Brake line busted! Help!

[JDiFet]

I have a 2000 ranger 4wd. Today I found out one of the brake lines busted. I’m having trouble identifying what the name of the brake line is (I.e. intermediate line, front line, etc.) and what the thread pitch is of the fittings.

ive attached a photo of the busted line. It seems to start at a union connection on the drivers side frame and runs all the way back to the rubber hose, and that rubber hose runs into the tee fitting on the back of the axle.

 

[pjtoledo]

I took the old line, measured it and bought one slightly longer.
then cut and flared.
getting the new line up between the frame & gas tank ain't easy. I had to move the tank.
standard 3/8 fitting at the rear, not sure about at the union.
rear line is what I'd search for.

2000 may be too far back to get pre-bent lines, you'll probably need to cut & flare some bulk line.

 

[Uncle Gump]

22 years in the salt... it happens.

You're really at a point all lines need a good examination and all the hoses should be replaced due to age.

To just repair it... clip the line with side cutters and measure the distance to the union. As PJ stated... rough to get in there.

But once you pulled the fitting from the hose... you will know the size.

 

[JDiFet]

I took the old line, measured it and bought one slightly longer.
then cut and flared.
getting the new line up between the frame & gas tank ain't easy. I had to move the tank.
standard 3/8 fitting at the rear, not sure about at the union.
rear line is what I'd search for.

2000 may be too far back to get pre-bent lines, you'll probably need to cut & flare some bulk line.

Yeah I tried searching for pre-bent but can’t seem to find much. I figured I would have to flare my own, which isn’t a problem personally, I’ve done it before. Just wasn’t sure if all the brake line fittings were the same size or not.

 

[JDiFet]

Quick update: got the brake line out and the end that goes towards the axle is a regular inverted flare. But I can’t tell what the union side is. Is this considered a bubble flare?

 

[JoshT]

Yes, that would be a bubble flare.

 

[4.0blue98]

Like JoshT said it is a bubble flare. They sell adapters that will join an inverted flare to that bubble union. I didn't have a bubble flare tool so I got one of those. When my downstream line went. Should be 3/16 tube and I used an adapter with a 3/8-24 female end and a 10mmx1 male iso/bubble flare. That's what fit my 98 so I'm assuming they didn't change.

 

[4.0blue98]

Make sure it's 3/16 line and not 1/4 before doing anything.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

That’s odd, I don’t remember a bubble union under any of mine, just at the master cylinder.

That said, once one brake line goes anymore, I just blow through and replace all of the hard line with Ni-Copp and call it a day. Should all be 3/16” line. I bought a lever style brake tool a couple years back and it’s slick for this, I can do any flare I need with it. The wheel cylinders sometimes have the next larger standard double flare size, factory used big nuts on the 3/16” line. I’ve used adapters so I can just do standard nut (3/8” I believe) and step up and I’ve also gone through the trouble of tracking down what year Rangers used a wheel cylinder that uses the standard nut. Once one hard line goes, the rest aren’t usually far behind and as much as I don’t enjoy doing brake lines, I’d rather do it once for the whole thing and be done.

 

[4.0blue98]

Yeah I was flustered for a while trying to figure that union out. But that's what it waa. No idea why they'd do that. I agree with doing them all if one goes. I love that nickel copper tube easy to bend and flare. I agree it should all be 3/16 but that piece the op is holding looks big for some reason. I have vehicles with 1/4 inch going to the rear junction on the axle, but not my 98 ranger.

 

[19Walt93]

I'd hesitate to splice a brake line that old, it's not fun but I'd replace the line all the way to the front. If the brake hoses are 10 year old they should be replaced, too. It'll be more fun than wrecking the truck.