Brake Repair: Let's Learn About the Repair Process

There are many things that can cause a car to break down, and one of those things is the braking system. This is one part that you don't want to break as you are driving down the road as it can cause an unsafe driving condition for both you and other drivers. The best way to avoid these brake problems is to make sure that your brakes are properly maintained and the parts are changed frequently enough so that you don't need to visit your mechanic for the costly brake repair that results from poor maintenance of your vehicle. 

The normal wear and tear on your vehicle causes the brakes to wear down and lose traction over time. The better you take care of them, the longer they will last. On most vehicles a good portion of your ability to stop quickly occurs on your front brakes, which causes occasional needed brake repair. Because these are the most common, below, we will learn how to replace those.

For this area of brake repair, the first step that you will need to do is unhook the battery cable from the battery, then raise the car on jacks to the jack stand. For your safety, make sure that the vehicle is stable on the jack stands before you remove the jack. Then use your lug wrench and take the lug nuts off the wheel so that you can remove the wheel to get to the braking system. Once you have gotten the wheel off, you are able to remove the brake caliper using your socket wrench. Once that is removed, you can carefully remove the brake pads and rotors which can then be thrown away. At this time you can make sure that there is not further damage to the calipers and clean them if needed.

To replace the pads and rotors, first you must push the new rotor onto the hub and hold it in place with a "c" clamp to allow more room for the new pads as they will be a little thicker than the worn down ones. Once it is in place, the clamp can be removed. Then you can add the new brake pads, making sure that they are facing the right direction. You can now place the caliper back into its proper position. Now you can replace the tire and tighten all the lug nuts with your lug wrench. Don't forget to add some brake fluid to the master cylinder says full and replace the cylinder cap. Lower the car and remove the jacks. Repeat for the other side. 

Sometimes if too much time has gone by between part replacements and too much wear has occurred, more costly brake repairs are needed, such as filing or replacement of the calipers and replacement of brake bushings. These brake repairs can be done at your local car repair shop. However, proper brake maintenance will prevent this from happening too often.