Almost lost the 4Runner - Blown Brake Line - Stainless Steel Recomendations?

[TRD 4RNR]

While traveling on the highway a couple days ago - I came around the corner to stopped traffic. Applied the brakes (rather firmly) and popped the left front brake line (see photo). With no brakes, swerved into the lane on my right to avoid smashing into the car in front of me. Fortunately there was a shoulder to move over to and was able to coast to a stop while applying the emergency brake.

I don't recall ever feeling so helpless as I barreled toward the stopped car in front of me.

I'm looking for suggestions on Stainless Steel Break Lines (probably going to replace all 3) What have you all used recently? (I have a 2" lift)

 

[mtbtim]

Toytec sells them:

https://www.toyteclifts.com/performance/brake-lines.html

 

[TRD 4RNR]

Toytec sells them:

https://www.toyteclifts.com/performance/brake-lines.html

Thank you Tim
[MENTION=120071]mtbtim[/MENTION]

 

[absalom]

I personally avoid SS lines due to the inherent safety risk that comes with them. Unfortunately, when a line is compromised you are unable to see it due to the metal sheeting.

 

[T.A.Kirk]

I personally avoid SS lines due to the inherent safety risk that comes with them. Unfortunately, when a line is compromised you are unable to see it due to the metal sheeting.

:iagree:

I tend to agree with this... If you can't see the fray and the damage, the braided wire sheath gives you an entirely false sense of confidence. The best solution is to keep inspecting, and replace as needed when they fray or dry rot. In the final analysis, the real thing that keeps that hose working is the neoprene hose--That braided sheath ain't doing squat.

 

[phattyduck]

:iagree:

I tend to agree with this... If you can't see the fray and the damage, the braided wire sheath gives you an entirely false sense of confidence. The best solution is to keep inspecting, and replace as needed when they fray or dry rot. In the final analysis, the real thing that keeps that hose working is the neoprene hose--That braided sheath ain't doing squat.

That braided sheath is over a Teflon/PTFE core. Apples and oranges...

Teflon/PTFE doesn't rot or degrade with age. As long as it is kept mechanically safe, it will last well past the life of the vehicle.

-Charlie

 

[T.A.Kirk]

That braided sheath is over a Teflon/PTFE core. Apples and oranges...

Teflon/PTFE doesn't rot or degrade with age. As long as it is kept mechanically safe, it will last well past the life of the vehicle.

-Charlie

Aaaand that would assume that the braided line is covering a Teflon/PTFE core in the first place, vs. being a cosmetic thing over a standard line. You still can't see the actual pressure-holding part of the hose to assess condition, and the actual steel sheath can abrade the material underneath just as well as it protects it.

If you're out in the kind of brush that eats the standard lines a lot of the time, fine--Then the braided lines make sense. For everyone else, the braided SS cover can mask a multitude of brake-line problems that won't be seen on a visual inspection because they're "protected" by the steel braid.

I think it's a six-of-one, half-a-dozen of another sort of situation. Stainless brake lines are not all created equal, and you need to be wary of what they can conceal, in terms of damage and wear.

 

[jgue467]

Don't these trucks have the 'X' brake line configuration to prevent all 4 wheels from loosing braking if one corner line goes out?

In my past experience only 1 part of the X failing, the other continues, albeit very weak but it still brakes.

:cowboy:

 

[phattyduck]

Aaaand that would assume that the braided line is covering a Teflon/PTFE core in the first place, vs. being a cosmetic thing over a standard line.

I have never heard stainless steel braided hose designed for brake use (DOT approved) that doesn't use a teflon inner liner. Please show a link to one.

There are plenty of non-high-pressure braided hoses that are a more standard rubber inner core - but those aren't rated for brake line pressures. I've used them for oil lines in the past, though I prefer push-lock non-braided stuff.

-Charlie

 

[3bears]

Installed stainless lines at same time I did the TBU.
On motor cycles, you can feel the difference in breaking when comparing stainless to rubber. SO since I had done the TBU which made a big difference anyway, I don't know if the stainless made a difference.

But since my system was 18 years old, when I did the TBU, I was also did the elocker retrofit so the hose had to be disconnected anyway. I wanted to do all the hoses as preventative. I went stainless from my experience with motorcycles.

 

[phattyduck]

Don't these trucks have the 'X' brake line configuration to prevent all 4 wheels from loosing braking if one corner line goes out?

In my past experience only 1 part of the X failing, the other continues, albeit very weak but it still brakes.

:cowboy:

The rear brakes on the '96-'00 trucks are from a single line, so you can't do the X configuration. They legally have to have some sort of dual circuit braking though, which is probably a F/R split.

-Charlie

 

[T.A.Kirk]

I have never heard stainless steel braided hose designed for brake use (DOT approved) that doesn't use a teflon inner liner. Please show a link to one.

There are plenty of non-high-pressure braided hoses that are a more standard rubber inner core - but those aren't rated for brake line pressures. I've used them for oil lines in the past, though I prefer push-lock non-braided stuff.

-Charlie

They're all over the place on eBay, and a lot of aftermarket parts shops sell them to the unsuspecting. I'll grant you that the name-brand stainless steel/teflon lines can be quite good, but all stainless steel lines are not made to equally high standards.

The ones that really soured me on the whole idea were locally fabricated for a friend's Mustang. He paid top dollar for those, and they didn't last at all long, particularly since his routing for them was suspect--Which wasn't visually apparent through the sheath of stainless steel.

Some of the really pricey brands are probably worth the money, but I'll continue to contend that unless you're braking like a madman in the back country, you're better off going with conventional OEM or a good brand like NAPA, and inspecting them regularly.

 

[rdruss]

SSteel Brake Lines

Had StopTech on my '03 LTD for couple years now. no problems.

Put some Apex on my Highlander, as I could find no other option, but one failed w/in two years, so would not recommend them.

 

[alumarine]

Don't these trucks have the 'X' brake line configuration to prevent all 4 wheels from loosing braking if one corner line goes out?

In my past experience only 1 part of the X failing, the other continues, albeit very weak but it still brakes.

:cowboy:

I thought so as well but on my 2cnd gen when I broke a rear brake line my pedal went to the floor.

 

[Spktyr]

They're all over the place on eBay, and a lot of aftermarket parts shops sell them to the unsuspecting. I'll grant you that the name-brand stainless steel/teflon lines can be quite good, but all stainless steel lines are not made to equally high standards.

The ones that really soured me on the whole idea were locally fabricated for a friend's Mustang. He paid top dollar for those, and they didn't last at all long, particularly since his routing for them was suspect--Which wasn't visually apparent through the sheath of stainless steel.

Some of the really pricey brands are probably worth the money, but I'll continue to contend that unless you're braking like a madman in the back country, you're better off going with conventional OEM or a good brand like NAPA, and inspecting them regularly.

You do know that increasing numbers of new cars are coming from the factory with braided stainless/teflon lines now, right? I would also point out that you can get sub-standard unsafe imported rubber "OE style" hoses off eBay and you can get local idiots fabbing up rubber hoses that will burst too.

The problem isn't "suspicious vendors of stainless steel lines" but "suspicious vendors of *anything*."

Every actually DOT certified 'stainless' hose must be made of actual Teflon or PTFE of a specific range of formulations, surrounded by stainless braid (or in a few cases, Kevlar or carbon fiber), covered by a protective sheathing to avoid having the hose saw through anything nearby and - here's the part that local clowns screw up on - have a proper strain relief on each end to prevent the 'whip' problem. I have been involved in designing and working up DOT-certified braided stainless hoses for vehicles that didn't have them as an option on the market prior to my approaching manufacturers about it and your concerns are simply not at all valid on a **legally compliant** hose. As long as you buy from a well regarded brand name with a significant physical presence in the US, you will be fine. Basically, if you can find them at Summit Racing (or Jegs, etc), they likely won't be crap - because defective brake hoses are a great way to get successfully sued for hundreds of millions of dollars and Summit et al are singularly uninterested in that.

 

[T.A.Kirk]

You do know that increasing numbers of new cars are coming from the factory with braided stainless/teflon lines now, right? I would also point out that you can get sub-standard unsafe imported rubber "OE style" hoses off eBay and you can get local idiots fabbing up rubber hoses that will burst too.

The problem isn't "suspicious vendors of stainless steel lines" but "suspicious vendors of *anything*."

Every actually DOT certified 'stainless' hose must be made of actual Teflon or PTFE of a specific range of formulations, surrounded by stainless braid (or in a few cases, Kevlar or carbon fiber), covered by a protective sheathing to avoid having the hose saw through anything nearby and - here's the part that local clowns screw up on - have a proper strain relief on each end to prevent the 'whip' problem. I have been involved in designing and working up DOT-certified braided stainless hoses for vehicles that didn't have them as an option on the market prior to my approaching manufacturers about it and your concerns are simply not at all valid on a **legally compliant** hose. As long as you buy from a well regarded brand name with a significant physical presence in the US, you will be fine. Basically, if you can find them at Summit Racing (or Jegs, etc), they likely won't be crap - because defective brake hoses are a great way to get successfully sued for hundreds of millions of dollars and Summit et al are singularly uninterested in that.

The entire point I'm getting at is apparently blowing over your head--What I'm trying to get at is that what most people generically refer to as "stainless steel brake lines" isn't necessarily what they think it is, and that the ones whose sole claim to "stainless steel" is the braided stainless steel sheathing around a neoprene/nylon core are probably not a good idea because they conceal more than they protect. If you're putting in something from Summit, and spending the money to pay for them, you're probably going to be OK. Otherwise, the cosmetic braided SS lines you find generically sourced aren't always a great idea--I've been there, done that, and seen the results.

If you don't inspect your brake lines periodically, like whenever you do your oil changes and tire rotations, you're making a huge error in judgment. Anything that prevents you from actually seeing the condition of the line is a bad thing, and the typical "stainless steel" sheath affair you find on a lot of cool-looking aftermarket brake lines ain't the beneficial thing a lot of people seem to think it is.

 

[Spktyr]

The entire point I'm getting at is apparently blowing over your head--What I'm trying to get at is that what most people generically refer to as "stainless steel brake lines" isn't necessarily what they think it is, and that the ones whose sole claim to "stainless steel" is the braided stainless steel sheathing around a neoprene/nylon core are probably not a good idea because they conceal more than they protect. If you're putting in something from Summit, and spending the money to pay for them, you're probably going to be OK. Otherwise, the cosmetic braided SS lines you find generically sourced aren't always a great idea--I've been there, done that, and seen the results.

If you don't inspect your brake lines periodically, like whenever you do your oil changes and tire rotations, you're making a huge error in judgment. Anything that prevents you from actually seeing the condition of the line is a bad thing, and the typical "stainless steel" sheath affair you find on a lot of cool-looking aftermarket brake lines ain't the beneficial thing a lot of people seem to think it is.

Ummm... there really aren't that many aftermarket brake lines that are braided stainless over a rubber/neoprene/nylon core outside of direct-from-China eBay sellers any more. (And if you're stupid enough to buy critical safety equipment from a no-name shop in China over the Internet, you deserve exactly what you get.) The vast supermajority are actual DOT certified braided stainless over PTFE and they have been for years. These days it pretty much costs more to make the fake/cosmetic ones than real ones in any sort of volume. The last time I saw fake/cosmetic ones in any numbers was about 10-15 years ago.

 

[wcjeep]

If you go stainless brake lines, definitely do all three at the same time. Stainless lines don't flex the same as standard rubber lines.


Now is good time to check and replace any rubber hoses that touch anti freeze. Also replace any cotter pins. Vacuum hoses also wear out.

 

[FD7683]

Same shit happened to me but it wasn't the runner, it was my 06 Civic. I'm now thinking about checking all 4 brake lines on the 2000 4Runner.

 

[Brian.]

Same shit happened to me but at a neighborhood and NOT on the 4Runner but the 06 Civic. I'm now thinking about checking all 4 brake lines on the 2000 4Runner.

There are only 3, and just replace them. Mine were in Terrible condition after 20 years:

I used the Stoptech ss braided lines. Just replaced lines on my wifes 66 Bug, they were from 2007 and were similarly cracked/failing and that vehicle hasn't seen 10k miles in that time.