We know you came out of the womb clutching a Mityvac in one hand and an impact gun in the other, but there are plenty of car-crazy people out there who have never done anything more technical to their brakes than stomping on them. That’s a shame, because brake work is both necessary and relatively easy to do yourself, but it’s important to do it right – If you screw up the engine, the car won’t start. Mess up the brakes, and it won’t stop!
Even if you’re a self-taught expert and can swap pads in less time than it takes to talk about it, there are plenty of things about your brake system you might not know. For example, did you know that not setting the parking brake (easy to forget in an automatic) can lead to premature front pad wear [1]? The rear brakes self-adjust every time the parking brake is applied, and it can take 40-50 applications of the parking brake for a badly out-of-adjustment rear brake system to return to the proper clearance and start doing its share of the work.
Fortunately, Disc Brakes Australia [1] has put together a series of videos [1] that cover brake maintenance topics. Watch and learn, then jump over to DBA’s tech bulletins page for dozens of articles on all aspects of brake technology.