Simple tweaks to make your brakes up to specs
Do you encounter a soft brake pedal when you step on the brakes, accompanied by a letdown in brake operations? Because a soft pedal feel amounts to an almost nonexistent push on the brake system, the brake input that you apply on the pedal is not really getting into the brake assembly. Without that push, the car is running on nothing to operate the brakes.
A soft brake pedal is a sign of a contaminated hydraulic brakes assembly. Lubed by brake fluids, the hydraulic brakes assembly can lead to a soft brake pedal if it has been infiltrated by water. This water lowers the boiling point of the fluid in the assembly, which makes it evaporate quickly and produces air in the system.
When air is present in the hydraulics, it allows the assembly to compress more easily, as opposed to pure brake fluids that have greater resistance to compression. Because of the high heat condition that brake system parts are exposed to, the brake fluids are liable to heat up and produce moisture. When left unchecked, moisture presence can increase and lower the boiling point of the fluid, making it more conducive for air buildup. Air presence in the brake system is what leads to that spongy feel you notice when you apply the brakes.
You don’t have to be a mechanic to bleed the brakes yourself
Because it is difficult to risk riding on a nonexistent brake even if you have to do it on your way to a shop for a brakes job, wouldn’t it be better if you can do it by yourself? Bleeding the brakes on your car is no difficult task. It requires no special tools and hardly needs training. Here are the step-by-step instructions of brake bleeding, made easy to understand exactly for the automotive greens.
STEP 1—First off, your car needs to be jacked up. In the event that a lift isn’t handy, you can follow these simple instructions to improvise:
Using a flat screw, pry off the hub cap. Turn the wheels lugs loose, this will reduce the rocking motion once the car has been jacked up. Consult the owner’s manual that comes with the car to determine the ideal jacking spot in the chassis.
Lock the back wheel, either with a brick or a good piece of fire wood. Put the jack under the spot specified in the manual and jack the car up. Once the jack supports the car, remove the lug nuts from the wheel hub. The wheel should then slide off by itself.
You can reinforce the steering table of the car by placing a jack stand under it. This will further stabilize the car. Also, make sure that the steering wheels are turned toward the wheel you are going to work on, so you can have ample elbow room when working on it.
STEP 2—Next, ease the pressure in the brake system. It is important to do this because, as contaminated hydraulic fluids get drawn into the brake system during operation, the pressure becomes erratic. Pop the hood open and turn the cap covering the master cylinder. Traditionally, break bleeding starts from the wheel farthest to the master cylinder, the rear wheel on the passenger side. You can then hear the hissing sound of pressure released and are now ready to work on the brakes.
STEP 3—After the car has been jacked up and the pressure released, go to the wheel hub and look for the bleeder valve for the hydraulic fluid. It is located on top of the caliper. Give it a turn to open and leave it at that.
STEP 4—Now, the following procedures will require an extra hand. While one is at the driver’s seat bleeding the valve by stepping on the brakes, another ought to be near the location of the valve. If the valve is simply left open as you bleed the brakes, the pressure may surge and leave a mess. For this reason, it will be necessary to have someone put a length of tubing from the valve going in to a container. One reminder, used brake fluid is toxic. So dispose of it properly.
STEP 5—With a tube leading the used brake fluids in to a container, give the brake pedal some good five or so pumps. After that, keep the pedal depressed and signal to the person holding the bleeder valve to open it and catch the fluids. The accumulated fluids usually have bubbles, a sign that the fluid has been contaminated with moisture.
When the valve is spewing out fluids, the person stepping on the brakes should feel the pedal moving toward the floor. That person must keep the pedal to the floor whenever the valve is open. Close the valve and release the pedal. Then repeat the process until there are no more bubbles in the fluids you are getting.
As mentioned earlier, work on the wheel farthest from where the master cylinder of your car is located. If it is on the driver’s side, work on the rear wheel on the passenger side first, then go clockwise to all the four wheels.
After a wheel has been bled, put the wheel back on. With the car jacked up, don’t tighten the lugs yet, just enough to fasten the wheels snugly on the hub.
STEP 6—Next, lower down the jack and when the wheel touch the ground, tighten the lugs using a torque wrench. Remember to set the wheel on the specified torque recommended in the manual for your car’s make and year.
STEP 7—IMPORTANT. We have drained the caliper piston off some fluid, which means you have to give the brake pedal some three or four pumps first before fresh fluid gets into the piston and it comes up and gets firmer. Your car will not have brake with its piston deficient with brake fluids, so make sure the brake pedal feels normal before driving. Also, check the brake fluid in the tank and top it up if necessary. Once done, your car is ready you can now take to driving without worries.