rubiconjack

okay ... so if anyone can figure this out. You can all yourself smarter than me. LOL, although lots of people do. No, seriously though.

Me and my husband are dumbfounded on why this would be happening. We were pulling line to get the cable back on the winch (took it apart to get it mounted, cause we had to!)

And ... the rear brake lines were smoking and melted (the coating did) ..

the only thing going on while this was happening. I was in 1st gear and the Brake was set. Jeep was off also. We were pulling line in ... so thats all that was going on when this happened ... weird!

Anyone have a clue why?

<img src="">

rear ... black and "cooked" basically ...

<img src="">

front ...

ya think its fine to drive my jeep .. I don't want my brakes to give out on me.

Oh ... its about a 3 year old winch and has been used moderatly. Its 8000lb ...

uhm ... and yah, its weird . We can't figure it out. My mechanic isn't in the shop til' monday ... and even then, my husband is on duty so I can't drive it to him then, in case I lose my brakes the way there ... and the shop at the jeep dealership is closed. So either way am I screwed?

Is this covered by Rubicon Express warranty on the part or no? Is it voided because we hooked up a winch and the brake lines melted when I was on flat ground, in front of our house, when we were winding the cable back up .... and the jk was turned off ...

its freaky is what it is? We need help figuring this out .. we are finishing the installation tommorow, just getting the ubmper and plastic cover on.

Afraid to mount my cb in now also!

riverzendz

I wouldn't drive it at all until those brake lines are replaced. They're weak and could burst with some pressure.

As for them melting...I have no clue. But why where you in first with the brake on? Should you not have been in Neutral?

goose244

Maybe your husband is trying to collect on that life insurance policy. :-) I have seen something like that on a braided fuel line. It had a bad ground to the electric fule pump and was using the braided line as a ground. I would have to bet you have a bad ground some where on you braking system and it used your braided brake line as a ground. If you have a DC volt meter I would try to see if there is current going to that line by putting the meter in DC volts and take one probe to the metal brake line and the other probe to your axle. If it shows any DC Volts at all you have a bad ground somewhere. Do this with your winch and brakes and any other thing you had on to see if you get current. Hope this make sense to ya.

jeep08ham

X2 Have seen the same thing as previous note stated. Could very well be current is flowing due to a bad ground. Follow the previous recommendations and you will most likely find the culprit. Not safe to drive as it is either.

wiredawg_mg

I am with goose on this one. A very resistive load could give off this kind of heat and begin to melt off the cover of your brake lines.

At some point electricty has came into contact with the chassis and used a path to ground. Your brake lines acted like an element in an eletric heater. Defintely wierd that it choose the brake lines. Was there a chance you were on jack stands when this happened?

mike

rubiconjack

I was parked in our parking spot and home .. not on any jack either ...

I always park with it in first and brake on ... always have. Should I not??? Bad habit .. lol

wiredawg_mg

Parked in gear with the e-brake on is a great habit.

As far as the question about the jack I was just looking for an explaination for how the brake line would have been in the path towards ground. I am really at a loss as to what your circumstances could have been that would have casued this. I would have someone in the know look over any possible grounding issues, and definetly would not drive it until the break lines are replaced and bled.

Good luck.

Mike

riverzendz

Ah...manual tranny right? I was thinking auto...

Manual tranny, e brake, in gear = not bad.

CIJeep

Good idea, and it is what I do as well.

As to the brake lines, replace all over heated ones immediately, a cooked line will greatly shorten the life of the tubing underneath.

As to why, I'm thinking with the other guys, your line may have been wet so the winch used it as a ground so it could do its thing.

Recheck your winch ground, means disconnect, clean to bare metal, reconnect and paint over or undercoat it.

sgmrock

Are you a previous TJ owner? Could be TJ poltergeist, though rare, the affection shown towards your JK can cause them to become nasty. Also, is your house built on an old Jeep boneyard? That is the secondary cause