Brake Hose Failure

[Chally]

Had a bit of a scare yesterday, (well the wife did) the Q ran out of brakes.I thought she was talking nonsense until I pushed the pedal & found it went to the floor.

I found it had broken the l/h front brake hose.

My question is, is this a common problem on these cars or is this just a bit unusual?

Mine is a 93 q45.

[Q45tech]

Had it happen to mine but that was with stainless steel reinforced hoses after 6 years.

Fairly rare we have seen a few after 7-10 years.

If it happens to one I would have all hoses changed front and rear!!!!!!!!!

When most shops change brake pads they just leave the calipers hanging [unusal stress position] we use bungie cords to hold them up!

[Mayhem_J30]

Had it happen to mine but that was with stainless steel reinforced hoses after 6 years.

Fairly rare we have seen a few after 7-10 years.

If it happens to one I would have all hoses changed front and rear!!!!!!!!!

When most shops change brake pads they just leave the calipers hanging [unusal stress position] we use bungie cords to hold them up!

how does stainless steel brake lines fail? Also why are they not DOT approved?

[sijoko]

Hey Chally,

I would say that what happened to your car is out of the norm.

It is very fortunate that your wife wasn't hurt.

I recommend that you replace all the lines with Goodridge Stainless Steel Braided Lines. part # 22031 ( 90-96 Q45 )

In the States, they usually sell for around $110 - $115.

-sijoko

[Q45tech]

The Goodridge ones were the unit that failed at the crimp as most hoses do, not by the hose bursting.

All things have a useful life.

The factory ones are very good you just change them after their design life is up [7years/100k].

[Chally]

Yes, I am changing all the hoses. One scare is enough, especially when you often put the boot in & have to pull up because of traffic or bad drivers.

We will get the 2 fronts today from Melbourne, but the rears have to come from Japan.

Thank goodness it was the front one, otherwise I'd be off the road for 2 weeks.

The hose has actually broken at the crimp but it was length-ways & not across the hose.

Thanks for your reply's.

[Q45denver]

I noticed when installing the Goodridge hoses don't have the metal spur that that fits in the slot that holds them in position against the caliper like the factory ones. Is this a significant ove sight. Will it cause the lines to move and loosen or eventially fail?

[EWT]

Many SS lines aren't DOT approved because they fail something called the whip test, where they mount the line in a fixture and whip it back and forth for some number of cycles and the line fails at the hose/hose end junction. That why most (all?) SS lines that are DOT approved have some kind of reinforcement there. From talking to people who use them on racecars, the real concern with them is that if the stainless braid breaks or frays at all, the loose end can poke a hole in the hose and cause it to fail without any obvious warning.