Well there are several reasons:

New Brake fluid is fairly incompressible. So when you squeeze your brake, the force in the piston at the Lever goes to the piston at the calliper with the fewest losses. Over time however, a couple of things happen. One is that air can get into the system, either by absorption directly into the brake fluid or more commonly by absorption of water, which contains air.

Air is much more compressible than Brake Fluid. Think in terms of childhood games with a needle-less syringe filled with water. If you put your finger over the end and squeeze the plunger, it doesn’t move at all, or not so you’d notice. With air in the syringe rather than water you can compress it a fair bit. Same happens when air gets absorbed into your brake fluid. It’s what makes your brakes feel mushy or squishy.

The second thing that happens is that the brake fluid can absorb water. This water very often gets into the system as a result of condensation due to heat, from when the brakes or hoses get hot. Water can have dissolved oxygen in it, which when hot expands into small air-bubbles. Enough of these can also make the fluid more compressible. The water, if left in the system, can cause corrosion of the Cylinder, which is what eventually ruins your seals. When you bleed your brakes and the old fluid is brown, part of that is the corrosion.

Water in the fluid will boil and change state from compressible gas to incompressible fluid during the brake application, the change in volume causing a change in brake force. Old brake fluid can cause a failure that is fast and dramatic. i.e. if they get hot from constant use down a hill, you can have a situation where you will have NO BRAKES. So change the fluid regularly.

Basically, if you ever do anything that results in fluid coming out anywhere except the filler, you need to think about bleeding.

8. Vacuum Pedal Drop: after exhausting the reserve vacuum in step 7, hold the pedal down firmly and start the engine. The pedal should drop slightly as vacuum is applied to the booster.

9. Master Cylinder Inspection: Check the outside of the cylinder for signs of leakage. Wipe dirt away from the cylinder and remove the cover. The fluid level should well be within one-fourth inch of the top of the reservoir, and the fluid should be clear with no sign of contamination.

Watch the fluid in the reservoir as an assistant depresses the pedal one-fourth to one-half inch. A spurt or agitation indicates that the compensating port is closing correctly. This occurs only in the front reservoir in dual-chamber cylinders. Be sure the vent holes in the cylinder cover or cap are open and that the diaphragm, if used, is not torn or deteriorated.

10. Power booster connections: check the vacuum line at the booster and at th engine for signs of leakage. With the engine running, listen for hissing sounds, indicating a vacuum leak. On vehicles with Hydro-Boost hydraulic boosters, check the lines at the booster and the power steering pump for leakage.

11. Hoses, Lines and Fittings: inspect all hoses, lines and fittings for damage, chassis interference, or leakage. Do not overlook the rear hose, or hoses. Metal lines and fitting must be free from leakage. Be vigilant in your inspection so you don’t miss anything.

Raise the vehicle on a hoist and turn the steering from lock to lock. Brake hoses must not hit the chassis or wheels in any wheel position. Rub rings may contact the chassis as long as the body of the hose is not worn.

Inspect the brake lines for use of copper tubing in place of steel lines. Copper tubing is inferior in material and thus, is unacceptable for brake system use.

12. Parking Brake: inspect the parking brake linkage and cables for damage and fraying. Cables should move freely in conduits. Apply the parking brake and attempt to move the vehicle. On pre-1967 cars, the parking brake should hold the vehicle securely at two-thirds lever or pedal travel. Many 1976 cars as well as later models have a ratchet-type parking brake linkage that provides a greater mechanical advantage but which must be pumped up during application.

13. Drum Brake Components: remove the brake drums and inspect the drums, shoes, linings, wheel cylinders and all hardware. Brake drums wear in normal use. Some of the common wear patterns are:

Scoring—grooves worn in the drum surface by contact with the lining. If the lining is worn down to the rivets, or shoe surface, deep scoring will result

Bellmouthed—tapered wear which will also be seen as uneven lining wear.

Concave or convex—concave wear is occurs when there is greater wear in the center of the drum than at either edge. Convex wear is when there is greater wear at the edges than in the center.

Heat checks—hairline cracks in the braking surface caused by overheating from severe use.

Out of Round—an out of round condition may exist with any of the other wear patterns. This condition is verified by measuring the drum diameter in several places with a micrometer.

A slight amount of any of these wear conditions can be corrected by turning the drum on a lathe to restore a uniform surface finish and diameter.

As an aside, remember to check the lining for cracks or breaks that impair attachment, loose mounting, contamination with grease and oil or brake fluid. One must also be on the lookout for wire backing visible through lining material, bent shoes or broken welds and badly deformed slots or holes for springs, anchors, or pushrods.

Brake system service begins with thorough testing and inspection. The following 15-step checklist will help you evaluate all brake systems with greater accuracy and efficiency.

1. Service Brake Performance: A service brake performance test or test of overall stopping ability, is a good way to begin a brake inspection and is essential for evaluating completed brake services. Brake performance can be tested on a brake dynamometer or platform analyzer or by a simple road test.

On a dynamometer, the braking forces at the front and rear axles are tested separately. On a platform analyzer, the braking forces at all four wheels are tested simultaneously. Generally, the total braking force of the vehicle weight, and the braking force at the wheel must be within 20 percent of the force on the opposite wheel of the same axle.

When brake performance is evaluated by a road test, the vehicle should stop smoothly within 25 feet from 20 mph without swerving out of a 12-foot-wide lane.

2. Brake Warning Light: on 1967 and later vehicles with split hydraulic systems, check the warning light by momentarily turning the ignition switch to the Start position. But, do not start the engine. See if the warning light illuminates because it should. Some imported cars have press-to-test warning lights, which are checked by pressing on the indicator lamp. Again, the lamp should light.

3. Stop lamps: Check the stop lamps by depressing the brake pedal and watching for both lamps to light.

4. Pedal and Linkage Installation: Apply and release the pedal several times. Move the linkage from side to side. Check for noise, binding and excessive looseness. Troubles will soon follow these signs so better fix them right away.

5. Pedal Reserve: Pedal reserve is the distance from the pedal to the floor when the brakes are applied. To check pedal reserve, release the parking brakes and for cars with power brakes, start the engine. Measure the distance from the pedal free height to the floor. Depress the pedal and measure the distance from the brake-applied position to the floor.

Pedal travel from the released to the applied position should be 80 percent or less of its total height from the floor. Pedal reserve must be 20 percent or more. Another general guideline is that the pedals should be at least two inches from the floor for manual brakes and one inch for power brakes.

While checking pedal reserve, pump the pedal several times at a rapid pace. If the brake-applied pedal height rises with repeated exertions, or if the pedal feels rather spongy, there may be air in the hydraulic lines or the drum brakes of the car may need adjustment.

6. Hydraulic Leakage: check for hydraulic leakage by applying the brake pedal firmly and holding it for 10 seconds. If the peal drops under pressure after the initial application, or if the warning light turns on, the hydraulic system is leaking.

7. Vacuum Reserve: on a car with vacuum-operated power brakes, run the engine at a fast idle for several seconds an then turn it off. Wait 90 seconds and apply the brakes several times. Two or more applications should be power assisted. The pedal should get firmer with four or five applications.

The brake system is one important safety assembly in the car. But that only holds true if each and every part of the system is working ideally well. One aspect of the system that needs regular inspections is that which involves the car’s brake fluid. The hydraulic brake fluid, after all, must have certain important qualities for safe braking at all times. Thus, better to be equipped with a check list and see if there are any woes to consider:

The following make up a few of the cardinal rules that one must observe when watching out for brake fluid performance:

It must not boil or otherwise be affected by the high temperatures or braking.
It must lubricate the master cylinder as well as wheel cylinders
It must attack the metal and rubber parts of the system.
It must be chemically inert, in addition to being stable, under all operating conditions.
It must remain free flowing at all temperatures. This essentially means that it must not thicken or freeze at the lowest operating temperatures.

Water, mineral, oil or any fluids other tan brake fluid cannot be used in a brake system. Water would boil and rust the cylinders. Oil would destroy the rubber parts. Brake fluid will absorb water and may be contaminated, they system must be completely flushed as well as refilled with approved brake fluid. Grades of brake fluid are duly and wholly specified by the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard by the Society of Automotive engineers.

And while you are at it, you may as well know a few things on a number of neglected parts in the system to enrich your knowledge on such matters.

First, there are disc brake friction pads. The friction pads used with disc brakes do the same job as the brake shoes and linings used with drum brakes. Each pad assembly consists of a steel plate to which lining material is bonded or riveted. The lining is a composite material similar to that used on drum brakes.

Brake pads come in various shapes as well as sizes, depending on the design of the caliper. Pads are held in the caliper by clips, pins, or locating lugs. Many brakes use anti-rattle springs on the pads. Some fixed caliper brakes are designed to allow pad removal without any need to demount the caliper.

Pads on fixed caliper brakes usually wear evenly over the entire surface. However, the inboard or piston-side pad on some floating caliper designs may tend to wear more than the outboard pad. The pads on some floating caliper brakes may also end up with wears that flow into a tapered pattern. This is due to the methods used to mount the caliper and the torque generated during braking. A tapered wear pattern on floating caliper brakes, though, is no cause for concern so long as the taper does not exceed one eighth inch across the pad surface. Tapered wear on a fixed caliper pad may indicate a frozen caliper piston that needs repair.

Late model GM cars have audible wear indicators on the brake pads. These are small spring-steel tabs that rub against the rotor and make a high-pitched squeal to warn the driver when the pads have worn to their minimum safe thickness. If the driver allows the pads to continue to wear beyond the replacement point, the scrapper may wear away, and the sound may disappear.

In addition to these, when it comes to neglected parts, caliper mounting bolts, pins, clips and pad retainers top the list like no other. All disc brakes use various bolts as well as fasteners to mount the calipers and to hold the pads in the calipers securely. Fixed calipers are bolted to the caliper support. All bolts must be tight. Lockwire must be installed, if it is called for. Floating calipers move on guide pins or slide on specially designated pathways on the caliper support. Guide pins, bushings, clips, keys and other mounting hardware must be correctly installed and free from excessive wear.

So for a brake system that’s high on road performance, keep yourself keen on safety matters and learn as much as you can about the braking system of the car you have at hand.

Yes, much as a number of us would wish to resort to such tactics in order to ward off the gray afternoons and windy weather that comes along with the rainy season, nothing would come of it. One cannot deny the inevitability of the inevitable after all. Thus, what we can do, in the least, is to make it a whole lot easier on us.

As each and every one who owns a car or knows how to drive one is aware of, the rain results into a bevy of constant problems and one of them are slick roads. When it rains, the roads get wet and they take their sweet time in drying up. This makes driving a wee bit difficult than it has to be.

There is always the possibility that one may end up skittering on the road, skidding and brakes certainly won’t be of any help at that point.

Of course, there are ways to circumvent this. Employing safe driving measures when the rains are at full force or when snow starts to fall, can keep one from ending up in an unfortunate road accident.

The National Safety Council thus puts forward a few suggestions on the matter. First, one has to drive in a slow and careful manner, particularly when there are curves up ahead. One must also remember to leave ample space between cars so as to provide space for movement and driving adjustments. Third, when one has to stop or slow down a bit, one has to do it slowly. Gently, now. Gently. Stepping down hard on the brakes may result into a skid and that’s always something that any driver will wish to wholeheartedly avoid. Skids often happen when in wet roads.

However, if you do happen to find the car skidding, slowly, bit by bit, take your foot of the pedal before turning in the direction you wish the front of the car to head to. And of course, don’t forget to keep away from puddles.

A number of these features will, of course, only be effective if one has a great brake system and brake system components to back it up. Thus, one has to ensure that the brake system is working well and good before one attempts to face out the roads during fierce rains.

It is for this reason why auto parts the likes of EBC brakes are made available in the market. With the onset of the rainy season, having an engine braking control system or EBC system that works exceptionally well and can withstand the rigors and wear of driving in bad to awful weather is important. Now, more than ever.

One cannot simply take chances when it comes to safety. Thus, instead of inviting trouble along by driving a car that has a brake system that’s already a bit on the unreliable side, you can be sure of your safety by going for brake system components that do the job well. Work with what works. Work with EBC brakes

One of the most compelling investments for an individual is a car. However, setting off to take care of one is not exactly a walk in the park. It entails a number of things that one must first keep in mind of. How about a few tips to serve as guides through those ventures?

First, factor in the kind of auto service centers that are already at hand. How does one accomplish such a feat? One must admit one’s car to a shop that provides free inspections. Another way through which one can go about it is to ask around. Solicit the opinions of one’s family and friends. Or better yet, put forward inquiries to the Better Business Bureau. Then, when a decision has been concluded on the matter, take oneself off for a personal visit. Before committing a car to a facility, one must take the trouble to see if the facility is sufficiently equipped with the tools needed for the auto services to be done satisfyingly.

Last, one should never try to stint on any service applications, particularly if the car’s current technician has already made strong recommendations.

For instance, if one’s car frequently makes an excessive amount of noise, one is already amply forewarned of the fact that the system is suffering from operational troubles. Better check all possible reasons for this then so as to avoid confounding the problem and turning it into something bigger. More often than not, too much engine noise springs from brake system flaws.

Authorize mending as well as repairs if they are needed. And of course, in the event that replacements are called for, one has to exercise extreme caution in settling for the kind of brake parts that would afford one’s car with the degree of functionality needed. Though it sounds too selective for some, it does indeed pay to pay to trust in established names like EBC brakes. With EBC brakes, one can be certain that the quality of the auto part in question is guaranteed to demonstrate the utmost in braking performance.

Don’t hinder performance by going with other brands in the mistaken belief that one is doing oneself a service when one is, in truth, setting oneself up for a major brake system failure. How is this so?

Opting for other brake products on the basis of their very low prices may seem good for one’s pockets but it won’t for long. It is not a far possibility for those who have a fondness for buying braking parts like brake rotors or brake pads at a cheap price to find themselves buying replacements sooner than they should because the one’s they’ve put in place have already been worn to the bone. Better to spend bucks on a braking purchase that will prove worthwhile.

EBC brakes have been in the business for a number of years now. Operating with the same commitment to perfection and passion that it has started, the company has continued to grow over the years, offering consumers products that live up to the company’s ideal standards.

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.