One easy, but sometimes overlooked, way to maintain and even improve brake performance in cars is to schedule a brake flush or bleed every two years or 30,000 miles. Brake fluid absorbs water and when that moisture builds up it can do serious damage to your brake system, like leading to rust and possibly even brake failure.

As brake fluid gets older, water is absorbed and that results in internal rust on the disk calipers and pistons. Having a vehicle’s brakes flushed or bleeding brakes removes that water, along with air and other contaminants, from the brake system.

A build-up of rust and debris is particularly dangerous for ABS brake systems, which are used in most cars today. ABS systems force brake fluid through very tiny valves and they can be easily damaged by tiny particles. That build-up of rust and debris can cause a lot of expensive internal damage.

Ever push on the brake pedal and feel it isn’t firm enough?

Changing brake fluid or bleeding brakes is also a way to prevent brakes from becoming very spongy. Fresh brake fluid, which is very dry, has a higher boiling point than older brake fluid, which is very wet. Brakes operate at very high temperatures and if brake fluid boils then compressible gas bubbles form causing a very spongy brake pedal reducing brake performance and efficiency.

Concerned car owners can easily check their brake fluid by removing the brake fluid cap. Better yet, stop at your local tire retailer and have an ASE Certified technician check your brake fluid with no appointment necessary.

New fluid will be clear, while dirty fluid will be become darker, Kamagra Soft almost brown with age. Visible debris in the container means the car is long overdue for a brake flush and is at a higher risk for brake failure. An alternate method would be purchasing special chemical test strips that can quickly test for high amounts of moisture in the brake fluid.

So what’s the difference between a brake flush and brake bleed?

A brake flush is exactly as it sounds, it’s having the old dirty fluid removed from the system and replaced with clean fluid. Bleeding brakes is a similar process, just not as intensive as a full brake flush even though some of the same methods are used.

Bleeding brakes involves purging any air bubbles from the brake lines. Anytime the brake lines are opened air can get in and that can reduce the pressure inside the system. Bleeding brakes generally removes just enough brake fluid to get out those air pockets (and not the dirt and old fluid from the system), but just by removing those air bubbles from the hydraulic system will firm up the brake pads.

One important thing to note for either process is that not all brake fluids are the same. There are three classifications for brake fluid – DOT 3, DOT 4, and DOT 5. These three fluids have chemical differences along with different boiling points. DOT 3 and DOT 4 are both glycol-based, but even though they’re compatible they are not the same. Since DOT 4 has a higher boiling point it’s important not to substitute DOT 3 if your vehicle is designed for DOT 4. DOT 5 is different altogether, it’s silicon-based and generally isn’t compatible with anti-lock brakes.

Car manuals don’t set intervals for brake flushes or for bleeding brakes, but that doesn’t mean that this kind of maintenance isn’t necessary – far from it. Brake fluid deteriorates over time, no matter how much or little a car is driven.

The good news?

Auto-care professionals at your local tire retailer can easily flush or bleed out the system and save car owners money. Brake components last longer with frequent bleeding or flushing. A well maintained system helps owners avoid having to replace calipers, master cylinder or even an expensive ABS control unit.

Author Bio: Steve Julius is a business professional with a passion and love for writing and sharing stories. For more information on car care tips on custom wheels, alignments, brakes, batteries, oil and lube, shocks & struts, windshield repair and replacement, and more find out more at http://www.belletire.com.

Category: Cars and Trucks
Keywords: brake flush, bleeding brakes, tire, tires