What To Do When you Suspect a Brake Fluid Leak
Brake fluid carries pressure in the master cylinder towards the brake components to each and every wheel. Similar to a wire that carries electrical power, brake fluid carries mechanical energy in one brake aspect to another.
Brake fluid is really a relatively obvious liquid, slightly thicker than water, that is saved within the master cylinder and it is locked in other brake parts for example calipers, wheel cylinder and hoses.
Many of these components should be completely full of pure brake fluid to operate correctly excluding the fluid reservoir that is a holding tank on the top from the master cylinder. The reservoir consists of extra fluid just in case it's needed and doesn't need to be completely full. If your brake system manages to lose enough fluid, air will enter these elements and also the brakes won't work correctly. Therefore, a fluid leak should be fixed right away to ensure that the brakes work properly when you really need them.
To trap a fluid leak before it causes you harm, the fluid level within the master cylinder reservoir ought to be checked each time the hood is opened. Many tanks are constructed with obvious plastic so that you can tell instantly when the level is ok; others might have small caps that may be removed to examine the amount. Most manufactures provide minimum and maximum fluid level markings on the actual cylinder. Actually of all more recent cars, a digital sensor monitors the fluid level and activates the brake warning light when the fluid level reaches the minimum safe level, so if your brake light is on you should check the brake fluid level right away.
You might question why there's the absolute minimum level. Why don't you keep your master cylinder full at all times? Because there's an all natural fluctuation within the fluid level associated with brake pad you use. When pads are new, the brake calipers hold a tiny bit of brake fluid. Because the pads put on thin the calipers hold increasingly more brake fluid. Then, when new pads are set up, the fluid which has traveled lower towards the calipers goes into the reservoir, filling it again. Therefore, should you add fluid to some system with worn pads; the reservoir will overflow when new pads are set up. Checking the fluid level is definitely an efficient way to estimate when a brake pad was put on. If you see the fluid level is close to the minimum level, your brake pads might be worn-out. Evidently this may also indicate a fluid leak. Either in situation, the brakes ought to be looked over as quickly as possible. You may even observe that you will find two different compartments inside a reservoir.
This can be a safety feature that's made to insure that the vehicle may have brakes on a minimum of two wheels, even when there's a serious leak. Each 1 / 2 of the reservoir would go to two different wheels. If a wheel develops a fluid leak and all sorts of fluid escapes from that half the other half continues delivering fluid pressure to the other two wheels. Naturally stopping power is going to be insufficient, but it may be enough to avoid a significant accident. If you are concerned about your brakes, or suspect a fluid leak, call Downing Street Garage to book an appointment right away so that you can remain safe while driving your vehicle.