Lets Check Your Tire Pessure

Have Your Brakes Checked Regularly

When you have your oil changed — every 5,000 miles is a safe interval — is a convenient time to have your brakes checked, too. Rather than head to a quick-change franchise, have a trusted mechanic change your oil and look at the condition of your belts, fluids, tire pressure and brakes. Brake malfunctions can have many causes. A good mechanic knows how to spot minor problems before they become crises.




Check Your Own Front Brake Pads
If you prefer to do your own brake maintenance, concentrate on the front brake pads. Front brakes bear the brunt of stopping your car and can wear down twice as quickly as rear brakes. Almost all cars have front disc brakes. Drum brakes occasionally appear on rear wheels, but they're an old technology that's fast disappearing.

To check front brake pads, do the following, being sure to finish with one tire brake before checking the other:

1. Set the parking brake.
2. Remove a wheel cover and loosen the lug nuts ever so slightly, so you can easily remove them once you elevate your car.
3. Place 2x4 scraps in front of and behind your rear tires to prevent rolling.
4. Jack up the side with the tire with the loosened lug nuts until the tire clears the ground.
5. Place a jack stand under your car's frame; check your owner's manual for proper placement.
6. Remove the wheel. Look for the brake caliper, which is a bulbous mechanism that encloses a portion of the shiny disc-like brake rotor. The back of the caliper has a small view port.

Use a flashlight to peer inside the port to see the edge of the rotor and the edge of one pad. If there is 1/16 inch or less of pad material left, not counting the metal backing of the pad, it's time for replacement.

Know the Warning Signs

If it's been 25,000 miles or about two years since you replaced your brake pads, you definitely need to check, and be prepared to replace, them. The following are other signs that you should get your car into thd shop immediately for brake work are:

Exceptional loss of brake fluid. Having to top off a small amount of fluid every few months is normal with an old car. A sudden drop is a sign of trouble.

Squealing while braking. Disc brakes have a built-in wear indicator — a semi-metallic layer in the pad — that makes a high-pitched squeal once the pads wear down. Don't confuse that squeal with the intermittent squeak from brakes that have sat tnused in damp conditions. A squeak caused by a bit of rust soon disappears.

Grinding noise. Grinding means you missed the early warning signs and the worn surface of a worn pad is digging into the rotor. When this happens, expect to have your rotor replaced or "turned," which is mechanic talk for grinding it smooth.

Pulsations in the brake pedal. Very likely, your rotors or drums are warped, which causes uneven pad wear and poor braking.

Shaky steering wheel. Shaking could indicate a warped rotor or uneven pad wear. If you're lucky, though, it may only be low air pressure in one tire.

Increased stopping distance. Something is wrong with the hydraulic pressure that makes the brakes work. The problem could be low brake fluid or a faulty master cylinder.
Car pulls to one side when you stop. You may have some grease on one pad. More likely, you have a damaged caliper or hydraulic line.

Brakes grab. Grabbing could indicate pad or rotor wear, caliper malfunction or a master cylinder problem.


Source : Managemylife & Youtube