Dodge Caravan Brake Lines

I own a 2000 Grand Caravan and recently the brake line going to the back
brakes split in half and dumped all the brake fluid out. These brake lines
are built to fail.

Under the driver's feet and under the floor is a box. Out of this box comes
two flexible brake lines which after a foot or so are crimped onto the
regular steel brake lines. At the crimp point the steel is cut in, with
water and time this rusts and becomes a real weak point leading to the line
snapping there.

I lost all braking when the line snapped. Luckily I was in my driveway and
got the car stopped with the emergency brake. If I had of been out on the
highway and traveling at speed, I would have wrecked the car trying to stop
or worse.

Has anyone else had this problem?

 

Yup I have seen it several times, and everyone I have repaired was due to
rust. And the reason why it rusted was because someone sold rust
protection/undercoating/soundproofing or whatever they call it to the owner
and it trapped all the water in the flex line and corroded it. Do you have
this on your vehicle?

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Wait just a cotten-picken minute here, Glenn. a SINGLE brake line snapped
and he lost ALL braking? Did the feds change the law requiring independent
braking systems for front and rear? Did master cylinders suddenly go back
to
being a single resivour rather than duals? What's going on here?!?!

Ted

 

Well Ted if your driving a car and you hit the brakes and have pressure then
all the sudden the line breaks and now the pedal goes to the floor you may
as well say you don't have any. What this OP wrote happened to me in a
customers car after I did a front brake job and road tested it. The line
blew, the cust was pissed off at us until I asked him what would have
happened if it was his wife driving when this occurred.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech


What does the feds have to do with it???? The 91-93 Mini
Van/Dynasty/NewYorker (STILL ON THE ROAD)with the "Bendix 10 system"
Loose the pump and you have no brakes period!!!! loose the Dual function
pressure switch and you have no brakes, the relay....no brakes......etc

 

OK I see what your saying. He had brakes, he just thought he didn't
because it felt like he didn't - so he didn't pump them or press hard enough
to get the working circuit to actually do any braking.

I had one circuit on my '68 Torino start leaking, and you are right, it is
surprising how much less braking you have when your down to 1 circuit.

Ted

 

Not a good feeling at all. I'm getting ready to replace all the steel lines
in my 67 mustang. They are looking kinda shaky on the outside

 

Did the 67 have dual tanks in the master? I guess it did but I think
it must have been very early, I recall the 65 didn't.

Ted

 

Probably; it was right about then that they were mandated. They started
to become optional around 1962-63ish. (I'm speaking of American cars in
general; I don't know exactly when the Mustang got the dual master
cylinder.)

nate

 

Yea, they still seperarated the front and rear.

 

Ted,

Your two circuits would be front and rear, lose the front and you
lose quite a bit.

These newer Mopars use two circuits in diagonal.
(reservoirs are equal)

 

Yes, in 67 it was standard, even when not power.
66 Ford full size with optional disc had a dual sys.

 

Remember - this is drum brakes on the front, not dics. The stoppping
power of the fronts isn't near what your used to on a modern vehicle.

I can go down a 2 mile 4% downgrade and if I brake the way the average
person brakes on such a hill, they will start to fade.

Ted

 

Is it not a legal requirement that the two circuits be diagonal? If so,
when did that part of it become law in the U.S.?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

It's sort of Chrysler related since Chrysler bought American Motors.

The 1962 Rambler Classics and Ambassadors were the first American cars
to offer dual master cylinder/dual hydraulic braking systems as
STANDARD equipment..those were with drums brakes.

The Ambassador offered Bendix dual caliper disc brakes, similar to the
Corvette system in 1965.

Doug

 

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 01:26:36 -0800, "Ted Mittelstaedt"

I know.

The average braker of today I suppose would make anything fade.
Brakes are something I try to not use too much, it costs.

 

It seems I remember the Japense brands starting that in the
mid 1970s.
79 Horizon was diag, 81 Ramcharger was not, if that
helps at all.
It seems the first K cars all had a diagonal system,
and all small Mopars since.
A 1/2 ton & + truck today would be interesting to know.