This would be a warning for 5 lug spindle/Cobra brake swaps

[tulowd]

Old info, found this on Corner Carvers; but for sure is relevant to anyone doing a 5 lug Cobra or GT front brake swap.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 28, 1999
Contact: Tim Hurd
Tel. No.: (202) 366-9550
NHTSA 35-99

NHTSA WARNS FORD SVT MUSTANG COBRA
OWNERS
ABOUT POSSIBLE BRAKE HOSE FAILURES

The U.S. Department of
Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today
warned owners of 1994 through 1998 Ford SVT Mustang Cobras of the possible
danger of front brake hose failures occurring as a result of equipping their
vehicles with aftermarket high performance front brake linings and then driving
under severe high speed conditions on a race track.

"To date we have
learned of 21 brake hose failures in 15 vehicles. Two of these failures led to
crashes on racetracks, one in which the Cobra was a total loss," said Ricardo
Martinez, M.D., NHTSA administrator. "Safety is President Clinton’s highest
transportation priority, and this warning is intended as a caution to owners to
protect their safety."

Information developed during a NHTSA safety defect
investigation revealed that two failures were brake fluid leaks from the hose,
and 19 failures involved the separation of the rubber brake hose from the metal
end fitting at the brake caliper. Such a separation leads to a partial brake
system hydraulic failure and a loss of about 70 percent of the vehicle’s braking
capability.

Except for one of the Cobras that had a front brake hose
leak, all of the Cobras that experienced a leakage or separation failure of one
or both front brake hoses had been driven at high speed in a "race track event"
with non-Ford high performance front brake linings. Fifteen separation failures
occurred while the vehicle was being driven on a race track, and three hose
separations occurred on public roads after race track use. The other failures
occurred or were discovered during brake system maintenance.

Ford says
the hose failures are a direct result of brake caliper/rotor overheating
following replacement of the Ford production brake linings with high performance
aftermarket metallic brake linings and use of the vehicles in a race track
situation.

To address this problem, Ford published an article in its "SVT
Enthusiast" magazine, which is mailed to over 34,000 Cobra owners. The article
informed owners of the issue and indicated that a new front brake hose
incorporating a steel section between the fitting and hose to dissipate heat is
available at Ford dealers. Ford has released this hose, which is also used on
the 1999 Cobra, for use on 1994 through 1998 Ford SVT Mustang Cobras and will
remove the earlier versions of these front brake hoses from the stock of its
service departments.

Owners who have equipped their vehicles with
non-Ford high performance front brake linings and plan to drive their vehicles
in a high speed "race track event" can purchase the new hoses from their Ford
dealers.

[ZR]

Hoses are old enough now that no one should be using them regardless of mileage. Yes just like tires, rubber gets old and can become more susceptible to failure. Warning should also include street driven only rides. Yes that means even those with older, super low km cherries.

[Parkway Ford Lincoln SVT]

Hopefully all of the owners of the 96-98 cars that were sold in Canada got the recall done with the updated hose. The original hose part number has not been available since that recall was issued. And as Rick mentioned, people doing a swap should be spending the extra bucks to install fresh hoses with the upgrade.