You may experience that while driving your heavy duty vehicle, you may notice a vibration in the brake pedal and you may not have given it importance.
As you can imagine, this is one of the reasons that may lead you to check the condition of your truck's brakes, however how do you make sure if it is better to repair truck brake calipers or change them completely? In this article, based on our long term experience as ISPAUTO, we give you some recomendations.
What are the signs if the brake calipers are damaged?
The brake calipers are pieces that are used to press the brake pads against the disc to slow down or stop our vehicle. Depending on the brand and manufacturer such as WABCO, KNORR, MERITOR, HALDEX, BPW, SAF and BENDIX, the average life span of brake discs varies. It is a good idea to have the brake calipers and discs checked on regular bases, although the brake calipers do not seem to be changed, we should make sure that the brake calipers and the disc are in perfect condition.
In case they are damaged and the turck's brake calipers have to be changed, we may notice a series of indicators. These indicators or signals are the following:
Brake lock: This fault may lead to a yaw in the direction of the vehicle since a piston, guide or pad being jammed because of overheating, deterioration or corrosion of these elements. It is detectable by a reduction in speed and an increase in noise when driving.
Partial braking: We notice response than normal or change of direction. This failure is generally due to an incorrect sliding of the guides, a component that is incorrectly positioned or small leaks in the circuit such as a low level of brake fluid.
Null braking: In this case, we do not notice any response, the truck does not slow down. If we found a broken component or brake fluid leak, this failure would occur sooner or later.
Appearance of noise: The appearance of noise or vibrations is due to four possible factors:
Lack of lubrication: The ideal amount of grease must be used in the space between the pads, the brake pad fittings and the surface of the piston.
Elements not completely fixed: Such as plates, sheets or other components that have sliding fucntions.
Pads worn unevenly: Due to not sliding properly or the brake caliper is locked.
Wavy or rusty brake disc: If the disc is not positioned correctly, uneven wear may occur. During circulation, this wear can rub against the pads, producing noise.
Why repair a brake caliper instead of completely changing it?
We just look at the various ways. Our vehicle could be letting us know that it is time to repair the brake caliper. As can be seen, these faults act on the components of the caliper and not on the entire caliper. What is more, many failures take place because of deterioration or demage of these components.
Visiting workshop for repairment might not only be tedious, but they can also be very costly.The price of changing a truck brake caliper kit can be so high. Therefore, if you want to avoid these charges, as ISP AUTO, we recommend and provid you with the right knowledge and do it properly with the necessary tools, you can repair the brake caliper of your vehicle yourself. If this is not the case, we recommend that you consult your trusted workshop in order to decide to repair or replace.
If we carry out any repair to our brake system, we must take into account the manufacturer's maintenance and safety instructions and the specific assembly instructions. Once we are clear about these indications, we can start with the breakdown of the brake caliper.
Brake calipers can be replaced individually. We advise you to consult ISP AUTO’s technical team about the types of brake calipers or brake calipers which are available in the mareket. ISP AUTO’s staff tell you how much money it might cost to change a brake caliper and what types of calipers might be suitable for your truck.
Depending on the model of the vehicle, the price of a brake caliper varies. You can find a wide range of caliper repair kits belong to the best brands by accessing ISP AUTO’s online
catalog.