Catastrophic brake failure.

[Oaklevel]

I have never had this to happen but by the posts this appears to be a GMC / Chevy issue ?????

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

I have never had this to happen but by the posts this appears to be a GMC / Chevy issue ?????

It is. It is a well known issue with GM trucks from what I have heard from several mechanics and from online research.

Bruce

[luvbigiron]

I've had failed brake lines on a 2001 F250, a 1993 Jeep Wrangler, and a 2004 Chevy Silverado. All rusted through and fortunately I found dripping fluid on all while stopped. The culprit of course was rust. The Silverado rusted through on the driver side on top of the frame rail back by the fuel tank. No way to inspect reliably. This is or certainly was an industry problem. I believe most customers would be glad to pay a little more for lifetime brake lines. At least customers who keep their vehicles like I do. I pull a Cardinal 5th wheel and I've had it all over the country including Alaska so I feel fortunate to not have had this happen on one of my trips.

[HappyTrav]

Had it happen and n my 98 Frontier as well.

Make sure that you do a good inspection. You will find other bad spots as well.

Bob

[Cagiva]

Always something to keep an eye on. Thanks!

[JohnD10]

Three times for me...

I had a front brake line burst on a 1977 Dodge van I had that was about 10 years old...tried to stop at a red light and heard a pop...brake pedal went all the way to the floor...glad nobody was going through the green light on the other street as I couldn't stop!

Ironically, there was a small mechanics shop right there on the same corner and I turned in, left the van there as I lived about three blocks away and walked home.

He had it fixed by noon the next day...it was a rusted out brake line!

Also had the same thing happen to a 1987 Dodge van, although I was lucky that it burst just as I had pulled into my driveway.

This van was the best vehicle I've EVER owned in my life...I saw it still on the road about five years ago in Thornton, Colorado!

Both of those happened in Michigan...the 'Salt-On-The-Road' capital of the world!

One more time (in Colorado), on a 1987 Buick Century...was on my way to work and going through a green light when suddenly the guy in front of me in a Chevy or GMC pickup just stopped in middle of the intersection.

I hit my brake pedal hard and POOF...to the floor, although this brake line was a rubber one!

The only thing that kept me from slamming into the back of that truck was the left turn green arrow was still on and I barely missed the back of that truck by maybe a foot, made the left turn, slammed through one of those Colorado water drain-off dips in the road and bottomed out the car, and came to a stop on the side street.

I was about a mile from home so I limped back to the house using side streets.

[clr]

This seems to be a problem with the RAM and Chevy trucks. Every friend of mine with a RAM has had this type of problem once the truck has some years on it. Both use a steel type brake line that is prone to rust over time. Only Ford that uses a cooper zink alloy type brake line that is not prone to rust like the others seems to not suffer from this problem.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by clr

This seems to be a problem with the RAM and Chevy trucks. Every friend of mine with a RAM has had this type of problem once the truck has some years on it. Both use a steel type brake line that is prone to rust over time. Only Ford that uses a cooper zink alloy type brake line that is not prone to rust like the others seems to not suffer from this problem.

I owned my 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L Magnum V8 motor for almost 18 years and other than brake pads, filters, tires, catalytic converter, battery, stereo and speakers, U-joints, shocks, radiator, hoses and water pump...it was all completely still stock parts from the factory!

It was my most favorite vehicle I've ever owned...loved it to death, but my ex wouldn't let me keep it when I got my new truck!

If you live around Rochester, New York...the guy I sold it to in Colorado is still driving it with close to 250,000 miles on it.

Last time I got a text from him he said that he finally did have to put a new transfer case on it.

[Lins]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

Three times for me...

I had a front brake line burst on a 1977 Dodge van I had that was about 10 years old...tried to stop at a red light and heard a pop...brake pedal went all the way to the floor...glad nobody was going through the green light on the other street as I couldn't stop!

Ironically, there was a small mechanics shop right there on the same corner and I turned in, left the van there as I lived about three blocks away and walked home.

He had it fixed by noon the next day...it was a rusted out brake line!

Also had the same thing happen to a 1987 Dodge van, although I was lucky that it burst just as I had pulled into my driveway.

This van was the best vehicle I've EVER owned in my life...I saw it still on the road about five years ago in Thornton, Colorado!

Both of those happened in Michigan...the 'Salt-On-The-Road' capital of the world!

One more time (in Colorado), on a 1987 Buick Century...was on my way to work and going through a green light when suddenly the guy in front of me in a Chevy or GMC pickup just stopped in middle of the intersection.

I hit my brake pedal hard and POOF...to the floor, although this brake line was a rubber one!

The only thing that kept me from slamming into the back of that truck was the left turn green arrow was still on and I barely missed the back of that truck by maybe a foot, made the left turn, slammed through one of those Colorado water drain-off dips in the road and bottomed out the car, and came to a stop on the side street.

I was about a mile from home so I limped back to the house using side streets.

Sorry but I find this hard to believe. Unless you have a single master cylinder like our ‘53 GMC, you don’t lose all your brakes at once unless the whole system is just neglected. If you lose the front brakes, the rear brakes should still work and vice versa. As an example, I’ve had the front brakes lose fluid on a ‘69 Firebird I used to have, but still had rear brakes and some pedal pressure.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Lins

Sorry but I find this hard to believe. Unless you have a single master cylinder like our ‘53 GMC, you don’t lose all your brakes at once unless the whole system is just neglected. If you lose the front brakes, the rear brakes should still work and vice versa. As an example, I’ve had the front brakes lose fluid on a ‘69 Firebird I used to have, but still had rear brakes and some pedal pressure.

Believe it!

I had it happen on a 2004 2500HD and on a 2005 3500HD. One year apart from each other.

Bruce

[Lins]

Originally Posted by nomad297

Believe it!

I had it happen on a 2004 2500HD and on a 2005 3500HD. One year apart from each other.

Bruce

Brake failure I believe but pedal shouldn’t go all the way to floor with zero resistance at all

[HangDiver]

There's something to be said for old technology.....

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by Lins

Brake failure I believe but pedal shouldn’t go all the way to floor with zero resistance at all

If it ever happens to you...then you'll surely find out!

[Lins]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

If it ever happens to you...then you'll surely find out!

As my previous post said, I've had it on a '69 firebird I had. The pedal still had resistance near the end of the travel for the rear brakes as front and rear brakes are separate circuits which vehicles have had for decades. Our '53 GMC currently only has a single brake circuit which would do as you apparently experienced.

[llr]

In theory you are correct, at least many times that is not the result.

Recently blew a brake line in a 2003 Durango, technically it still had some braking as there was some drag with the pedal on the floor however if I put in in neutral I am guessing it would take most of a block to stop from 30MPH.

I also had a 1994 class A on an F53 that the brake fluid boiled. Again one line so should of had brakes left. I could not detect any braking effect with the pedal on the floor or pumping it.

[Mr Towed]

Right as we were pulling into our site in Maine, my wife was outside spotting the trailer because it was a tight turn, and the pedal went right to the floor! I said, "um, I think we just lost the brakes in the truck." We got very lucky because for one, we were not traveling at highway speed, two, we had reached our destination, and three, we still had trailer brakes and the parking brake to stop us. We took the island explorer bus (awesome FREE service supported largely by LLBean) for our planned trip the next day, and then we took it to the airport to rent a car to do some parts running. Got a piece of terminated brake line and bent it up myself, we also got a little $5 bleeder kit which helped a lot and we were back in action with only about 2 hours under the truck. Oh, the other reason we were lucky was that the cause of the brake failure was a pinhole on one of the hard lines on the rear axle - really easy to access, no jacking or tire removal required.

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by Lins

As my previous post said, I've had it on a '69 firebird I had. The pedal still had resistance near the end of the travel for the rear brakes as front and rear brakes are separate circuits which vehicles have had for decades. Our '53 GMC currently only has a single brake circuit which would do as you apparently experienced.

I have no dog in this fight, but maybe in a panic stop(as noted) and 60%(std disk/drum ratio)brake failure with a substantial fall in pedal height would lead one to remember a "brake system failure"

[IsleDog]

Until it actually happens to you, you wont know how it feels. I have had the rubber lines swell internally, locking the fluid inside and slowly seeping back out. this caused the truck to pull to the side while accelerating. have had locked up calipers, thats fun. i have also had a rear brake line that failed and was dripping fluid. we were trading it in for a truck 600 miles away. found out half way there that we had a problem. ours felt like there was pressure there, but in stop and go traffic, you could feel the peddle start dropping to the floor. kind of spooky.

its a mechanical system that can be fixed fairly cheaply compared to a new vehicle. it would be worth it to have the brake system inspected and lines replaced as they are needed. you can also have them give it a good going through to give you back that piece of mind.