My brakes went out - trying to understand what exactly happened

Sorry if it gets long, I'll try to break it up so it's digestible. I did not end up crashing - I was able to catch a tiny bit of brake somehow (part of my question) and slow just enough to NOT hit the car in front of me.

What happened:
Coming across the Bay Bridge in SF in rolling traffic and I had my foot on the brake with very little, if any, pressure. Car in front starts to stop pretty good and I start pressing the brake and while it first catches, it sinks down to the floor. I pump a couple times and theres nothing there. Grip the steering wheel for leverage and push as hard as I can on the floor and it feels like it catches just a tiny bit, the truck is definitely slowing, but it feels like its sliding because it's barely catching somehow. The car in front moves a bit as traffic rolls and it's just enough that I can get stopped without hitting it. Once I got it stopped somewhere safe I started looking around while waiting for an AAA tow which never came (that's a whole different story on its own). When I first looked under the truck I didn't see anything leaking, popped the hood and the brake fluid reservoir was almost empty. Looked again and theres a stream of fluid coming out under the driver side door from what looks like a brake line fitting.

It's a little hard to see (you can click to make it bigger) but theres a white-ish stream coming from the fitting in the middle of the pic running down the middle. Thats the fluid streaming out.



Truck history:
I got it maybe two months ago from my father in law. It's spent the last 16 years in Pacifica which is on the coast, up on a hill. TONS of fog. The underside of the truck is pretty damned rusted out, although the frame doesn't seem bad. Lots of surface rust and thinner pieces are pretty bad, lots of fasteners and the suspension is in dismal shape.

3-4 weeks ago I took it to get some service done on it. It just hit 90k so I had the timing belt kit done, I brought in a power stop kit with rotors, pads, drums, and shoes. Asked for brake fluid flush. Oil change and also had the AC recharged. Got it back and everything felt mostly fine and I've been driving it daily. Over the couple weeks there were a couple times where I felt a very small vibration while I was braking which I didn't think much of until now.

What happened and now what?
My first thought was that the shop that did the work for me messed something up and it took a little bit before everything blew up, but I have a hard time understanding how basic brake repairs would cause that leak. I lean towards the fitting getting rusted out and just blowing... but I feel like that isn't a thing that happens. I also don't understand how I lost almost all the braking INSTANTLY but still had a tiny bit that I could catch... is it possible that something else gave first and the pressing the brake into the floor board blew the fitting? Any chance the wrong brake fluid getting put in could cause this?

At this point I'm just trying to get a grasp on what happened so I can figure out what to do. The shop that did the work is closed today but I'd like to have a better understanding soon. I'll add some additional pics that are better quality of the fittings and the reservoir.







I'm looking for any ideas or insight into what went wrong and what I need to do to get the truck drivable. My first thought is replace all the brake fittings and maybe even all the lines, but the lines look okay to me with the exception of those fittings (whatever they are). My other concern is that although I'd love to keep the truck, I'm not sure I can "trust" it after having the brakes just go out unless I understand what happened.

Thanks everyone.

 

Pretty simple you blew a brake line. The fluid is brake fluid. It’s a high pressure system within the line. When the line blows that’s the path of least resistance. Fluid blows out the failure and the brakes don’t work. They look rusty and crusty to me. If ones bad I’d replace more. Happens a lot with older cars here in New England. Learn how to use the emergency brake. It’s a separate system that isn’t linked to the hydraulic. But if not maintained good luck.

 

Rusty brake line blow out. I would replace both the rear lines and inspect all the others for similar rust. If one blew, there’s likely another just waiting to pop too

 

If your foot went to the floor, you might have damaged the MC seals too. Check it out.

 

Yup blown line. 16 years and rusty is a pretty good indication.

In my experience replace all the lines you can. Once one goes they all seem to follow pretty soon.

 

Replace all brake line$$$.

Brake Fluid in your Rez looks gnar gnar for having just been replaced. At this age, our trucks require a rebuild/replace of many ‘critical’ parts especially if in a rust zone. Might want to replace every last thing related to brakes (calipers, rear cylinders, brake lines, master cylinder, and might as well do the brake booster) to restore confidence.

I’ve replaced calipers (seized/rusty), front rubber brake hoses (internal cracks), and rebuilt rear cylinders (internal pistons began to fail) due to age and not in a Rust Zone. Check my build page for pics for learning.

 

When I owned my DC I had to replace both of those brake lines as they had blew out due to support brackets being broken. Both lines running down the driver side wheel well that run to the joint you show in your picture were leaking. Replaced and problem fixed!

 

That fluid doesn't look new. I doubt they bled the brakes from the color of it. A

As others mentioned, new lines, new fluid, and unfortunately might need new master cylinder from flooring it. I believe that is the version which is hard to find and expensive when found.

Glad everybody is okay though, sounds like a poop your pants moment.

 

If the exhaust, drive train, under hood etc, is anything like what I am seeing in those pics, I would have to do an inventory of what all it would take to feel safe in driving that rust bucket....but that's just me.
More pics of suspension, underbody diff etc would be helpful.

 

Thanks everyone for all the replies. Some of what needs to be done is beyond my skill/experience level for sure and honestly I'd rather not touch the brake system (especially now) and would rather have someone knowledgable do it... so I'm going to have to figure out if I want to go to the same shop or somewhere else.

Some additional pics... the brake lines leading to where it failed don't seem bad at all. Various parts are underneath are HORRIBLE and some not so much. Exhaust hangers look like they'd break with a good hit from a hammer but a lot of the exhaust itself doesn't look all that bad.

 

Look pretty bad to me. The rest of the line is coated so probably ok, but where it is not rusted enough to weaken and blow a hole. They are not very thick and 16 years in Pacifica is plenty to take those out.

Definitely needs new metal lines for the chassis. I'd do new rubber ones too. The rear diff ones should be done at the same time, they're even more exposed.



I'd do what guys in the Midwest and NE do for rust abatement and prevention. Lots of posts here if you search.

 

The brake lines where you had the failure are obviously pretty badly rusted, but the rest of the rust isn't bad at all -- it's just surface rust. I'd get on that quickly so it doesn't progress, and you'll have a good truck for many years.