Euro Motorworks

The number one reason experts of auto repair in Indianapolis see vehicles is for brake system repair. Ill-working brakes can be a deadly issue. So, it’s easy to say that the most important part of your vehicle is the braking system. A good driver–that’s you, right?–should know how to inspect their brakes, understand the little inspection, and be able to fix it or tell someone who knows how to fix it what’s wrong.
This all begins with having a grasp on how a car’s brake system works. There are two main types of brake systems: drum and disk brake.Drums use hydraulics to press the pad against a brake drum to slow down a vehicle. You press the brake pedal and a piston in your master cylinder (it’s directly connected to where you add and monitor your brake fluid, usually) sends pressure through the brake lines to wheel cylinders inside the brake drum. This pressing causes friction, which is what really slows the car down, as far as the physics go of it. This friction keeps the wheel from turning, which is, by definition, what braking is all about.Brake drums are flat on the top and heavy, cylinder-shaped pieces of metal, like a drum. They are typically found on the rear wheels between the rim and the drive wheel. So, the brake pads on the shoes are forced onto the drum by the inside piston, which gets its hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder.

A disk brake system is a different animal altogether, except obviously for the use of friction to stop and hydraulic pressure via a master cylinder. When you press the brake pedal, the master cylinder’s piston sends pressure down the brake lines to a caliper. The brake caliper closes, bringing the pad to the rotor, stopping the vehicle.
The rotor, which anyone in auto repair in Indianapolis could tell you, is nothing more than a round plate of metal that’s “pinched” by brake pad-wearing calipers. Sort of the way you might hold a Frisbee.

The master cylinder, which seems to be doing a lot of the work (except for pressing the brake pedal… that’s all you), is sending the pressure down in the form of brake fluid. It is very important for you to keep an eye on the brake fluid. It shouldn’t be chunky. It shouldn’t be too dark (this may mean some oil has slipped in.
Now, armed with this knowledge, you can at least seem somewhat car-savvy and sophisticated when you walk into an auto repair business in Indianapolis, or wherever. You should now know how to look at the brake fluid in the reservoir above the master cylinder. You should know to follow the brake lines (typically running along side the outside of the body, underneath the vehicle.) You should know what kind of brakes you have: drum, disk, or in some cases, both. You should know what may need replacing. If it was a brake pad, the built-in warning indicator would be screeching every time you come to a stop. If you prefer to do the work yourself, there’s plenty of information to be found here on the Internet.

Tags: Auto Repair Indianapolis, auto service indianapolis, luxury auto service

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 12:41 pm and is filed under Auto Repair Indianapolis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.