Brakes

The brakes on your vehicle are critical to your safety!

The brakes in a vehicle are made up of two parts: Hydraulics and Friction Materials.

Hydraulics

The Master Cylinder~ is made up of a main body that contains a piston and a reservoir.  When the pedal is pressed, a linkage pushes on the piston to compress the brake fluid that is pushed thrugh the breake lines to the individual cyliners of the calipers (or the wheel cylinders) causing the vehicle to stop.

Brake Lines and Hoses~ the pressurized brake fluid travels through steel brake lines and rubber hoses.

Wheel Cylinders and Calipers~ are hydraulic cylinders that cause your vehicle to stop by applying pressure to friction materials.

Friction Materials

Brake Pads~ help to stop your vehicle.  They are replaceable flat segments composed of high temperature materials that create friction causing your vehicle to stop.

Brake Shoe~ is where the brake linings are mounted.  They are arc shaped carriers that force the lining against the rotating drum during braking.

Types of Brakes

There are three different types of brakes: disc, drum and parking.

Disc Brakes~ this type of braking system has break shoes in a vise like caliper that grip a revolving disk mounted on a wheel to slow or stop the disk and wheel rotationf or braking.  Disc brakes are composed of a disc brake rotor that is attached to the wheel and a caliper that holds the disc brake pads.  The friction between the pads and the rotor is what causes your vehicle to stop.

Drum Brakes~ A type of braking system that utilizes a metal drum mounted on a wheel to form the outer shell of a brake. The brake shoes press against the drum to slow or stop drum and wheel rotation for braking.  Drum brakes are composed of a brake drum attached to your wheel, wheel cylinder, brake shoes and brake return springs.  Hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder causes the wheel cylinder to press the brake shoes against the brake drum. This creates friction between the shoes and drum to slow or stop your car.

Parking Brakes~ these brakes are used to prevent your vehicle from rolling when it is not being driven.  These brakes use a cable that mechically apply the brakes.  It is usually the rear brakes.

Anti-Lock Brakes

ABS is a developed safety feature.

On a vehicle equipped with Anti-Lock Brakes, the wheels have speed sensors. When a sensor determines that a wheel is decelerating so rapidly that lockup may occur, the electro-Hydraulic Control Unit (EHCU) is activated. The EHCU then modulates the brake pressure in the appropriate brake lines by means of the solenoid-operated valves. This is intended to prevent wheel lockup and help the vehicle maintain directional stability during potentially hazardous braking situations.

The ABS system is comprised of wheel-speed sensors that monitor wheel rotation, computer-controlled hydraulics that pulse the brakes on and off rapidly, and the on-board computer.