99-03 Silverado & other GM truck owners, how's your brake lines?

[Samckitt]

My truck is in the shop for the second time having a brake line fixed because it has rusted/corroded & split open. First time was the line from the front to the rear, second time was from the master cylinder to the ABS module. Thankfully both times it happened in a parking lot & not on the road in a panic brake situation. Otherwise I probably would have wrecked and or hurt someone. My truck is an 03 Silverado 1500HD, I see lots of posts on the net about 99-03 GM trucks/SUVs having this problem. Wondering if any of you have had this problem. I called GM & they gave me the too old/too many miles story. IT IS 10 YEARS OLD, THIS SHOULDN'T BE AN ISSUE.

Sure I could fix it myself, but I don't want to, nor should I HAVE to.

[oestek]

We'll check.. thanks for the warning. We've just had our ABS module re-worked to kill the ABS / BRAKE dash lights on our '01 Silverado 1500 HD.

[TheJDMan]

It has not been an issue on my 07 2500 Silverado Classic Duramax, but my coworker has a 99 1500 Silverado and he had the same rusted line problem. His line ruptured as he was moving the truck out of his garage and he used the park brake to stop it. I think he replaced his rusted lines with SS lines.

[fredd7924]

The brake lines on my 02' 2500HD rotted out and needed replaced. I sold it shortly after buying it as I then saw how many other things were rusty and decided it was going to cause problems in the future. It didn't help that the truck came from the northeast and had 250,000 miles though.

[MonzaRacer]

Been doing replacements on these for few yrs now. I can redo them roughly in a day. Labor in the 6 to 8 hr range plus parts. Quick and dirty can be done faster BUT placing lines neatly up frame rail on DS side takes little time. And in out area labor rates are in $89 range. And Idont use the "spring" covered line. Hoping my deal with the Cunifer line works out,,then Ill have straight sticks with no flares and Ill flare it my self.
since getting my own hydraulic flaring tool I love doing brake lines over before. BUT as as a tech I was still doing them. Just did a rear line on one of those last week. Just saying. OH and why do they rust,,,lack of air flow. Know a guy who MOVED the ABS unit down,,,,not sure how but the lines are near spotless and he is in fields and such on farm. Reason he moved it down was for dump bed mod. His other truck has rusted lines,,,,,.

[woody80z28]

My father-in-law had this problem with his truck (50k 03 2500HD) and it gave out with a camper hooked. I chalked it up to the truck getting neglected, but maybe that's not the cause.

[novaderrik]

what is the failure mode on the lines that blow? is it something that happens from the inside out, outside in, or along a seam or something like that? is there any specific location where they tend to go out?

i ask because i looked over my brother's '01 Silverado a couple of months ago after reading about this online, and all of the lines that i could see looked brand new. his truck has just over 100,000 miles on it and has been in MN winters it's entire life.. his wife kinda freaked out when i told her why i wanted to look at the brake lines, since it's their primary mode of transportation when they've got my 3 and 5 year old nieces with them...

[makoshark]

I have never had this problem on my 99 with over 200,000 miles and with my 2000 with almost 200,000 miles

[FMG CAMARO]

My friend had to replace all of his brake lines on a 2003 Denali. Mechanic told him it is a common problem. His truck on hand about 45000 miles at the time.

[AintQik]

I'm a GM guy and hate bashing, but the lines on these trucks do suck. But, it seems its spotty. I had 2 trucks same year, one went, the other is still going fine. Having said that, its probably a disaster waiting to happen.

Luckily when it blew it was the rear circuit and the fronts were able to stop the thing.

As far as the ABS units, yeah they go bad all the time. myairbags will repair them cheap. $79 or something like that I paid last time. Worked like a charm.

[WS6]

I just bought an 01 Sierra with 71k on it. I'll have to crawl around under the truck and check the lines out.

I know brake fluid is hygroscopic. So I wonder if flushing the brake fluid on a regular basis would help prevent this from occurring. Assuming, of course, that they are failing/rusting from the inside out.

[NiteOwlNY]

My 2002 Dodge Dakota had the lines rot out. Sprung a leak mid truck and my "no mechanical ability" younger brother was driving it when it happened. A friend of mine had the same thing happen on his 02 Silverado and I'm going to assume Dodge and Chevy were sourcing the lines from the same company. The fuel line right next to the brake line was pristine, don't get it...

[Rick Dorion]

I bought a 97 GMC new and have had the front -to-rear lines done three times. It didn't matter who I got the lines from (NAPA, GM, Carquest). The regular steel lines are poor quality and rust from the outside. Usually along the C-frame where crap accumulates. Either buy the coated or there's a nickel alloy available now that I just used.

[TheJDMan]

Well my 2000 Astro just came back from the shop where they had to replace a rusted out front brake line this past week. I guess there was just something about the material that GM used in their brake lines during that time period.

[Olav]

On my 2002 Tahoe the line on DS to rear broke 2 days after DOT inspection.
I had just picked up my 4 year daugther in kindergarden and the pedal became soft and the light on the dash came on. It came a few xxxxxx words then. This is a common problem in Norway. I replaced it with CuNi pipe that is more corrosion resistant and easier to work with. These lines are made for brake lines.

The line under radiator in front also started to corrode so be aware of this.

[Olav]

what is the failure mode on the lines that blow? is it something that happens from the inside out, outside in, or along a seam or something like that? is there any specific location where they tend to go out?

i ask because i looked over my brother's '01 Silverado a couple of months ago after reading about this online, and all of the lines that i could see looked brand new. his truck has just over 100,000 miles on it and has been in MN winters it's entire life.. his wife kinda freaked out when i told her why i wanted to look at the brake lines, since it's their primary mode of transportation when they've got my 3 and 5 year old nieces with them...

The lines on top of frame on drivers side to rear from ABS it's hard to inspect use a mirror and light, and the one under the radiator in front.

[bigdogg]

I thought there was a recall.

[CreepinDeth]

Sucks to see that GM often sources from pathetic vendors who don't have good quality control.
Another reason to help the imports get more market share I suppose.

My 1995 GMC Sierra single cab pickup company vehicle split it's brake lines 2 or 3 winters ago.
It's gone now, but in it's defense it was a 15 year old truck through 15 Chicago winters.

I had to jump out of my truck and do the flintstone foot brake before getting T-boned at an intersection.
This truck had ~132,000 miles at the time.

[DenRS]

wasn't just trucks. Had the lines rot out on my 2002 grandprix back in 2008. I was getting off the highway when the front line popped a hole. I wasn't going to fast when I stepped on the brakes. Thank god the rears worked and stopped me. Dealer told me it was common.

[shane3fan]

hmm---i dont see anyone from Ga. with that problem. I figured folks from areas with snow/salt just figured brake line replacement as normal maintenance.

[cheapthrillz]

hmm---i dont see anyone from Ga. with that problem. I figured folks from areas with snow/salt just figured brake line replacement as normal maintenance.

I'm wondering the same thing... I'm in SC with a 2001 1500 Z71 that just broke 200k. I think I'm gonna check all of my lines because for some reason when I crank the truck up every now and then, the BRAKE and ABS lights come on and stay on until I turn the ignition off again......

[MonzaRacer]

Guys this is not something new. Many cars with all the new aerodynamics less air flow under cars means less wind to dry things. Two trucks, consecutive VINs right off assembly line, one rusted out other looks like new.
The steel lines rust but it depends on how vehicle is used and stored. Proper inspection is critical for any car. Flaky rust on brake lines means its time to replace. Generally line rust from out side first. Inside, yes, does need to be flushed as it effects the softer parts like aluminum and cast iron as far as corrosion goes. Also you need to look at any rubber brake lines with rubber strain reliefs as the crimps on most lines now are steel and they can rust off also. mid size cars like Regals and Monte Carlos and Malibus and such have bad issues with this as well as older Ford trucks. If the brake line isnt smooth nearly like new, has raised bubbles, any of the wire barrier coated lines or any behind fuel tanks, they can have rust issues. Smooth surface as felt by hand, easily shined up with fine sand paper is still useable lines. Guess I need to get some pictures and stuff and do a small post on this. As a tech I see it all the time. Yeah the CuNiFer line is better but availability is spotty and shipping is a bitch.
You see flakey rust, get plans to change the lines. OH and if you see a buy using BRASS compression fittings on your brake line beat them within an inch of their lives. Its dangerous and illegal,,,yeah yeah I know "but I have done it for years" but the life of the one you kill may be a dear one.
ONLY legal and safe compression fitting for steel line IS the steel ones made by Royal Brass, Most NAPA store stock them. The minimum burst pressure from what I was shown on a 3/16 one is like 10k psi, a 3/16 brass compression is rated at 150PSI, brake pressures can exceed 7500psi in certain conditions. I was told long time ago to consider 10k psi test pressures on brake parts. Doubtful street cars or even performance cars would reach that much.
If it has a surface rust, ie removable by fine sand paper, LPS used to make and I assume they still do, a waxy/greasy lubricant LPS#3 that can be sprayed on the lines for rust prevention. I used to use it in alignment turn table here in Indiana and it worked great against rust in winter.
Also possible to paint lines but not as reliable.
Newer replacement lines have polymer or teflon coatings, but bending and cutting can damage that.
Also note that rocks, sand etc can cause issues in antirust coating on lines. Kind of miss the old galvanized bundy-flex line now.

[rentedmule]

Lines are fine (so far) on my '03 sonoma with 140K kms. I will definitely keep a much closer eye on them after reading this thread though.