I've recently done a brake job on my 97 LS400 & noticed a couple of the stock rubber brake lines have small cracks at the bends. Does anyone one know if these brake lines have the metal mesh underneath the rubber? Car is now 21 years old, is it time to go ahead & replace all of them? What do ya think?

 

I did a quick search after my post. Looks like these rubber brake lines have the braid PVA (nylon weave) underneath the rubber for reinforcement. Still no definitive answer on when to replace them but I've figured being that old, it wouldn't hurt to replace them so I can sleep better at night.

 

Unless you have a Will, 'I think you shouldn't drive the car until you replace all rubber brake hoses.....consider rebuilding calipers (rubber seals)as well.

 

At 25 years and 191k miles on my '91, my brake light came on ... fluid low ... I found the front left hose to be leaking slowly. So I replaced all 4. Car has been maintained very well, in case that might have affected things.

So it was not a catastrophic failure, which is nice. I cut open the failed hose and confirmed - no steel in there. Well built, though. From memory, I think there was a longitudinal break in the inner rubber at a bend, and then the fluid just seeped through the rest of the hose material.

So yes, if you replace them all, mostly based on age, you're probably not wasting the effort.

 

I've already bought the hoses & will replace all 4 corners this weekend. Thanks for your inputs.

 

Got all 4 brake hoses replaced. It's fairly easy to replace. For those of you that also want to replace yours, make sure you use a 10 mm flare nut wrench (line wrench) to crack the nut where it connects the brake hose & the brake hard line. If you just use an open wrench or a vice grip, you will strip & destroy the nut. Don't forget to bleed the brake when you're done as there will be lots of air in the lines.