Your Brake Fluid & The Importance of Flushing It.
What is Brake Fluid?
Brake fluid is a type of hydraulic fluid used in hydraulic brake and hydraulic clutch applications in automobiles, motorcycles, light trucks, and some bicycles. Its primary use is to transfer force into pressure and amplify braking power. This exchange of force to amplified braking power works because liquids are not easily compressible (more or less). A side effect from this transfer of force to power is heat. All parts of your braking system is subjected to very high temperatures, especially in the wheel cylinders of drum brakes and disk brake calipers.
What is the Importance of Brake Fluid?
Brake fluid amplifies your foot’s power on the brake pedal, creating pressure on your car’s brakes allowing it to stop smoothly & quickly. It is designed to protect the metals used inside the brake components such as calipers, wheel cylinders, master cylinders, & more. Not only does this aid in the ability to stop safely, it also extends the longevity of your braking system.
What Happens When You Don’t Change Your Brake Fluid?
When you don’t change your fluid, your car’s braking capabilities will eventually deteriorate & break down completely. This type of neglect can lead to poor braking performance and total brake failure. Sometimes without warning.
Now that you know the importance of brake fluid, you can understand when we say that avoiding flushing out your fluid regularly could quite literally put your life at risk. It is one of the most important maintenance tasks a professional can perform on your car to ensure your braking safety.
Just like anything else with cars, the timeline of when to change the brake fluid varies. A good rule of thumb is to change it every 6 months to a year. It does depend on many things about your car, like the make, model, year, and manufacturer. If you’re having a tough time knowing when it’s time to flush it out & change it. Call a professional brake shop near you.
If you’re more of a do-it-yourself kind of person, there are a few visual indicators you can go off of to know when it’s time to change your brake fluid. Fresh fluid will be translucent, with a slight yellow color to it & over time, air bubbles and moisture can accumulate within it, leading to the fluid’s degradation. As moisture mixes into the liquid, it will turn darker, going all the way from brown to black indicating it’s time to flush it out.
Other indicators include but are not limited to: soft, bouncy, or spongy brake pedal, ABS dashboard light, ineffective braking performance, unfamiliar smells & sounds when braking, longer braking distance.
Flush Out Your Brake Fluid Before More Costly Repairs Are Required!
To ensure your safety, your brake condition, & that your brakes stay functioning properly, 2’u’Brakes recommends a flush every 30k miles.
2’u’Brakes is Greater Cincinnati’s leader in on-site automotive brake repair services! We offer brake repair services, fleet management services, oil changes, tire rotation & more! Whether you are at home, at work, or just about anywhere in the Greater Cincinnati area, we can help you get back on the road. Hire The Auto Llama today.
