Important Truck Brake Repair Facts
Like in vans and cars, truck brake failure is a common problem. In any vehicle, the braking system is the most important part. A heavy vehicle cruising at a high-speed may be hard to brake or slow down, if, especially, there is a brake problem. Brake manuals are available for large commercial vehicles, detailing the usage of the air brake. So, having necessary knowledge of doing a truck brake repair is necessary.
Common Problems
As like in passenger vehicles, you should replace master cylinders, brake pads, and wheel cylinders in large trucks as well. Since large trucks regularly cover long distance, frequent maintenance is essential. If you happen to be a driver of heavy trucks, then you are more likely to be familiar with truck brake repair. Air brakes are prone to different problems. So, there are many things to look out for. Apart from this, you can take some preventive measures to avoid truck brake failure.
Air Brakes
We need to replace the truck brake parts most of the time because of all the work it goes through. Just imagine when you have to drive on a steep road with 30 tons of load and have to stop or brake hard. Pressurized air is used in air brakes to halt a vehicle. And, there are some basics to follow when it comes to air brakes. 100 psi is the minimum effective for a large truck. And it should not take any more than 2 minutes to raise it from 85 psi to 100 psi. This is commonly known as the pressure buildup rate. Finally, the cut-out pressure rate has to be in between 120-135 psi.
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Common Problems with Air Brakes
To avoid truck brake failure, water build up in the air lines should be avoided. This is problematic, especially when you are trying to stop the vehicle during cold spells. Modern trucks come with automatic drain valves to counter this problem.
Air leakage from the line is commonly the result of faulty rubber seals. If there is too much leak, the air will not move. If it is the case, check the air couplers. Newbie drives often tend to brake the vehicle too much; this locks up the brake and leaves skid marks on the road. The brake system in modern trucks consists of dual brakes – one is for the anti-locking purpose.
Though air brakes are more effective than a regular braking system, there are many components that need be checked on a regular basis to avoid an untoward situation while driving. If you are the driver of a heavy truck, you should at least have some knowledge of how to adjust truck brakes.