Winter is nearly here — where did the rest of the year go? Amidst all the Thanksgiving preparations, there are a few other things you should prepare, including your car’s brakes. What do you need to do to get your brakes ready for those cold winter months?
Inspect
Before the road becomes icy, it is time to prepare the car, first check the brakes. First, take off the tires, and then visually inspect the brakes and brake pads. Check whether the brake fluid is leaking, whether the wear on the brake linings is uniform, and whether there are signs of abnormal wear on the brake disc. If you notice signs of wear, it is time to replace the brakes. Cold temperatures, saline, and alkaline roads, and additional brake pressure applied to park on snow can all cause worn brakes to fail.
In this case, it is better to be prepared than to end up sliding into the snowdrift, because your brakes have stopped working. Driving in winter is challenging enough without making yourself harder by wrong braking.
Bleed
If you live in a cold climate, do not leave dirty brake fluid in the pipeline. Even if the liquid itself does not freeze, dust and debris will make it more difficult for the brakes to actually stop the car. Take some time to flush the brakes-you can choose to buy a pressurized flusher from your local auto parts store, or you can make a flusher with a clean pump sprayer, a few fittings, and some vinyl hoses. Before refilling the brake fluid, flush the brake lines with the pressure generated by the pump sprayer.
Turn
When you are driving on snow or ice, you put more pressure on the brakes than in normal driving situations. In this case, the brake discs or drums will wear out, and if you are driving an old car with drum brakes, it may cause malfunctions.
Fortunately, in most cases, you can rotate or re-cut the surface of the rotor or drum to form a flat surface, thus ensuring reliable braking. If the rotor or drum has been used for many years or has become too thin due to excessive rotation, they are easy to replace and relatively cheap. Do not use it in winter when the brake disc is worn out, otherwise, you will call many trailers on snowy days.
Prepare
This may not apply to your brakes, but preparing for the winter weather may be the best way you can ensure your safety during the cold months.
After spalling begins, first change to snow tires. These tires will provide you with better handling and allow you to control your car more easily while driving. When replacing these tires, please make sure that all the liquids are ready to cope with the cold weather-flush and replace the antifreeze, change the oil to a thicker viscosity, and replace the windshield with various methods suitable for lower temperatures. liquid.
Finally, if you don’t have an emergency kit yet, please update your emergency kit or create an emergency kit, just in case you are trapped in bad weather. Stock up on non-perishable snacks, drinking water, warm clothes, and blankets to keep you alive, as well as tools such as a shovel, kitty litter, chains, and ice scrapers to help you recover. Even if you drive in the snow all your life, you must always be prepared for accidents.
Support brake
In many cases, your brakes are always between you and everything else on the road. Before the temperature starts to drop, it is important to prepare the brakes for cold weather. You will thank us later.