Everyone knows that your
braking system is one of the most important systems on your vehicle,
however many people don't recognize when brake problems start.
Squeaking may be a sign that you are
in need of disk brake service. The disk brake pads have small
metal tabs on them that rub on the rotor when you pads are almost out of
braking material. They are intended to squeak.
Modern braking systems work under
extreme conditions. The average stop can heat your brake pads and
rotors to over 600°. An emergency stop can increase that
temperature to close to 1,000°. At these temperatures, brake
rotors can warp causing a vibration in the steering wheel and in the
brake pedal every time the brakes are applied. Also, this same
heat can cause the brake pads and rotors to glaze which causes less
effective braking. Some conditions can also cause rotors to crack.
For example, if you stop hard for an emergency and you drive through
some water during the braking, this cold water can splash onto the rotor
and the severe temperature change can crack the rotor.
Fortunately, brake systems have come
a long way to prevent cracking from happening, but it does still happen
on rare occasion. Warping, on the other hand, is something that
will probably never be avoided completely. Even though rotors have
a very effective cooling system, the right situation can still cause
problems.
Warping is the major reason that the
industry as a whole are giving up on turning rotors. When a rotor
is turned, a lathe cuts off the outside layer of metal to remove the
glazing and the warp. It does work, just as well as in the past,
however it makes the rotor thinner. A thinner rotor will heat up
faster and cause it to warp easier. This is why most shops insist
on new rotors rather than turning the old ones. It saves you and us
time because you don't have to come back taking time out of your day to
have us replace them at a later date.
So any time that you have to use your
brakes severely, you should stop in and have them inspected to make sure
that everything is ok.
Another area of interest would be the brake lines. In our climate,
the steel lines that transfer the pressure from your foot to the wheel
suffer from rust just as the body of your car does. During heavy
braking, the hydraulic system can have as much as 1,200 psi of pressure
in the lines. Rusty lines plus that amount of pressure will burst.
Fortunately again, the auto industry has a back up system in place if
that were to happen. The master cylinder (the part that hooks to
the brake pedal and provides the pressure for the brake system) has two
sides to it. If the line on one side were to burst, you would
still have the other side to help you stop.
Bay Town Tire Center provides
complete front to rear brake repair on all vehicles with or without ABS.
If you have any further questions about how your brake system works,
feel free to give us a call or click
HERE
for more information.
