Front brake lines swelled shut?

[WarBeard]

Having trouble with my Brakes. Master and booster checks out ok. Yesterday I adjusted the rear shoes. (Found out no adjuster holes in backing plates??? REALLY?)

Next I suppose is the calipers and the distribution block. Gotta check them out.

I was just watching a GEARS episode on Youtube and Stacy David said the the rubber brake lines can swell shut???

How common is this? I kinda feel like only my rear brakes are working.

[grs]

Originally Posted by motomech

Having trouble with my Brakes. Master and booster checks out ok. Yesterday I adjusted the rear shoes. (Found out no adjuster holes in backing plates??? REALLY?)

Next I suppose is the calipers and the distribution block. Gotta check them out.

I was just watching a GEARS episode on Youtube and Stacy David said the the rubber brake lines can swell shut???

How common is this? I kinda feel like only my rear brakes are working.

Not sure how common on the brake line. There may be knock out plugs on the drums. I found them on mine, and knocked them out. Then put a plug in the holes.

[rs72z]

They don't swell shut, but hey do get soft and when you put pressure on them they expand. When you let off the brakes they then suck together and wont allow the calipers to release.

[old Rusty C10]

most of the time when this happens the calpers wont release as opposed to not grabbing..... you could also have a siezed caliper in the open position but i see that when a truck has sat in a moist area for long periods of time

[gramps77]

Originally Posted by rs72z

They don't swell shut, but hey do get soft and when you put pressure on them they expand. When you let off the brakes they then suck together and wont allow the calipers to release.

Actually, they can swell shut. I hadnt seen it either until last year when my buddy swapped to a big brake kit on his 66 Nova and the rubber line from the body to the rear end was determined to not be passing any fluid to bleed. cut it open and sure enough, it literally swelled itself shut to about the size of a pintip. good thing he had decent disks on the front beforehand to have something to stop. But scary thought at the same time.
I tried looking for the link with the pic on my other site but it was so long ago I gave up.

[Desert1957]

I just went through this very problem on my 83 C20. During the first road test on my engine swap , I smelled brakes burning. Truck had a SUPER touchy brake pedal also.

Inspecting ALL the brakes I found both front brake hoses were bad. Replaced hoses , bled brakes . Good as new!

Here is what happens during braking, Master cylinder pressures can exceed 1700 PSI which will force fluid through a collapsed brake hose , but after releasing the pedal it may take 5 minutes for the fluid to bleed off.

This is what causes most dragging brakes and pulling to the side that works normally.

Interesting to me was that the previous owner had replaced the following parts trying to repair the brake problem, and it was never fixed.

*Front Calipers
*Front Brake pads
*Front Rotors
*Master Cylinder
*Brake Booster
*Rear Wheel Cylinders

Might be why I purchased the truck for so cheap when the engine locked up

Desert

[WarBeard]

What should I look for on the outside of the line...They don't appear to be cracked?

[mopar346]

You may not see it at all, I would just replace them, there's only 3 and they are less than $20 for the last ones I bought.

If you did want to test them take them off and blow through them, both ways.

[Desert1957]

Originally Posted by motomech

What should I look for on the outside of the line...They don't appear to be cracked?

Mine had NO visible cracks or bumps on the outside, Just an age related problem. Its not a 5 minute job but well worth the piece of mind knowing the're new.

All my hoses were more than $35 but its a 3/4 ton.

Desert

[primrrd]

motomech,
you really haven't described the problem.
What's it doing?
Brake work on our squares is pretty cheap-
I had front hose issue- smoked a disc and pads on one side from the caliper not releasing due to a bad rubber line.
I went thru the whole front systems as a "while I am there" approach and feel good and safe about the brakes on the ride now.
- replaced all front brake components, including rotors and new bearings/seals up front for about 240.00.
- since I was on a role, i kept going with new rear wheel cylinders/ shoes, and rear hose for about 75.00

good luck on yours. good advice from everyone so far!

[gramps77]

Originally Posted by motomech

What should I look for on the outside of the line...They don't appear to be cracked?

If they are swelled to the inside, you wont see ANYTHING. thats what was so troublesome with my friends. Until we replaced it, tried toblow through it, found it was VERY hard to do so, then cut it, you couldnt tell anything was wrong externally

[WarBeard]

Im just not getting good stopping power from my front calipers. I can get the rear brakes to lock up on dirt. I can push the pedal all the way down and im still rolling. I think its the master of the front calipers/lines. Something is preventing a good grip on the rotors, Its raining now and this was supposed to be todays project to pull the front wheels off and take a look.