How to Make Your Car Last Forever: Avoid Expensive Repairs, Improve Fuel Economy, Understand Your Warranty, Save Money

Tom Tom, Q The Yokahama tires I put on my ‘97 Jaguar XJ6 have begun to whine after about 5,000 miles of ...

Tom Dear Tom, Q I own a 2004 Cadillac Escalade, and there is a picture of the truck displayed on the das ...

Tom ...

Chapter 6 Braking Systems Up to this point we’ve discussed how to get your car moving (engine, transmission, ...

THE COMPONENTS OF DISC BRAKES Master cylinder: The master cylinder is nothing more than a simple pump t ...

In the illustration above we see a typical brake master cylinder setup. Note that the reservoir has caps ...

The power brake booster, which is a vacuum-assist unit, is large round black shape in this photo. ...

This is a typical hydra-boost setup. Note the large vacuum canister behind the master cylinder is gone ...

Steel brake lines: The brake fluid travels through the braking system by means of an infrastructure made up o ...

A SUMMARY OF HOW DISC BRAKES WORK When you press on the brake pedal, the master cylinder pumps hydraulic ...

COMMON PROBLEMS WITH DISC BRAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM When brake pads are left to wear down to ...

The proportioning valve is a metering valve designed to differentiate hydraulic fluid pressure between ...

This photo illustrates a brake caliper and how it is mounted on a vehicle. Note how it straddles the disc ...

The brake rotor (or disc) is the smooth surface that the pads ride against. When brake pedal pressure ...

Here we have a cutaway drawing of a complete disc brake unit. Note how the caliper sits over the ...

Here’s how the brake drum fits over the brake assembly. It fits over wheel lugs and firmly against ...

Another common problem that crops up with disc brakes is rusting caliper slides and pins. Rust prevents ...

THE COMPONENTS OF DRUM BRAKES The drum brakes, like disc brakes, have a master cylinder, steel brake l ...

Here is a frontal view of a typical drum brake setup. The friction material is the long brake shoe ...

Drums cover the entire brake shoe assembly and provide the surface on which the brake shoes rub against to st ...