Checked your Brake Hoses Lately?

[Scott Mockry <scottmo@teleport.com>]

I was bleeding the brakes on my 89 200TQ today, as I noticed the brake
pedal felt a little mushy........I was using a pressure bleeder setup which
was applying ~15psi pressure to the brake reservoir........

After bleeding the rears,  I began bleeding the right front wheel, and
noticed the rubber brake hose was swelling up a little in 2 areas, one was
near the end where it connects to the caliper, the other was at the mid
point where the rubber grommet holds the hose to the strut.....

I could feel the brake fluid under the layer of rubber hose where it was
swelling up......needless to say....I will be replacing the hoses before I
drive the car again....the car has 130k miles.....

Those with high mileage vehicles may want to check your brake hoses while
someone pushes on the brake pedal to apply pressure to the system......

Looks like it was a good thing that I did not attend our local track event
this past weekend with this car....

HTH
Scott Mockry