneath was completely rusted through. That salt and moisture gets in through the ends just as much as the coating. He charges eight hours labor to replace all the lines preemptively on those years. Paying that now beats being stranded on the side of the road.

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