Brakes and Traction Control: Description and Operation
DESCRIPTIONWARNING: Brake fluid contains polyglycol ethers and polyglycols. Avoid contact with the eyes. Wash hands thoroughly, after handling. If brake fluid contacts the eyes, flush the eyes for 15 minutes with cold running water. Get medical attention if irritation persists. If taken internally, drink water and induce vomiting. Get medical attention immediately. Failure to follow these instructions may result in personal injury.
The braking system is a diagonally split, dual circuit design featuring front disc brakes and rear drum brakes as standard and disc brakes all round. on 2.5 L vehicles.
The hydraulic system provides separate circuits for each pair of diagonally opposed wheels (left front, right rear and right front, left rear). The front calipers, mounted on the wheel knuckle, are of single sliding piston design which make sure that equal effort is applied through both brake pads. The rear calipers of vehicles with discs all round are of a single piston, floating caliper design. The pads in all cases are asbestos free.
The rear drum brakes are of conventional design. They feature one primary and one secondary shoe with bonded thick/thin asbestos free linings. The thick/thin linings allow the shoes to wear at proportional rates. The brakes self adjust during foot brake operation.
The parking brake control is located between the front seats and operates the rear brakes through a cable system. The cable features automatic adjustment through a ratchet and pawl mechanism on the parking brake control.
The master cylinder is of a tandem design and is linked to a brake booster to reduce the brake pedal effort. The tandem design will make sure that in the event of one brake circuit failure the other will remain fully operational. The master cylinder and brake booster are located on the left-hand side of the engine compartment. The booster operating rod is connected directly to the brake pedal.
Vehicles fitted with the standard braking system have Pressure Conscious Reducing Valves (PCRVs) These are fitted in the brake tubes at the rear wheels. The PCRVs control the hydraulic pressure applied to the rear brakes thereby reducing the risk of rear wheel lock-up under braking.
OPERATION
The brake system operates by transferring effort applied to the brake pedal, by the driver to the brakes at each wheel.
The braking effort is distributed to each wheel, using a hydraulic system. The system is assisted using a vacuum brake booster that reduces pedal effort and increases hydraulic pressure. The parking brake operates on the rear wheels and is applied using a hand operated control.