ave you ever found yourself
in a store isle looking at
various brake fluids and
wondering which one was
right for your vehicle? Or maybe you just
want the best performance from your
braking or clutch system? Is your decision
based on price or the fancy label on the
bottle? There are many options and lots of
information to decipher.
The Importance of Brake Fluid
Brake fluids are mainly used in the
braking and clutch systems of on- and
off-road vehicles. Typical applications
include automobiles, motorcycles and light
trucks. With roughly 253 million vehicles on
American roadways daily, the braking
system is vital for driver safety.
While vehicle owners may change their
brake pads, rotors or drums based on a
mechanic's recommendation or their car not
stopping as soon as it once did, few people
replace the brake fluid. Indeed, brake fluid
may be a car's most neglected component.
Reading your vehicle's owner manual
will provide details on certain time-based
or mileage-based service that should be
performed, including oil, transmission,
coolant and differential fluid changes.
However, most American manuals offer no
guidelines for when to service the brake
fluid. The recommendations from fluid
manufacturers and other countries typi-
cally range from one to two years for
performing a flush of the braking system.
Contamination
Why should you change brake fluid if
your vehicle's manufacturer doesn't give
direction for doing so? Simply put, brake
fluid is no different than the other fluids in
your vehicle and should be replaced. It is
subjected to contamination from deterio-
rating hoses and lines. When the master
cylinder is opened up to inspect the fluid
level, it is exposed to moisture contamina-
tion. If the brakes are not properly bled, air
contamination will remain in the system.
The high temperatures associated with
braking can also cook the oil inside the
caliper or wheel cylinder. This heat
combined with any of the previously
mentioned contaminants can result in a
poor-performing braking system.
KNOW
About
H
A u t o m o t i v e
What You Should
BRAKE FLUID
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35%
of MachineryLubrication.com
visitors never replace the
brake fluid in their vehicles