When I was reading an article online about how my car’s braking system worked in order to be able to accurately fix a problem that I was having, I came across the term brake fluid. Since I wanted to find out everything that I possibly could about the brakes in my car, I decided to do some more research on the topic.
What is brake fluid? Brake fluid is a liquid that is found in hydraulic brake systems in automobiles and other similar vehicles. The fluids are present inside of the brakes, and are used to transfer the force that is given off by the operator into pressure that will enhance the force of the brakes.
The braking system in any kind of automobile is crucial to the safety and control that the driver will have over the vehicle. Although this is not a topic that is discussed too often, the brake fluid inside of this system is actually one of the most important components that make this process run smoothly.
If you have ever needed to use brake fluid for your car, or questioned whether or not this process is necessary, you will benefit from the information in this article. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about brake fluid, including what it does and why it is important.
What Is Brake Fluid?
Brake fluid is one of the most essential components to the braking system of any car. If you fail to acknowledge and keep up with the brake fluid inside of your vehicle, you will run into a lot of problems in the future when it comes to having control over your automobile.
We will begin this discussion by going over a detailed description of what brake fluid actually is. In the list below, you will find an outline of the main points on this topic.
Brake Fluid:
- Hydraulic fluid
- Used for braking systems in automobiles
- Also used for clutch systems in cars
- Moves through brakes to apply force and pressure to stop the vehicle
- Usually made of Glycol-ether
- Hygroscopic (absorb moisture from their environment)
- Thick material, does not react to changing temperatures
Brake fluid is a hydraulic fluid that is used within the braking systems in automobiles. Along with the braking systems, it can also be found in the clutch, but that is a topic for another day.
Overall, the brake fluid will move through the brakes in order to apply additional force and pressure to stop the vehicle when needed.
Most brake fluids are usually made out of a substance called Glycol-ether, and are considered to be hygroscopic, or in other words, they absorb moisture from their environment easily.
Although the added water content can prove to be a problem within a car’s braking system, brake fluid is nonetheless a thick material that does not react easily to changing temperatures, which is certainly an advantage.
When brake fluid is used inside of the braking system of a car, there are a few main functions that it will carry out, which are listed briefly down below.
Brake Fluid Functions:
- Moves components of braking system into the appropriate locations
- Travels through the brakes and uses weight to apply force to different objects
The two main functions of brake fluid are to apply force or weight, as well as move components within the braking system around as needed. These processes occur when the driver signals with the brake pedal, which is a process that will be described in detail in the next section.
How Does Brake Fluid Work?
So, now that you have gotten a basic understanding of what brake fluid is and what it does inside of a vehicle, you might be curious about how it actually works. In this section, we will be going over how brake fluid works in practice, as well as the process that it will go through from beginning to end when it comes to stopping the car.
How Brake Fluid Works:
- Liquid (non-compressible)
- Can provide weight without being altered inside of the braking system
First and foremost, brake fluid is a liquid, meaning that it is also non-compressible. In other words, the inside of the braking system will not be able to alter the shape or form of the liquid at any time.
As a result, the fluid can provide weight to different areas within the brakes without becoming damaged or changed.
When it comes to the actual steps that are taken by brake fluid toward stopping the wheels of a car, the process is outline in this next list.
Brake Fluid In Action:
- Driver pushes the brakes
- The piston inside of the caliper of the braking system is compressed
- The pressure inside of the brake lines is amplified and begins to release the brake fluid
- The brake fluid applies pressure to the rotors, forcing them to put pressure onto the brake pads
- The friction that is caused comes in contact with the wheels and stops them slowly
The braking process begins when the driver pushes on the brakes. Although you will notice your car stop moving almost instantly after you place your foot on the brake pedal, there are multiple individual processes that will occur within the inside components in order for this to happen.
These individual processes will, of course, contain the use of the brake fluid that we are centering this conversation around.
A component called the piston that is located inside the caliper of the braking system will become compressed as soon as the driver sends the signal inward using the brake pedal.
The pressure inside of the brake lines is then amplified and begins to release the brake fluid into the system. The brake fluid will travel through each individual component until it gets to the section with the rotors.
When the brake fluid applies pressure in its weight directly to the rotors, they will be pushed into one direction and forced to put pressure onto the nearby brake pads.
The friction that is caused by this pressure against the brake pads will come in contact with the wheels, slowly but surely bringing them to a complete stop.
Why Is Brake Fluid Important?
With all of this discussion about what brake fluid is and how it can be used, it is inevitable that the question of why this substance is important will arise.
To tie this all up, we will be hitting some points that explain the importance of brake fluid in any kind of braking system.
Why Brake Fluid Is Important:
- Transfer and direct of force
- Lubricates all moving components within the braking system
- Prevents corrosion inside of the brakes
The first reason why brake fluid is important is the fact that it is used to transfer and direct the force that is used within the braking system. Since the fluid pushes its weight against the inner brake components in order to force them to interact with each other, the braking system would not survive without it.
Instead, the driver would push on the brakes and nothing would happen, due to the fact that the braking fluid initiates and executes all of the processes that happen within the braking system of the vehicle.
Aside from the actual braking functions, brake fluid serves to lubricate all moving components within the braking system. This can help everything to run smoothly with the least amount of damage to the parts as possible.
Lastly, the use of brake fluid can help you to prevent corrosion inside of the brakes when it is maintained regularly and in an abundance.
