I'm on my weekly trip to the recycling center with a load of cans and plastic. 1 mile from home, letting the turbo spool up and the pipes sing, and go for the shift from 3rd to 4th. Pedal goes to the floor with no resistance. Coast in and immediately look for the puddle under the truck- brake fluid streaming out from the pressure line that has separated from the slave cylinder. Now I am really depressed - only 7000 miles and the last vehicle that left me stranded was a '79 Ford F-150 over 10 years ago. Called the dealer and told them to send a roll-on/roll-off - how embarassing to have my neighbors see the mighty Ram stuffed onto the back of a F-450 Powerchoke flatbed. 
What happened was a rolled pin that secures the line to the slave cylinder backed out (assume from vibration) and let the pressure line separate. It could have been reattached as there was no component failure, but the system is not designed to be bled and the service manual says a total R&R of the master/slave sealed unit assy is needed. To make matters worse the unit comes from the factory with only 1 rolled pin installed even though there is an upper and lower position that would accommodate 2! For those out of warranty (or those that choose not to take the risk - my dealer is pretty good) there is a thread in the archives that describes a bleed procedure, but this is a PITA under the best of conditions and isn't something you want to have to do on the side of the road at night.
https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=18469
The insurance to make sure this doesn't leave you on the side of the road? After return from the dealer I threaded a piece of . 020 aircraft grade safety wire through the center of the rolled pin and twisted it off. No way the rolled pin can back out from the slave cylinder unless the wire is cut.
For double indemnification, I installed a large cotter pin through the second hole that doesn't come with a rolled pin installed.
To quote Mastercard:
Time to install safety wire - 3 minutes.
Time to install cotter pin - 30 seconds.
Peace of mind - priceless.

Suggest everyone at least inspect theirs as routine preventitive maintenance when under the truck, but strongly recommend the above insurance.
Neil

What happened was a rolled pin that secures the line to the slave cylinder backed out (assume from vibration) and let the pressure line separate. It could have been reattached as there was no component failure, but the system is not designed to be bled and the service manual says a total R&R of the master/slave sealed unit assy is needed. To make matters worse the unit comes from the factory with only 1 rolled pin installed even though there is an upper and lower position that would accommodate 2! For those out of warranty (or those that choose not to take the risk - my dealer is pretty good) there is a thread in the archives that describes a bleed procedure, but this is a PITA under the best of conditions and isn't something you want to have to do on the side of the road at night.

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=18469
The insurance to make sure this doesn't leave you on the side of the road? After return from the dealer I threaded a piece of . 020 aircraft grade safety wire through the center of the rolled pin and twisted it off. No way the rolled pin can back out from the slave cylinder unless the wire is cut.
For double indemnification, I installed a large cotter pin through the second hole that doesn't come with a rolled pin installed.
To quote Mastercard:
Time to install safety wire - 3 minutes.
Time to install cotter pin - 30 seconds.
Peace of mind - priceless.



Suggest everyone at least inspect theirs as routine preventitive maintenance when under the truck, but strongly recommend the above insurance.
Neil
Last edited: