Has anyone changed the brake lines on their trailer?

[The Fishing Nerd]

Trailer's only 5 years old.  Was launching last week and realized something wobbling when I was parking the car.  That wobble - the rusted out end of the brake line to the right rear wheel freely spinning in the air.

 

Has anyone had this happen?  I'm not sure whether I'm good to just replace the line, purge it and refill/bleed with brake fluid, or if I'm looking at replacing some/all of the calipers because saltwater got into the system.

[makorider]

Well...if you do, avoid stainless lines.  When I rebuilt my Myco 10k some time back, I bought stainless lines and was told by someone with more knowledge of things mechanical than I (mid project, w stainless line in hand lol) that I was going to have a bear of a time with the stainless seating properly in the compression fittings, and boy was he right.  I fought leaks seemingly forever, redoing and redoing until I got everything to seat right and tight.

 

For what its worth.

 

I would think your calipers would be OK...flush them with fluid if doubting.

[The Fishing Nerd]

3 hours ago, makorider said:

Well...if you do, avoid stainless lines.  When I rebuilt my Myco 10k some time back, I bought stainless lines and was told by someone with more knowledge of things mechanical than I (mid project, w stainless line in hand lol) that I was going to have a bear of a time with the stainless seating properly in the compression fittings, and boy was he right.  I fought leaks seemingly forever, redoing and redoing until I got everything to seat right and tight.

 

For what its worth.

 

I would think your calipers would be OK...flush them with fluid if doubting.

I'm glad I asked - thanks for the feedback!

 

Stainless was my go-to figuring it would survive better than the galvanized lines that rusted out faster than anything else on the trailer (smaller walls so that's to be understood).  I'm guessing there's no other option, either bite the bullet with sacrificial galvanized steel or deal with difficult to install and constantly leaking stainless.

[makorider]

Plastic lines...they're a real thing!

[The Fishing Nerd]

9 mins ago, makorider said:

Plastic lines...they're a real thing!

Ha - oddly enough, I had been looking at some brake lines from Kodiak that looked like they were rubber coated.  Turns out, they're not rubber coated, they're rubber lines.  I'm going to go that route - thanks for the feedback!

[makorider]

NP.  No brainer!

[Bergallmaster]

The fluid movement is so little, maybe 1/4 oz every time the brakes engage. I wouldnt worry about the rest. Take the caliper with the broken line off though. Open the bleeder and fully compress the piston. That will get most of the water out. Take a syringe and run a few squirts of fresh water through. That will remove the salt. Then spray a decent amount of brake cleaner through. If you have compressed air, blow that through. You now have a clean caliper. Any water intrusion into the line is probably gonna be in the line you are replacing.

[surfrat59]

Unless you have the proper tools to flare and bend avoid stainless, it usually uses a reverse bubble flare, and you'll need compatible aluminum flare fittings to connect it...brass flare or compression fittings won't work properly. 

Compression fittings should never be used for hydraulic brakes period....flare connectors only.

An occasional rinse followed by a wd40 spray is about all you can do. Wouldn't worry about saltwater intrusion, just bleed thoroughly from every bleeder screw until fluid runs clear.

[makorider]

35 mins ago, surfrat59 said:

Unless you have the proper tools to flare and bend avoid stainless, it usually uses a reverse bubble flare, and you'll need compatible aluminum flare fittings to connect it...brass flare or compression fittings won't work properly. 

Compression fittings should never be used for hydraulic brakes period....flare connectors only.

An occasional rinse followed by a wd40 spray is about all you can do. Wouldn't worry about saltwater intrusion, just bleed thoroughly from every bleeder screw until fluid runs clear.

I used the term loosely.  It was ten years ago but yes you are correct.

 

My point was...stay away from stainless

[whaler1889]

I converted my trailer from drum to 4 wheel disc brakes 6 years ago and bought a rubber hose kit for the brake lines which came with brass fittings.  No problems with any leakage or corrosion to this point.

[Billybob]

How big is the boat and the tow vehicle?

 

[The Fishing Nerd]

On 9/30/2022 at 3:53 PM, Billybob said:

How big is the boat and the tow vehicle?

 

It's a 24' boat sitting on a Load Rite 24T5400TG2.  Car's a Durango with a 5.7L Hemi.  Boat has to be about 5000 lbs and the car's rated to 7000.

[argofax]

I moved to rubber\synthetic lines for the reasons mentioned.  Would not try to use stainless.  So much easier. 

[snakebit95]

I replaced all of my trailer brake lines with Kodiak rubber style. They are holding up great. Be careful with any fittings you use. I received a thin wall elbow that blew out. I had to replace the elbow and flush the lines again. Lesson here is to buy good quality adapter fittings. All of them are not created equally.