Front Disk Brakes :: Automobiles Mechanics Essays

Front Disk Brakes For most people, driving a vehicle is a normal and every day process. On any given day, driving in city or town traffic one can experience a number of noises, by either their own, or somebody else’s vehicle. The most common sound made by the brakes of a vehicle is a light squeak, very high pitched and annoying. It may be time for new brakes, but wait; there could be a simpler fix. This paper is designed to educate the layman about brakes and give him or her some insight on how to fix them. I will concentrate on two common problems. Noise is probably what most people think of as the best indicator for repair, vibration is very a common problem, but noise will be discussed first. This paper will concentrate on the disk brake, but drum brakes are still very common in today’s cars and trucks. The fundamental difference between the two is how, and from what direction the force of the braking material contacts the braking surface. The disk brake uses a caliper that pinches the disk, which rides between the two brake pads on both sides. This lateral force squeezes the disk, and therefore stops it. The drum brake is shaped like a flat or square bell. It has brake shoes inside the drum and, when activated the shoes make contact with the inside of the drum’s surface. The misnomer about drum brakes are that people think the disk brake is better because they have more stopping power, but in terms of horsepower, the drum brake is more efficient. This comes with a drawback though, drum brakes get hotter faster than disk brakes, this cusses brake fade. In other words, disk brakes dispense heat better. The use of lighter weight materials, smaller cars, anti-locking systems, and power-assisted brakes has left the drum brake a part of the past. Keep this in mind first, especially if your vehicle has less than sixty or seventy thousand miles on it. The disk brake pad is usually the first component to wear first. Most domestic pads have little pieces of spring steel attached to them in order to warn the driver the pad has approximately 15% of the brake pad left. Under normal conditions the pad can be replaced and the surface of the rotor machined to ensure the coefficient of friction and lateral run-out are within specifications.