Tag: braking system

vehicle shaking while braking

The truck is Shaking While Braking – Causes

Have you ever experienced your vehicle shaking while braking? The brakes in your truck are your lifesaver. The braking system gives you complete control of your truck at any speed. When braking, it should be as smooth as possible, but sometimes, it might never be as smooth as you may anticipate. In such a scenario, something might not be okay for your truck. This guide elaborates on some of the top reasons why your truck could experience shaking while braking.

Shaking While Braking – What Are The Causes?

Here is a comprehensive guide on some of the probable causes that one could experience their truck shaking while braking.

Damaged Brake Rotors

Sometimes, your brake rotors might be rusty, damaged, or even warped, making your truck shake when you apply brakes.

The brake rotors function as the discs. They are located between the brake pads and are attached to the hub assembly. The pads usually squeeze against the rotor, which will stop your truck.

Apart from shakiness, you might also hear some grinding sound when you apply brakes. Sometimes, it is only the front rotors that might be damaged. If such happens, your steering might be shaky.

Imbalance Wheels

Your truck will shake when your wheels are not correctly balanced. The issues of balance can result from driving with over or under-inflated tires. In such a condition, your truck’s suspension system will be straining, and your tires will wear out relatively faster. It would help if you considered doing wheel balancing to have smooth braking and driving.

Bent Rims

Sometimes when you drive carelessly over potholes or bumpy roads, the rims of your truck are likely to bend. Such a condition will make your truck shake whenever you apply brakes.

You can notice this as you are driving slowly or braking, but shaking will increase as your speed increases.

Problems with Your Suspension

Your suspension will take a beating whenever you travel on bumpy roads or potholes, damaging your suspension system.

Vital joints like the axle or cv joint will shake your truck whenever they are damaged.

Poor Wheel Alignment

Poor wheel alignment also can make your truck shake when applying brakes. Apart from this, poor alignment will drag your truck sideways as you drive on a straight surface. When your truck is veering because of poor alignment, you will realize that it is accompanied by shakiness whenever you are braking. If this happens, consider taking your truck for wheel alignment as soon as possible.

Worn out Brake Pads

The braking system has various components, one of these components is the brake pads. The brake pads are always two and between them is the rotor. The pads apply pressure on the rotor by clinging to it to stop your truck.

Various brake pads are made of components that wear out with time. When they are completely worn out, your truck will be shaky as you try to brake.

Conclusion

Ever experienced shaking while braking in your vehicle? All the components of your truck are made to function smoothly. Whenever your truck shakes, if you apply the brake, it signals that something serious is wrong with it. The above are some of the most common causes which you should know. If you experience it, consider taking your truck for a mechanical check-up as soon as possible.

How To Find Leaks in the Brake System in a Truck Easily

How To Find Leaks in the Brake System in a Truck Easily

Do you know how to find leaks in the brake system of your truck? Low brake fluid levels in the master cylinder reservoir usually result from leakages in the brake system. The master cylinder is located on or near the bulkhead of the engine. Outside the reservoir, you will find a mark. It is that mark that the brake fluid levels should not go below. 

You will see the fluid level if your truck’s reservoir is made of plastic. If it is metallic, you must unscrew the reservoir cap and look inside to determine the actual levels. It is necessary to check the fluid in the reservoir regularly. Doing this will be the first warning of the leakage within the brake system.

How To Find Leaks in the Brake System in a Truck

The existence of leakages in the brake system must be traced and repaired as soon as possible. The common causes of leakages are the seals of the master cylinder, the drum brake, and the wheel cylinder. Identifying leakages in the brake system can be hectic. This guide will take you through the process on how to find leaks in the brake system of your truck.

Use a Hose Clamp

The hose clamps will enable you to identify faults in the brake pipes. For example, a spongy feel on the brake pedal, but you cannot identify the physical cause. The hose clamps seal the flexible brake hoses. After doing this, you should test if the brake pedals are still spongy. If improves then the hose clamp has clamped the spongy hose.

Check the Wheel Cylinders

When the leakage originates from the wheel cylinders, you will notice fluid streaks on the backplate and sometimes the tire wall. You will also note leakages on the wheel cylinder when your truck develops weird behavior when braking. For instance, it might pull sideways to show contamination at the brake lining. 

Check Pipes and Unions

Consider checking the pressure switch when examining the brake pipe and the unions. Check the pressure limiting valve, which controls the hydraulic pressure on the rear brakes. Regulation of the pressure helps balance the braking between the front and the rear wheels. 

When inspecting the pipes and unions, clean areas that might be rusty using a brush, if you notice a deep pitting, consider replacing the pipes.

Check the Hoses

When the brake hoses become soft and flexible, consider changing them as soon as possible. The hoses should withstand considerable pressure, and if they are weak, the brakes might fail.

If there is any hose running close to other components or that which was wrongly fitted, bent or twisted, if you note a sign of mating, consider replacing the hoses.

Check the Master Cylinder

When the master cylinder leaks, you will see traces of liquid near your engine bay. Peeling back the rubber seals will reveal to you the extent of the leakage.

Conclusion

Leakages in the brake system can lead to brake failure. However, sometimes it might be tough to identify such leakages, so you must check the entire brake system to determine the exact location causing the leakage. 

How ABS Anti-Lock braking Works

How ABS Anti-Lock Braking Works In a Truck

How ABS anti-lock braking works in a vehicle is something that many people are yet to understand. Long ago, braking was difficult as you had to pump the brake pedal for your truck not to skid while braking. The anti-lock braking system (ABS) has revolutionized braking and made it safer. All modern vehicles, including trucks, have an anti-lock braking system. The ABS is a very familiar term though you might not be able to know what it is and how it works.

What is Anti-Lock Brake?

The anti-lock brakes are made to prevent your truck from skidding when you sharply apply brakes. The wheels will lock when your truck is speeding, and you apply brakes instantly. Locked wheels interfere with wheel traction, making the driver lose control of the truck. The ABS is made to prevent wheel locks during an emergency braking. 

How ABS Anti-Lock braking Works

A truck with ABS has a sensor on each wheel hub. These sensors determine the speed at which the wheels are rotating and the rate at which your truck accelerates or decelerates. The sensors are part of the electronic stability control (ESC). Not all trucks with the ABS have the ESC, but you can never find the ESC in a truck without the ABS. 

If you make a sharp brake, the ABS will sense if your wheels are almost locking, reducing and increasing the braking pressure instantly. When this happens, the wheels will not skip. The excess pressure triggered by the ABS enables the wheels to keep moving as the truck slows down instead of locking. The driver will have absolute control of the truck. 

The ABS brakes do not function when you brake gently. They only become effective when you press the brake pedal instantly, for example, during an emergency braking. During your driving lessons, the instructor asked you to apply the emergency brakes at some point. When you do it the right way, you will feel the brake ‘judder’, resulting from the ABS activating when your brakes are rapidly engaging.

The ABS will function effectively on dry and solid road surfaces. It will give you the ability to brake instantly and control your truck. The ABS will increase the stopping distance since it will gradually release the brake in small intervals. 

The ABS may not be effective on extreme surfaces like mud, snow, ice, and gravel. Such surfaces do not provide good wheel traction. Therefore, your truck will skid.

Components of Anti-lock Braking System

The anti-lock braking system has 4 components that enable it to perform its role effectively.

  1. The speed sensors which notifies the system when the wheels are about to lock.
  2. Valves control pressure in every brake line.
  3. The pump increases pressure in the brake line when the valve reduces pressure.
  4. The controller is a computer in the truck which is monitoring the speed sensors and controls the valves.

Conclusion

The ABS anti-lock braking system is one of the safety features every modern truck has. This system enables the driver to have full control of their truck in a situation of emergency braking. Hopefully our guide on how ABS anti-lock braking works helped you learn more about it.

How To Bleed Air From Truck Braking System

How To Bleed Air From Truck Braking System

The braking system has various components which work jointly to stop your truck when needed. Have you ever known how the wheels halt when you press the brake pedals? The braking system has a hydraulic fluid whose primary role is to transfer the pressure generated when you press the brake pedal to the other parts of the brakes on your wheels. The operation of the brake fluid is airtight, but faulty hoses sometimes give air space to get into the hydraulic system. In this guide, we will focus on how to bleed air from truck braking system.

How To Bleed Air From Truck Braking System

The presence of air in the hydraulic brake system can lead to the malfunction of the brakes. To solve this, you have to bleed your brake. How do you do it? This guide will teach you the simplest way on how to bleed air from your truck brakes. 

Bleeding Air brake on a Truck

The primary purpose of bleeding your brakes is to remove air particles that may exist in your braking system and replace it with fresh brake fluid. Performing brake bleeding will help in maintaining the proper functioning of brakes. When bleeding your brakes, ensure your truck has cooled down because when driving, the braking system is some of the components which generate heat. 

Consider topping up the fluids in the master cylinder when bleeding your brakes. Performing this procedure can reduce the levels of liquids in the master cylinder. Topping it up will help to maintain the levels of fluids in the master cylinder. 

If you realize that the level of the brake fluid in your truck is low or when the brake check light appears on your dashboard, never try to do brake bleeding. Both indicate that your braking system has a problem you should consider fixing before bleeding the brakes. 

Before you bleed your brakes, check on the condition of your parking cables. After this, put a pin in your truck’s power control module (PCM) and put the brake fluid into the master cylinder reservoir. 

Steps to Bleed Air Brake

  1. Open the cap of the master cylinder and top up the brake fluid. Doing this helps maintain the minimum brake fluid level in the cylinder master reservoir.
  2. Raise your truck using a lift and remove the wheels.
  3. Locate brake bleeder fitting, which is usually located behind the brake disk.
  4. After identifying the brake bleeder, take a wrench that fits its fitting.
  5. Connect a rubber hose on the brake bleeder fitting.
  6. Connect the rubber hose to a bottle  ¾ full of brake fluid. 
  7. Have somebody help you perform this procedure by pressing the brakes to ease the bleeder fitting.
  8. Perform this procedure severally until you see no more air bubbles coming into the bottle.
  9. When all the air bubbles have left your braking system, tighten the bleeder fitting, fix your tires and lower your truck.

Conclusion

There is a procedure to follow to bleed air brakes. Besides following the above process, a hand pump can also bleed air brakes. If you are unsure of what you are doing, consider doing it under the instructions of a professional.

The essential part of the braking system is the brake fluid. In this guide, we will go through the importance of choosing a good braking fluid.

Importance of Choosing A Good Braking Fluid

The braking system has various components which work hand in hand to ensure your safety when driving your truck. The braking system starts inside your truck and ends at the wheels. This system obeys all the commands which the driver executes as they control their vehicles. An essential part of the braking system is the brake fluid. In this guide, we will go through the importance of choosing a good braking fluid.

What is Brake Fluid?

Modern vehicles use the hydraulic braking system. This system depends on the brake fluid to function. The brake fluid is the liquid component of your braking system, which generates pressure when you press the brake pedals. The brake fluid later transmits the pressure to other brake components at the wheels. When these parts of the brake receive pressure, they behave differently, but the typical behavior is the generation of friction which stops the rotating wheels. 

Several factors can lead to the depletion of brake fluid, forcing you to either replace or top it up. 

Importance of Choosing the Right Braking Fluid

Brake fluid is an integral part of a truck’s braking system. When you press the braking pedal, the brake fluid will transfer the force generated from the pushing of the brake pedal to the other parts of the braking system on the wheels, which will stop the rotation of the wheels.

The presence of moisture interferes with the normal functioning of the brake fluid. Water droplets are very harmful to the metallic braking parts. When moisture accumulates for an extended period in your braking system, it is likely to cause rust which will corrode the brakes. It is essential to use an additive braking fluid in such a scenario. Such a braking fluid can prevent moisture from corroding your braking parts.

Choosing the correct braking fluid guarantees that your truck will work perfectly. It would help if you were responsible for maintaining the proper braking fluid levels by checking and regularly topping it up. When doing top-ups, ensure you keep the same brand of brake fluid. However, your truck might function without a braking fluid, which will put you at risk and not give you a perfect performance. It is necessary to check and top up your braking fluid.

Good brake fluid will give better mileage. Most manufacturers recommend that you check and change your braking fluid every two years. Putting this into practice will help you familiarize yourself with it and easily know when your brake fluid is worn out or needs a top-up. However, a good quality brake fluid will give you a prolonged service.

The braking system generates heat which depends on your driving style and how often you press the brake pedals. The temperature of the braking fluid will rise when the brake components at your wheels are hot. Higher temperatures interfere with the normal functioning of the brake fluid. When the braking fluid reaches its boiling point, it will not function properly and can lead to brake failure. To prevent this, choose that brake fluid with a high boiling point.

Conclusion

Brake fluid acts as a mode of transferring pressure from the brake pedal to the braking parts at the wheel. Choosing the suitable brake fluid will boost the way your truck performs.