Blew a brake line on I-35 and swore off cheap lines forever

Had a $14 replacement line pop at 70 mph outside Waco last month, and it took a flatbed, a lecture from a parts guy, and 3 hours of roadside swearing to figure out the real issue was a rusted bracket I ignored. Now I spend the extra $20 on pre-bent lines and check every mounting point before I even think about bleeding the system. Anyone else ditch the cheap fix after a scary failure, or am I the only one who learned this the hard way?

2 comments

2 Comments

sethr111d ago

You ever see a grown man kick a perfectly good toolbox across a parking lot? Buddy of mine did the same thing last spring on 75. Bought the cheap line, slapped it on, figured the rusty clip was fine. Six weeks later he's doing 55 and the line rubs through on the frame. Brake pedal goes straight to the floor. He coasted into a ditch, lucky it was grass and not a guardrail. Took him a full weekend to replace the line again and patch the frame rail where it wore through. Swears by OEM brackets now, checks every single one with a flashlight before he bleeds anything. Said the extra 20 bucks is cheaper than a tow truck and a new pair of pants.

piper_thompson313h ago

Man thats the exact kind of thing that makes me double check everything now. Same thing happened to me with a fuel line clip a few years back, thought I saved five bucks and ended up with gas spraying all over the engine bay after a hard bump. Took forever to find the rub spot too because it was hidden behind a plastic cover. The worst part is you know better the whole time, but the cheap route just looks so easy when you're standing in the aisle. Now I just buy the factory hardware and spend the extra ten minutes making sure every bracket is solid. Your buddies story about the tow truck is exactly what goes through my head every time I think about skipping the good parts.