Any alteration in the functioning of truck brakes usually points to the necessity of repairing or replacing some brake system components. This article discusses some symptoms of brake problems that you should act upon promptly to avoid complete brake failure.
A Spongy Brake Pedal
The brake pedal on your truck can become very soft or spongy in case some air is trapped inside the brake fluid. The brake pedal may also become soft if there is an insufficient supply of brake fluid within the brake fluid lines and reservoir. A rubber hose may also swell or balloon as you depress the brake pedal. This can cause the brake pedal to feel spongy.
Different remedies can be implemented for each of those causes. For instance, you can bleed the brakes in order to get rid of any trapped air. Ballooned hoses can be replaced with new ones. Similarly, low brake fluid can be topped up to end the spongy sensation.
Pulsating Brake Pedal
The brake pedal may pulsate when you step on it because a brake rotor has become warped. Such a worn rotor should be replaced or resurfaced so that all its faces are parallel to each other. The brakes have to be disassembled in order to establish the magnitude of wear or warping in order to make a decision about the suitability of resurfacing those rotors.
Brake Pulling
Have you noticed your truck pulling to one side when you brake? Such swerving is an indicator that the brakes at the front of your truck are not working uniformly. That mismatched action of the brakes causes the truck to swerve towards the side with the brake that is working properly. This is because the wheel on the side with the bad brake keeps rotating at a faster rate than the wheel that is being acted upon by the functional brake. A caliper may be stuck on the side that isn't responding to the brakes. Alternatively, grease or oil may have leaked into the brake pad. A clog in the line supplying brake fluid to that affected side can also cause an imbalance in the braking action. Swerving can also result if different types of brake pads were installed on each wheel of the truck.
As you can see from the discussion above, many factors can cause each of the defects that you may notice in the brakes of your truck. It is therefore prudent for you to take the truck to a truck repair professional so that the exact cause can be identified and fixed.
Share5 October 2016
It's easy to get overlooked when you head into get your car serviced if you are a woman. I have found the trick to getting the auto repairers to take me seriously is to do some research beforehand and look at what the log book says they need to replace this service. I wish I had started doing it earlier because it's also helping me trouble shoot repair issues and I'm saving myself a lot of time and stress this way. I'm keeping track of everything I have learned on this blog so I can share it with other new drivers and help them understand their auto service requirements as well.