BRAKES,SUSPENSION

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000" background="13d01573.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>   West German Garage                                   919-851-123</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" West German Garage "><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="pre_purschase_inspections.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pre Purschase Inspections">Pre Purschase Inspections</A>   |   <A HREF="minor_service.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MINOR SERVICE">MINOR SERVICE</A>   |   <A HREF="intermediate_service.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="INTERMEDIATE SERVICE">INTERMEDIATE SERVICE</A>   |   <A HREF="major_service.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MAJOR SERVICE">MAJOR SERVICE</A>   |   <B>BRAKES,SUSPENSION</B>   |   <A HREF="tiresalingments.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TIRES,ALINGMENTS">TIRES,ALINGMENTS</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="13cd2013.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="pre_purschase_inspections.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pre Purschase Inspections"><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Pre Purschase Inspections</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="pre_purschase_inspections.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pre Purschase Inspections"><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Minor Service</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="pre_purschase_inspections.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pre Purschase Inspections"><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Intermediate Service</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="pre_purschase_inspections.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pre Purschase Inspections"><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Major Service </B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="pre_purschase_inspections.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pre Purschase Inspections"><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Brakes, Suspension </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="pre_purschase_inspections.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pre Purschase Inspections"><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Tires, Alingments</B></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>BRAKES,SUSPENSION</I></div> <div> The Brake System (An Overview)</div> <div>    The braking system is the most important system in your car. If the</div> <div>    brakes fail, the result can be disastrous. The brakes are in essence                  </div> <div>    energy conversion devices, which convert the kinetic energy</div> <div>    (momentum) of your vehicle into thermal energy (heat).</div> <bR> <div>    When you step on the brakes, you command a stopping force ten times</div> <div>    as powerful as the force that puts the car in motion. The braking</div> <div>    system can exert as much as 1,000 pounds of hydraulic pressure on</div> <div>    each of the four brakes. In modern systems, the master cylinder is</div> <div>    separately power-assisted to activate the front and rear brakes. If</div> <div>    one set fails, the other can provide adequate braking power. Many</div> <div>    such safety systems within the braking system make modern brakes very</div> <div>    complex, but much safer than earlier braking systems.</div> <bR> <div>    High-performance disc brakes originally were developed for racing,</div> <div>    but are now used on many newer cars. On most cars, the front brakes</div> <div>    are of the disc type, and the ones in the rear are the drum type. The</div> <div>    parking brake is a cable operated system, which usually is attached</div> <div>    to the rear wheels.</div> <bR> <div>    In almost all braking systems, the brake pedal is connected to a</div> <div>    "master cylinder" by a push rod.  The master cylinder is connected to</div> <div>    the brake cylinders ("slave cylinders") at each wheel by steel brake</div> <div>    lines and flexible rubber hoses. The entire hydraulic system is</div> <div>    filled with a special brake fluid, which is forced through the system</div> <div>    by the movement of the master cylinder pistons. The front disc brakes</div> <div>    use friction "pads" which are mounted in "calipers". The pads are</div> <div>    forced against machined surfaces of a rotating disc called the</div> <div>    "rotor". The rear brakes are usually of the "drum" type. In these,</div> <div>    the internal expanding brake "shoes" are forced against the inside</div> <div>    machined surface of a rotating drum.</div> <bR> <div>    In recent years, brakes have changed greatly in design. Disc brakes,</div> <div>    due to their lighter weight and better performance, are replacing</div> <div>    drum types on the rear wheels. Instead of linings which press</div> <div>    outwards against the inside of a drum, a disc attached to the axle is</div> <div>    gripped from either side by friction pads attached to the calipers.</div> <div>    The greatest advantage of disc brakes is that they are essentially</div> <div>    "fade" free. That is, repeated application does not result in</div> <div>    excessively high temperatures developing in the linings and drums,</div> <div>    lowering the stopping power of the brake. Commonplace on newer cars</div> <div>    are "anti-lock" brake systems, (ABS) which prevent the wheels from</div> <div>    completely stopping when the brakes are applied in a panic stop.</div> <bR> <div> The Steering/Suspension System (Overview)</div> <div>    "Suspension," when discussing cars, refers to the use of front and</div> <div>    rear springs to suspend a vehicle's "sprung" weight. The springs used</div> <div>    on today's cars and trucks are constructed in a variety of types,</div> <div>    shapes, sizes, rates, and capacities. Types include leaf springs,</div> <div>    coil springs, air springs, and torsion bars. These are used in sets</div> <div>    of four for each vehicle, or they may be paired off in various</div> <div>    combinations and are attached by several different mounting</div> <div>    techniques. The suspension system also includes shocks and/or struts,</div> <div>    and sway bars.</div> <bR> <div>    Back in the earliest days of automobile development, when most of the</div> <div>    car's weight (including the engine) was on the rear axle, steering</div> <div>    was a simple matter of turning a tiller that pivoted the entire front</div> <div>    axle. When the engine was moved to the front of the car, complex</div> <div>    steering systems had to evolve. The modern automobile has come a long</div> <div>    way since the days when "being self-propelled" was enough to satisfy</div> <div>    the car owner. Improvements in suspension and steering, increased</div> <div>    strength and durability of components, and advances in tire design</div> <div>    and construction have made large contributions to riding comfort and</div> <div>    to safe driving.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> .  Two of the most common steering mechanisms are the "rack and pinion"</div> <div>    and the standard (or recirculating-ball) systems, that can be either</div> <div>    manual or assisted by power. The rack and pinion was designed for</div> <div>    sports cars and requires too much driver muscle at low speeds to be</div> <div>    very useful in larger, heavier cars. However, power steering makes a</div> <div>    heavy car respond easily to the steering wheel, whether at highway</div> <div>    speeds or inching into a narrow parking place, and it is normal</div> <div>    equipment for large automobiles.</div> <bR> <div>    The suspension system has two basic functions, to keep the car's</div> <div>    wheels in firm contact with the road and to provide a comfortable</div> <div>    ride for the passengers. A lot of the system's work is done by the</div> <div>    springs. Under normal conditions, the springs support the body of the</div> <div>    car evenly by compressing and rebounding with every up-and-down</div> <div>    movement. This up-and-down movement, however, causes bouncing and</div> <div>    swaying after each bump and is very uncomfortable to the passenger.</div> <div>    These undesirable effects are reduced by the shock absorbers. </div> </td> </tr></table></body>