Brake Hose Question

Joined
Oct 10, 2022
Messages
40
Location
Idaho
Hey folks,

I hope I'm not beating a dead horse here.

I have read many threads that Sunsong is the supplier of brake hoses for most of the rebrands these days. I found a cracked brake line on my 20 year old chevy suburban. I figure i may as well just replace all five hoses.

I'm not so much worried about cost ($50 vs $150) of Sunsong vs OE, but I am curious does anyone know who GM sources the OE part from now? My worry is I buy the OE part for 3x the cost and they're also Made in China by Sunsong hah.

I pretty much only buy parts from Rock Auto or the dealer now a days, this would likely be a RA order.

Thanks!
 
I think one of the biggest problems mechanics face today, is knowing if the parts they purchase are either counterfeit or are of proper quality. With so much coming out of the Pacific Rim these days, a lot of dubious quality parts are being sold. And some outright crap.

And many times the mechanic, along with the consumer has no way of knowing. Too many repairs today are taking place with parts that are often a roll of the dice. Stuff like this is inexcusable.



 
Sometimes, a manufacturer steps up their game for their masters vs. when they're a free spirit. Foxconn makes Apple products, but you never should trust their own mobos.

I'd rather have a defective brake hose from a store because I can sue their asses if things really go south. Sunsong screws up, it's just like all the crappy Ebay shock hazards. You're not touching the companies under a hostile sovereign.

Brake lines are designed to fail in manner in which you don't drive anymore. The make the internals fail squishy and like a check valve because that protects lives better than having them fail by blowing up.
 
Interesting. The name sure sounds offshore to me...

I ended up going with OE. Shipped a week earlier
 
Honestly if the OE parts are from China, I might just send them back eat the shipping and get the Sunsongs. We shall see.
 
I ordered Napa Ultra Premium brake hoses when I saw a crack in one of the my front lines

Inside the box were Sunsong hoses.

3 years and 70K miles after, no issues.

Apparently Sunsong is OEM supplier for some Japanese cars.
 
I had an issue that was 99% my own stupidity but had to replace a Sunsong. I used a Brakebest and the length was different. I felt the slightly greater length actually helped me route it away from the wheel

Also as I mentioned my only real complaint with Sunsong is that IME they supply. 030" copper washers which I simply refuse to use. I keep an SUR&R assortment around for .060" washers. Sometimes replacement calipers will come with .047" and I'm ok with that, too.

But every .030" goes immediately to the scrap bin. They've screwed me before. YMMV. It's solely a cost-saving measure IMO
 
I've gotten Sunsong hoses from RA, the quality is there.

Maybe some people have issues because the name sounds "really Chinese" vs the stuff they sell in HF with super-American names.
Yes, perhaps they should be renamed “badland” or “Icon” to dupe the public.

Quality is determined in 10-20 years. How are you validating quality just based upon something pulled from a box?

Not saying they aren’t… it’s just hard to tell, IMO.
 
Yes, perhaps they should be renamed “badland” or “Icon” to dupe the public.

Quality is determined in 10-20 years. How are you validating quality just based upon something pulled from a box?

Not saying they aren’t… it’s just hard to tell, IMO.
Brake hose quality is basically the quality of the steel and the rubber, neither of which are observable at the beginning of life.

There is also other components causing stress on the hose. Rusted brackets, sticking pistons, salt, etc. Maybe they'll fail sooner under conditions were those parts are "sticking". So the "check valve" style failure happens within 5-10 years

I mean I am riding a 1 year warranty Autozone brake hose for the driver's side, and maybe brake hoses are the exception because everyone wants something to stop reliably and for a long time, but you can't completely eliminate concerns on what corners were cut to reach that price point. Maybe brake hoses are more like aftermarket drain pans, where the cheapening doesn't matter too much.
 
Brake hose quality is basically the quality of the steel and the rubber, neither of which are observable at the beginning of life.

There is also other components causing stress on the hose. Rusted brackets, sticking pistons, salt, etc. Maybe they'll fail sooner under conditions were those parts are "sticking". So the "check valve" style failure happens within 5-10 years

I mean I am riding a 1 year warranty Autozone brake hose for the driver's side, and maybe brake hoses are the exception because everyone wants something to stop reliably and for a long time, but you can't completely eliminate concerns on what corners were cut to reach that price point. Maybe brake hoses are more like aftermarket drain pans, where the cheapening doesn't matter too much.
You seem to be implying that there was cheapening in the manufacturing when it is more likely due to just getting rid of the middleman markup. I can't tell you the # of times, I have seen OEM branded parts that cost a lot more than the exact same part sold under the actual manufacturer's brand.

There is also lower quality in the aftermarket, hence topics like this one, asking about a certain brand or other topics asking which brands to choose from.
 
Has anyone here installed new brake hoses, and had them fail due to poor quality, or because they were counterfeit, or because they came from China, or whatever?
I've wondered, too. For me, only Earl's braided stainless. Popped a pinhole just standing on the brakes on a Moab trail. Which is why I refuse to run anything but OEM design rubber now
 
You seem to be implying that there was cheapening in the manufacturing when it is more likely due to just getting rid of the middleman markup. I can't tell you the # of times, I have seen OEM branded parts that cost a lot more than the exact same part sold under the actual manufacturer's brand.

There is also lower quality in the aftermarket, hence topics like this one, asking about a certain brand or other topics asking which brands to choose from.
Yes, that happens. I bought three dollar battery terminals off Ebay that would match a Toyota dealer's 60-90 dollar part. But a terminal is a pretty static item that's hard to screw up. Just like drain pans and manifolds(if everything lines up). Or on Temu, I did buy security camera mounts that are an exact match to the Wassersteins or whatever they are called sold in stores.

But the opposite has to be said about fuel injectors. The fakes are fakes. Internals are poor. The oring is a cheap, gas-vulnerable material.

So the question is whether the hoses are more like static, easy to assess items that are just mere excess inventory being dumped or are they vulnerable wear items like suspension parts or fuel injectors.
 
Back
Top