Brake job proficiency is a sort of status symbol among do-it-yourself truckers, indicating a grade of mechanical expertise that commands awe among greenhorns and respect from seasoned professionals.

Drum brakes, shown in Figure 14-5, are the oldest type of brakes still on the road. Their main advantage is that they require less hydraulic pressure to stop your vehicle because the brake shoes tend ...

While it's not unusual for classic truck owners to talk about how much horsepower is under the hood of their haulers, seldom does anyone brag about brakes. And while most of us appreciate the feeling ...

There are lots of things to love about old trucks, they certainly have vintage charm and look cool, but underneath the sheetmetal is a chassis that's just as vintage and not nearly as cool. Throw an ...

With drum brakes, a hydraulic cylinder/piston complement between two brake shoes then pushes each shoe outward and into contact with the inner surface of the rotating drum. The brake shoe lining ...

The following was published in CCJ's Air Brake Book, 11th edition, sponsored by SilverbackHD. CCJ's Air Brake Book is a complementary industry resource, courtesy of our partnership with SilverbackHD, ...

We talked about the wide world of disc brakes in our previous look at brake systems. Now let’s jump into the dark arts of drum brakes. Because there are generally more moving parts with a drum brake ...

You might not give your car’s brakes much thought until they cause a problem, but there’s a whole world of things happening every time you press the brake pedal. Though most cars today come equipped ...

Classic Mustang drum brakes have never been big performers. Even when these cars were new, their drum brakes were problematic, noisy, and often pulled badly. Fade was terrible under hard braking, ...

Just as your gas mileage will vary depending on where and how you drive, so it goes with the life of brake pads (or brake shoes), the friction material that gets pressed against a metal disc (rotor) ...