safety alert

G'day members, Driving to the local park, to give the dog a run.

Came to a "T" intersection - applied the brakes, sh*t hardly any brakes!

Got home, rang around, got into a bloke with a hoist, drove into his shed and he says there's the problem, brake fluid streaming out the back.

Long story cut short, the brake pipes had corroded outside to in, 2 days later and over 6 metres of pipe replaced I'm back on the road.

Now the car is a 97 magna, so get your local mechanic to check the pipe work if the car is getting some age on it.

Cost me $250, which l thought was very reasonable as the fuel tank had to come out and the pipe work bent in many places.

Don't leave the check too long, new pipes are teflon coated or you can get stainless.

Regards
Stevo

Update - the guy that replaced the pipes did some homework and asked did l park the vehicle on the grass - yes a lot in the past, not much now. (last couple of years)

So he seems to think that wet grass/ground was the cause, seems very logical to me, so there, don't park your car on wet ground too often.

Car is a 97 Magna, so around 18 years old. How often has the brake fluid had a complete change, and what standard of fluid was used when it was changed? Manufacturers recommend a complete brake fluid renewal every 2-3 years for a simple reason, the fluid absorbs water from the atmosphere, and in sufficient concentration can boil in the lines and calipers under repeated heavy braking, producing an effect similar to air in the lines, a loose pedal and poor braking. An additional side effect is line corrosion from the bore outwards, which often results in rust particles in the calipers etc, slowly grinding away the very tight tolerance mating surfaces of the caliper bore and the piston, as well as the seals, and potentially degrading the caliper hose bore as well. I think I would be keeping a very close eye on the area around each caliper for the foreseeable future as the seals will most likely at least develop leaks due to accumulated rust particles.