Automedia.com - CarCare - Repair - Brakes Articles

Rear Drum Brake Diagnosis

This particular weekend started with a call from a pal who had a vexing problem. His usually trustworthy and freewheeling Toyota pickup truck had rear wheels that refused to turn. The pickup truck was a basic Eighties model with even more basic drum brakes out back. Running through possible problems and finding solutions is what we were going to do on this given Saturday. Freeing the rear wheels to return to their usually rolling selves should be basic, or so we thought...

Brake Boost

To achieve big power, it's basically a given that high-performance cars run a radical camshaft. Trouble is, many hot rodders think more about the go rather than the slow. So when they're ramming around town with a performance grind on your bumpstick, they may encounter a problem with stopping if their rod relies on a factory-style, vacuum-powered brake assist unit. This system can present a substantial problem with braking at low engine rpm, due to an inadequate vacuum supply to the brake booster because of the cam's extreme lobe shape. On top of that, other areas of the car, such as automatic transmissions and A/C systems, also need vacuum, which then takes it away from the brake system...

Brake Noise

You're cruising toward a column of cars waiting at a stoplight. You apply your brakes and are then rewarded with a sound that, like fingernails on a chalkboard, raises goose bumps on your neck—and maybe the blood pressure of the driver in front of you. Sound familiar?..

Brake Shoe Replacement

Whoever said that people are only interested in bad news was obviously thinking more about newspaper sales than the maintenance of their own personal motor vehicle. Back in the beginning of the twentieth century, during the very infancy of the automobile, F. Peter Dunne observed, "One man's news is another man's troubles." I'm not sure if he was thinking of the automobile when he made that statement, but it certainly is true—it's a whole different story when the troubles are yours!..

Classic Master Cylinder Rebuild

There is no black magic involved in rebuilding a master cylinder. They are simple hydraulic pumps and come in single- and dual-chamber configurations. Many Detroit vehicles equipped with manual or power drum brakes through the mid-Sixties have a single-chamber master. When disc brakes were introduced around that time, dual-chamber master cylinders were required: one chamber for the front brakes and one for the rear...

Performance Brakes

If the time has come for you to R&R the brakes on your car, stop and think. How much can you improve the performance of the original setup? Will substituting high-performance aftermarket parts for the factory-replacement pieces make a big difference?..

Replacement Rotors

To get an idea of how the rotors and brake pads work on your vehicle, grab a paper plate and spin it on your finger. As it spins grab it with your other hand. It stops instantly. The spinning plate is your rotor and your fingers and thumb are the brake pads. If the plate was spinning an awful lot faster and you tried to grab it, your hand and the plate would get hot in the process from the friction created. The energy of the spinning paper plate is converted into heat by the process of the hand grab. Not that you could actually spin the plate that fast, but you get the idea...

Replacing Brake Shoes

Brakes are a vehicle's most important part. They probably have the toughest job: stopping thousands of pounds of metal, plastic, flesh and bone that can travel at high speeds...

Replacing Disc Brake Pads

Poll most professional drivers/racers about a car's most important system and many will vote for brakes without hesitation (so to speak). Steering is also toward the top of the list, but without good brakes, driving at speed can be a kamikaze mission waiting to happen...

Replacing Rotors

Servicing disc brakes is normally a lot easier than working on drums. Rotors and calipers have fewer, larger parts than the average drum-brake system, so the average-skilled do-it-yourselfer can usually perform routine disc maintenance...

Tires: Your Biggest Bang for the Buck

Except for the driver, tires are the single most important performance component on your car. A tire upgrade will produce the biggest bang for your car-modifying bucks...

Upgrading Factory Brakes

If the time has come for you to replace the brakes on your car or truck, stop and think. How much can you improve the performance of the original setup? Will substituting high-performance aftermarket parts for the factory-replacement pieces make a big difference?..