Why we check our brake hoses

Adam/Mill Valley CA

Senior Member
Found this during a recent brake fluid flush on my '36 pickup (converted to 39-41 hydraulic brakes). I changed out this rear hose 11 years ago, from NAPA. Kind of looks like a snake that swallowed a critter.A little alarming with a single circuit system. Maybe Henry was right all along about hydraulic brakes!

Adam
 

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I might add, "Why we check our emergency brake cables". As I was backing my 56 out of the garage I had my right foot on the gas a little to keep it from dying (cold engine) and using the emergency brake instead of service brakes. Suddenly, the handle lost all resistance. The front cable broke next to the pulley at the firewall. No harm done, but I should have checked the cable for fraying long ago. The cable will generally start fraying before it breaks.
 
It pays to look them over whenever you are under the car. I always replace them on any car I build regardless of how good they look and they're cheap. I went the extra mile with my e-brake since my car is a stick. The front cable was seized up, luckily new ones were available.
 
Probably the most likely place for the E Brake front cable to fail is where it makes a rather sharp 90 Deg bend going over the pulley located on the inside of the firewall. It has a cover that must be removed to see it. I got my replacement cable from Concours. The cable is a little larger in diameter than the original, but works fine.
 
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