Rear brake line popped up in the frame rail next to the gas tank?

[ejholmgren]

Put in new leaf spring mounts and shackles last Friday. Saw a few odd drips near the rear pass shock under the truck in the parking lot today. Brakes came and went on the way home, and now there's a veritable river of brake fluid dripping out the back end of my truck, eating the paint off the shock, etc. I'm guessing we massaged the hard line a little too much trying to get the bolts in on the front driver's side mount.

I don't really give a rat's about this truck as long as it "drives and stuff." I've been fixing this one so much lately that the turbo ranger has just been sitting. What's the best/cheapest plan of action in this case?

 

[metalmacguyver]

Get a flaring tool and about 10 feet of hard line and the correct fittings. Just run a new hard line. Its a fun time tucking getting it sort of through where the old one goes.

 

[ejholmgren]

Guess I'll pull out the old nasty hard line and try to fish some ss through there. What size are the fittings on both ends (master cyl and rubber line to the rear junction)?

 

[metalmacguyver]

I forget. They are different sizes though. IDK why, but they are. If you can, take both fittings with you when you go to get the parts.

 

[dburton07]

the same thing just happend to me this morning, mine got rusted right next to the gas tank strap cuz that is fubar, im i going to have to pull the skid plate off???? or can i just F with it to get it through there. i have a 93 ext cab 4x4

 

[metalmacguyver]

For the trouble involved, I would try as best possible to just snake it throught there. It will be a PITA for sure but I would take that over fighting with rusted hardware.

 

[dburton07]

for now i just cut it, crimped it, and folded it, so im only running on front brakes, but im curious because the stopping power isnt any different, so maybe its been like that for a while. i know its not the safest thing but i have to, i dont have to tools up here at school to fix it, but i am going to my parents house on friday and thats where the tools are.

 

[metalmacguyver]

When you get to you parents house, unscrew the rear hard line where it leaves the RABS module/junction box on the frame rail near the drivers door. If fluid doesnt come out then you may have a blockage in there. Another possibility is siezed rear wheel cylinders.

 

[dburton07]

wheel cylinders might be a possibility, somtimes when i would slow down, (before all this stuff happened) i would slow down and a few seconds later it seemed like it got more braking power and i would slow down faster, left me confused.......

 

[Quiksurf]

just replumb the hard line. you can reuse the fitting if they are in good shape otherwise you may want to spllice the line in, definitely sneak the line in behind the tank, or where ever you want to run it, like out side the frame or under the bed, its steel hyraulic line, it doesn't matter which way you bend it as long as it doesn't fold.

harbor freight flaring tool $10.00
25 ft roll of 3/16" brake line and fittings $50.00
knowing you won't run over some kidand kill him .......
Priceless

 

[racsan]

i had a rear line go 2 or 3 years ago, right back by where it hooks to the flex line @ the rear axle, right after 4rth of july fireworks at the local fairgrounds. i got a std line nut for the rear fitting and was able to re-use the fitting up front at the proportioning valve. i just ran my new line inside the framerail, tied it down with zip-ties where i could. never bothered taking the old line out from behind the fuel tank, its still there, just cut off the old line on either side of the tank. had a similar situation with the taurus a month ago, but it uses 2 lines going to the rear, in fact there is 4 lines coming off the master cyl. its a split diagonol setup, l.f.-r.r.,r.f.-l.r. i couldnt tell which rear line had gone, they both were pretty bad, so i just replaced both in a 3' section, had to bleed all 4 wheels. the ranger wasnt bad to bleed at all. back in june i had to rebuild the wheel cyl on the r.r. tire, couldnt get the brake line freed up from the wheel cyl, so i just rebuilt it with it attached to the truck. got it fixed and im not losing fluid at that corner anymore. steel brake lines are the worst thing about having 15 y/o vehicles. invest in a double-flare tool, (and a good set) you'll be glad you did when the need arises.

 

[Yellowsplash]

Just a fyi....ford uses 3/16 line, but on the master cylinder and wheel cylinders there is a 1/4 inch nut. You will have to use a 3/16 to 1/4 adapter at these places when replacing the hard line. The fittings for the hoses, and the t-block on the differential are standard 3/16 tubing nuts.

 

[JohnPi]

Also, auto parts stores sell the brake lines in two ways:

1) A hard line that has to be bent by hand or with a tool
2) Coiled line that easily bends by hand

I recently had the same issue you're having (with a leaky line from the RABS to the back) and bought the coiled line (15ft for about $10). I was able to just snake it through next to the frame rail (after pulling out the old line) without having to remove the gas tank. I did remove the bed, because that made running the line a tad easier. Otherwise, with the hard line, you'll have to do more measuring to get bends in the right places, and I don't know how you'd run it without removing the gas tank.