Machinery Lubrication

Machinery Lubrication September October

Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation

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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 BACK PAGE BASICS G a rre t t Ba pp | Nori a Corpor at ioN 50 | September - October 2016 | www.machinerylubrication.com 35% of MachineryLubrication.com visitors never replace the brake fluid in their vehicles

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