As mentioned above - only 1 side is completed at this point to resolve the issue at hand before potentially making any additional problems or completing standard maintenance. It's not a matter of "skimping" or being cheap but rather addressing the problem first. I've never had a caliper or brake hose fail and as mentioned this is my first Ford SUV/Truck. If you are looking for common problems with Mustangs or Super Charged Thunderbird SC's I could tell you those far better than any repair manual of TSB. Also the reason I posted here - common issues are usually discussed on the forums by enthusiasts.
I also have worked on multiple cars over 20 years, I've built motors, transmissions, differentials... changed brakes more times than I can count. I do not lack knowledge or ability to make the repairs. Also this is the first time I have had a caliper continue to intermittently hang up.
At time of replacement the brake hose was disconnected prior to the caliper being removed, so no hanging weight was applied to the hose. The proper bleeding process was preformed and the wheel spun freely prior to reassembly. One week later it is now back to occasionally hanging up. For instance - hung Saturday - today it did not.
Even though you suggest the brake hose to be the least expected area to fail, others mentioned above it's rather common to fail on Expeditions/F150s.
-Tim
Just going from my experiences like yours with calipers. Mine are similar. I have had more than one hang up but they don't stick or fail all that often. It is more commonly the slider pins than the actual caliper piston or pistons.
It can all be heat-related too. It's less likely for a brake hose to be heat-related but it is possible. Calipers on the other hand can get warm and things start to expand and they can start to hang up.
I also always gauge how free the caliper piston is when I push them in using my C-clamp. Some people use a hydraulic depressor or ratcheting mechanism and they don't get any feedback when they push them in. When I use the C-clamp I can tell exactly what they want is free like a new one or really stiff.
All kinds of problems are common on forums because this is where we all end up for the specific vehicles but I can say that I owned a 97 E350 for over 10 years, an 01 Excursion for over 10 years, a 2000 Expedition for 7 years, a 90 Ford F150 for about 10 years, a good deal of town cars from 89, 92, 96, 99, 98... and only one of any of those ever needed a brake hose replaced because of an internal collapse that was making the caliper stick.
My 93 Z71 pickup truck on the other hand but I bought back in 2010, needed a brake hose and the first year I had it.
On the other vehicles I had to rebuild the right rear caliper on the E350 Super Duty because it was leaking, replaced one front and one rear caliper on the 2001 Excursion, have yet to replace a caliper on the 2000 Expedition but have been through two to three sets of pads on the front and at least one on the rear, very few if any calipers on any of the Town Cars but have to clean up the pens and free them up often. The worst Fords were those old Tauruses rear calipers. Those pins would rust in the caliper bracket and we're sometimes impossible to remove and even hard to drill out. Easier to just replace the whole thing.
I have seen a couple of brake hoses get a bubble on the outside but not yet leak. You know you're on borrowed time then. I don't replace them unless they are cracked up and looking deteriorated or if I find they have an internal collapse and holding pressure.
I guess on an intermittent thing I would take the wheel off and make sure the caliper was free enough that it will move with just hand pressure on it slider pins and then I would push the pistons back in with a C-clamp and make sure they are free. I often lift the boot up with a small screwdriver and squirt WD-40 or here lately I've been using Lucas chain lube around the piston dust cover to help keep things lubed in there.
Then if it keeps doing it after I know the caliper is nice and free I would replace the hose. They usually less than $15 and not too bad to replace.