Jim Grant's Tech Tips
'88 Ford Taurus, Brake Hose Failure
Q:
Thank you for responding to my question dated 5/10/02 regarding my 88
Ford Taurus. I went back there and the correction on their part was "Brake
Hoses". So perhaps the correct question would be "How would
my brake hoses get clogged, when they did not find the problem in doing
my all around brake job before?" Could that be caused by a defective
Master Cylinder or not replacing the Master Cylinder when the work was
all done? The reason I went back was because my car was not moving in
Neutral. Not even if you pushed the car forward the car would not budge!
If you would drive the car it felt as if you were pushing on the accelerator
harder than usual. I really feel this Brake Hose thing was due to the
Master Cylinder.
A:
A brake master cylinder will not cause a brake hose to fail. Due to your
vehicles age a brake hose problem is not a complete surprise. The
inner passage of the brake hose is surprisingly small. With age the inner
liner/passage of a brake hose deteriorates and swells. The condition of
the brake fluid is a factor in this deterioration. Under the right condition
this deterioration can cause a restriction that prevents the free movement
of brake fluid. When you step on the brake pedal to stop a vehicle you
produce 100s of pounds of hydraulic pressure. This amount of pressure
has little problem pushing through a restriction in the brake hose. The
problem is when you let off the brake pedal. The restriction prevents
the full release of the pressure that was applied to the brakes. It takes
very little residual pressure at the brake caliper to cause the brakes
to drag. The type of problem you had with the brake hose cannot be seen
or felt when performing brake service.
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