could be vandalism. but do note, that hose is exposed when driving. they do take a hit sometimes from road debris.
forensically,
w/o tool marks, you have to look at it the oposite way. try to prove/support the scenario it was not vandalism.
b4 vehicle is moved, one might note fresh fluid dripping stright down from the area with now wind dispersal. or a puddle of fluid with no fluid trail on the ground leading up to the parking location. that won't be definative. *but it could* denote tampering *in place*
also,
one could *feel* around the area aft of the hose. anywhere aorund the under caraige or on suspension and brake parts. what one would look for to support a pre-existing slow leak would be tackyness. that would denote a slow leak and fluid being wind dried as one drives.
unfortunatly, any road debris can do this. seen it b4. purdy much app to front or rear brakes.
and there's no way, unless you find tool marks, you'll not be able to prove anything definatively. re-garding vandalism that is.
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USAF trained hydraulic/pneumatic tech, 3 yrs auto/truck fleet service. gear head since 1968 er 9. anyway, long time.
The rubber brake lines do fail and leak slow or fast. You won't know til the level in the reservoir goes down and starts getting air in the system. The system is split to still give you some braking ability when this happens. A discerning eye will be able to spot the cause here but even the metal lines can corrode and fail. And those braided lines are no better than nonbraided. Also rodents like rubber and chew it and wires at times. Fact.
Listen to what you have printed: A cut brake line can easily identified because two matching pie-shaped slices from opposite sides of the line.
A rust hole on one side of the brake line is very common on any car older than six years old, particularly if the water-logged brake fluid has never been changed.
They could be if you had to dismantle to get at the problem, then no. Do you think they would jack up your car damage the brake and the assemble again, no way. But someone could cruel under the car and with nippers snipe the brake line, that is possible.
This makes no sense. If you had a leak your foot would go to the floor. If you had a fault in the servo you'd have to stand on the pedal hard to get any brakes.
Any decend mechanic should be able to tell. If you're still worried, the same mechanic can install stainless steel braided brake lines.
Would they work one second then two hours later just completely go haywire? Did me using the parking brake on a hill have anything to do with it?
well first of all why are you going to a party where your enemies are? if the line looks like it's dry rotted then its probably just time to replace it. If the break in the line has very smooth edges then it was probably cut. you obviously did not make detective.
take a look at the brake lines coming out of your master cylinder, you could probably tell if someone cut a line...
You may be able to tell by looking at the damage. If it is rusty then obviously it was not vandalism. Was it cut with a knife? Maybe it was a trick or treater.
I used to work in law enforcement and lets just say I have a few enemies..
My brakes worked 100% fine with no problems before I went to a party the other night. I had to use the emergency brake. I never use it. Not sure if this was an issue.
I came out and was parked on a hill. As soon as I went down the hill, I had barely ANY brakes. I had to stand on them to get the car to stop at all.
My friend looked at them today and pulled a wheel. He saw where the brake line had a hole in it and fluid was leaking out. Is there any way to tell if someone did this? Thank you for your time.
if the pedal goes to the floor with very little effort, there is an issue. if you still feel resistance, that is not likely.
you won't have any breaks and the break pedal will go to the floor