Blew out a brake line last night.

[Scorpion8]

Never had that happen in 40+ years of driving. Pedal started going to the floor slowly at stops, getting worse over time. Finally pulled into a lot to check and the brake fluid reservoir was almost empty and there was brake fluid by the right front wheel. Sure as heck didn't hit anything, didn't go 4x'ing, didn't even drive off a curb. And with the garage concrete at 5degF, won't be fun to check over.

Brake line? What else could be wrong?

 

[hlg99]

Hopefully you will get off easy and just have to change the hose.

 

[Scorpion8]

Hopefully you will get off easy and just have to change the hose.

Fingers crossed, any other ideas what it could be? I haven't been able to crawl under as I don't want to freeze to the concrete (car stays parked outside in Alaska) but the leak is coming from "near" the caliper side of the system, because the puddle is right near the inside of the tire. Can't imagine that I cracked a caliper. Perhaps blew out a piston seal?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Could be a piston seal. Not terribly common, but I don’t think the rubber lines failing is super common, either.

 

[Josh P]

I've lost brakes a few times, my 68 cougar blew a rubber hose. My aerostar van lost them due to the rear abs system failing, and had a leaking caliper on a 4700 international truck. I'd start with the rubber line, if 1 failed the rest are probably close behind.

 

[Scorpion8]

The Explorer is at the shop because I can't lie outside on the concrete in this weather to fix it. The leak seems to be coming from the union where the brake line from the caliper meets the hard line coming from the brake system. Right at the top of that joint looking in behind the right front wheel. Hopefully it's a seal or perhaps the bolt failed due to the extreme cold we were having and just separated. Lots of fun driving from home to the shop last night w/no brakes, but luckily back in my clutch transmission days I learned a thing or two about engine braking. Fingers crossed.

 

[Explorer_PL]

I just blew one of mine last month. Luckily, it was the short one going from ABS module to the front driver wheel. OEM line from the dealer just $ 25.
Same here, that has never happened to me before LOL

 

[Scorpion8]

Just called the shop, and apparently the hose split right where it goes into the large protective sheath at the crimp. An easy fix if they can get the part in a timely fashion. Nothing is for sure here on the frontier.

 

[Scorpion8]

Ended up replacing both front brake hoses to the calipers due to corrosion, but my baby rocks the highway again.

 

[MotorCityFats13]

ive had a couple hard lines rust out in my lifetime with total loss of fluid with in minutes knowing i would have to either replace the line or patch in some compression fittings i just smashed in the line right before the leak to cut off brakes to that wheel and drove home.... now with rubber lines its not so easy unless you have vice grips or some other kind of pinching method since there is no need to damage a hard line unless its an emergency