I just had ALL the brake lines replaced on my truck! should i be paranoid?

[matcom]

you who have seen my truck know its adorned with numerous anti-bush stickers.

so, I go to get in it this morning - no brakes
so, I take my wife's car to the store and buy brake fluid
so, I put the brake fluid in
so, Brake fluid pours out immediately from under the truck
so, I drive GINGERLY to the nearest gas station
so, I just picked up the truck and ALL 3 brake lines needd replacing
so, I ask if they had rotted or something
so, He tells me "probably"

:wtf: :scared:

[bahrbearian]

1. ALL 3 brake lines rotting, not likely at the same time,

do they sand the roads alot where you live?

[Fenris]

2. Uh huh.

Break lines all just rot like that overnight, eh, Mr. Repairman?

:scared:

[Maddy McCall]

3. Be careful. That's awfully strange.

[curse10]

4. Sorry, that was me

My second personality loves bush, what can I say? :evilgrin:

[Deja Q]

5. Scary shit... something not dissimilar happened to me 5 years ago...

I had all pro-GLBT stickers on my car.

The repairman did the warranty work, but I discovered the next day that the washer fluid reservoir was perched just above the belts. Enough of a bump would have caused the tank to collide and jam, doing Lord knows what to it all...

It's a big tank, but there were numerous support brackets. And the car was relatively new (4 years old). There's no way it broke of its own accord.

[matcom]

6. mine IS a 94

and living in New England they DO salt and sand the roads in the winter.

so

tell me this was a coincidence PLEASE?

[Bluzmann57]

7. Have you kept up maintenance on the brakes?

Yes, all three brake lines can rot at once, especially if its an old vehicle with minimal maintenance. I had a car which not only did the brake lines rot, the wheel bearings went out too. All at once. The only sticker I had on that car was one which said "Dodge". Maybe it should have had one that said "I see you coming sucker". So you probably have no cause to be paranoid. Cars are something which require constant care, especially old ones. I would get a second opinion if something like that happens again, though. May be able to save some money.

[matcom]

8. i like your answer

think i'll believe it :)

[jmowreader]

9. Brake lines fail? In an area where they use salt?

Ehh...could be...

Folks, brake lines are made of steel. If someone's going to cut something in the brake system, it's probably going to be a hose, which you can cut with a knife. I can't cut through a brake line with a pair of tin snips. They are very tough.

I don't think they "rotted"; I think they rusted through. Which happens.

Matcom, get your ass outside. Now! Crawl under your wife's car and find the back wheels. You'll see hoses connected to metal tubes, and if you follow them up far enough they'll connect to the master cylinder. Inspect all of that for rust. If it seems heavy, replace the lines on her car.

In future, wash the bottom of your car every week during the winter.

And for the rest of y'all: Brake fluid must be changed every two years. If you cannot remember when your brake fluid was last changed, go get it done.

[mojowork_n]

10. Hydraulic lines can all rot out at once...

And being a "safety item", if there's an ACTUAL HOLE in one of the lines, so that it requires immediate replacement, it would actually be NEGLIGENT not to replace all three.

I'm almost positive that if you were to walk out to the back of the repair shop, this minute, and find the three lines that were replaced, it would probably take you (or anyone else) a little while to find the hole and figure out which of the three had failed. If you live in a 'salt' state, it's not that uncommon.

The wrong kind of ("hydroscopic") brake fluid can also cause a line to fail, from within, from having absorbed too much water from the ambient environment, but that's getting really technical.

...If you think you're going to be losing sleep over this for quite some time, no matter what... the old parts are probably still at the shop. In the dumpster. Ask the mechanic if you can have a look at the line that failed, to make sure that it was a rusted-out, corroded hole in the line that caused the failure, and not some sort of tampering -- that would have left scratches, file marks, crimped, sawed-off edges...

...Oh, and no matter what, from now on, remembering the example of the old guy who said the wrong thing at his gym, in the film "Fahrenheit 9/11", (He got the visit from the FBI at his house.) ...Never say anything to anyone, on your home telephone, that you wouldn't say if a representative of the law enforcement community was right there, standing over your shoulder during the call. (Some advice from a guy I once knew, who had been sort of an activist during the 60's and 70's, on what they used to tell people at the time, at the local activists' headquarters.)

[jukes]

11. sounds like sabotage

shd have asked to see the old line for cuts.

start testing your brakes carefully before you drive. if a saboteur was more professional, he wd have sealed the cuts w/ resin or epoxy, to hold long enough for you to reach a dangerous speed. heat in the lines wd then remove the plug.

[BiggJawn]

12. Did you SEE the old lines?

If they were the steel lines, you'd know if they'r been dicked with. The rubber hoses, you see cuts.
If there was evidence of damage, you should file a police report. I think cuttinbg someone's brake line is at least assault in most states...

[BlueCollar]

13. you should be paranoid only if

the mechanic who replaced your lines is a Freeper,,,,