Brake line replacement

[blue02]

Hey all,

 

Was under my 2002 Tahoe the other day and noticed rusted brake lines under the drivers side door area. They look pretty bad and I think I'm going to have them looked at. Has anyone had to have brake lines replaced on their trucks? Just wondering what it might cost.

 

Thanks

[ujtruck]

Please don't worry about the cost, replace them as soon as possible

[blue02]

I will replace them regardless of the cost, I was just wondering what to expect. I've read enough complaints on NHTSA to be concerned.

[99silveradoz71]

Had a line go on my 99 Lesabre a couple months ago. You don't want to wait and experience brake failure if you think they're in rough shape, trust me. That was not a fun ride.

[4x4Sierra]

The lines are cheap it is the labour that is expensive. My local garage took 8 hours to replace the lines on my old 2000.

Edited October 19, 2012 by 4x4Sierra

[Gurrzt]

I replaced my worn out rubber hoses with Russell SS braided hoses, and noticed a firmer pedal. The front hoses are shorter than stock , and they provide a braket that installs into the front frame. It is a very nice, clean setup, and it will be the last set of brake hoses you ever have to install. Check out this link:

 

http://www.russellperformance.com/

Edited October 19, 2012 by Gurrzt

[Carder09]

Yep, had a 95 Nissan sentra that rusted through the brake lines, luckily it didn't do it on the highway and did it in the parking lot of mcdonalds. E-brake the rest of the way home. Talkabout scary! Cost me $300 and they replaced almost all the lines so I wouldn't know if it would cost more for these trucks.or.not.

[wages999]

When mine broke, I took all of the lines off and started to replace, but I ran out of time on the weeked, so I took it to a local shop. They charged me about $450 to intall the lines. I provided stainless steel line, braided stainless flex lines, and all of the line nuts. To get the lines out of the ABS unit, I had to cut all of them, un-bolt the unit from the frame, put it in a vice and use a pipe wrench on the line nuts.

 

I bought my stainless steel line in bulk rolls from Summit Racing. It is only about $10 a roll more than the poly coated steel line and is just about as easy to work with. My mechanic called the stainless steel lines overkill, but I didn't want to worry about them. They have been on for over two years and still look brand new.

[blue02]

Thanks for the replies. I have an appointment to have them replaced at a local shop in a couple weeks. I've been monitoring them and spraying the rusty sections near the ABS with some WD-40 in the meantime. How abuot the fuel and trans lines while we're at it? Anyone have to replace those?

[stevo936]

I have done a few of the nbs silverado, tahoes, and suburbans. Its best to replace them all at once. Its not an easy job as all the lines from the abs unit are tough to get to. If you get a bill of $700-800 don't be surprised.

[ThunderWolf78]

This seems like a good place to ask a question about a friend's suburban... His brake lines were rusted off so I offered to replace them before I had looked at it, I kinda regret that now but they are all replaced with copper lines now, the problem is that I am a little unsure about the "plumbing" to the ABS unit, the rear brakes was easy(only one pipe) but the front ones are the problem, we disconnected and pulled it all and now I'm worried that I might have switched one of the front caliper lines with one for the master cylinder, does anyone here know exactly which outlet on the ABS unit goes where or could make a small sketch of what it's supposed to be?

 

Thanks in advance, any info will help...(except for the local swedish GM dealership which couldn't answer if it was a car, truck or a goose)

[Gurrzt]

I purchased a set of the Russell SS braided lines for my 2004 Chevy Tahoe ($134), and had a trusted local Ma & Pa shop install them all (5 hoses) and their labor bill came to $65 (1 hr labor & rack charge). This price included bleeding the brakes.

[GiffK]

I purchased a set of the Russell SS braided lines for my 2004 Chevy Tahoe ($134), and had a trusted local Ma & Pa shop install them all (5 hoses) and their labor bill came to $65 (1 hr labor & rack charge). This price included bleeding the brakes.

 

Replacing the flexible lines is a walk in the park. What is at issue here is corrosion leading to bursting of the hard lines (rigid tubing) of the hydraulic system. In my entire life (71 years) I've never had a brake line fail until recently. I understand that other tubing - fuel lines, transmission cooler lines, etc. is also corroding prematurely on these trucks.

 

My personal vehicle is a 2005 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab Short Bed 4x4. I bought it new. Since I'm retired and like staying at home, I don't drive it much, particularly in the winter here in NJ. Last week my odometer reached 42,000 miles. The day before Halloween I had to go out to buy treats for the kids. On returning home, while maneuvering my Sierra to park it in my driveway, my brake pedal went soft and oozed floorward. At the same time, I noticed something like steam coming out from under the hood. On investigation I found that a rusted brake line clipped to the top of the chassis had sprung a leak, and was spraying brake fluid onto the hot exhaust manifold.

 

I understand that these lines are not available as replacement parts from GM. They must be fabricated by the dealership mechanics. The hours required to do this not only make the job very expensive but also introduces the potential for TIF (Technician Induced Failure).

 

Steel tubing fittings threaded into alloy components can be a real challenge to remove without ruining the component. And the dealer will use the same steel tubing as the original, meaning that you can look forward to it rusting through again.

 

A complete set of brake tubing in stainless steel can be purchased for about $330. But the labor necessary to install even these pre-bent tubes will still be considerable.

 

To say that I am disappointed with General Motors would be an understatement.

[elite0259]

My step dads cost him about 1k-1.5k, exact same car

[vallejoh]

Just had the same issue. It is very alarming to be driving in traffic and suddenly finding your brake pedal traveling almost to the floor as you try to stop 6000 pounds of steel moving at 50 mph. I had just enough pedal (about 1/2" off the floor) to be able to drive home and then to the dealership the next morning.

My 2005 Duramax Crew Cab has 152000 miles on it and, honestly, other than batteries, brakes and tires this is the first real "repair" I've needed to do, so I'm not complaining too much.

But it did cost $1500 for replacement of all the brake lines by the dealership. One of them had rusted through and the others all showed lots of rust. This included the brake flush. Parts cost was minimal, about $250 for fluid, 27 feet of copper alloy brake line and a few fittings. Most of the cost was labor since the lines needed to be customer fitted.

Not much else you can do!