The rear brake hose on the Tacoma is just long enough for the stock leaf spring and shock setup. If you plan on adding a rear lift, the greater rear articulation can easily over-stretch the hose and cause it to tear, resulting in a dangerous loss of your brake fluid. This is a common problem when adding aftermarket leafs, shocks, or shackles. So don't forget to check for this while installing the lift. If your hose comes up short, there are a couple of different ways to address it before heading out to the trail for the first test of the new lift.
In the first picture below, the axle is dropped to the limit of the factory TRD shock, but in the second picture the shock is disconnected and the axle is dropped another two inches to simulate longer shocks. This shows how easily the hose stretches past a safe limit when adding a lift.
Stock Hose Length
Shock Disconnected
A simple and inexpensive way to increase the available length is to add a second factory hose to the existing one. Your local dealer or auto parts store should have these in stock. The fittings at the ends of the hose are such that they can be connected together without modification or leakage.
Installation
Clean the lower and upper fittings of any excess dirt.
Disconnect the steel brake line from behind the upper bracket using a 10mm line wrench.
Using pliers, pull out the u-shaped clip on the back side of the upper bracket.
Once disconnected, drain the fluid from the hose before preceding.
Disconnect the lower fitting using a 17mm wrench.
Clean off any residual brake fluid from painted surfaces, and work quickly to minimize further spillage.
Using the 17mm wrench and locking pliers, securely attach your hose to the new one.
Install the lower male fitting back onto the axle and tighten.
Push in the u-shaped clip on the back side of the upper bracket.
Reconnect the steel brake line from behind the upper bracket using a 10mm line wrench.
Bleed all the air from the brake system using the helpful links below.
Make sure all fluid is cleaned off, and inspect for leaks before driving.
Clean excess dirt
Remove spring clip
Remove lower fitting
The only consideration when using this method is the slack of the extra hose length must be prevented from rubbing on any part of the rear suspension. Attaching a light weight spring from the hose to the underside of the bed works well to keep the hose up and out of the way.
Finished installation
Light weight spring
Hose attachment
The other option for a solution is to purchase an aftermarket braided stainless steel hose. Several suppliers offer them. The one I picked used standard fittings on both ends which required adapters to convert back to the metric threads. Because of differences in the upper adapter, I had to fabricate a thin spacer to be able to reuse the factory u-shaped clip. If you choose this method, ask about the upper mount ahead of time so there are no surprises.
