The brake line is the main component of your car’s brakes. You are going to have a hard time throwing a football with four broken limbs, and you are going to have a hard time stopping your car with a broken brake line. But brake lines never go out all at once.
Though it might not seem like they are durable, brake lines are tough. They take a while to wear down. And once they do, they can be replaced easily. But this whole process requires you to know that there is a problem in the first place, hopefully in advance of it breaking.
What to do if Your Brake Line Breaks
There are two stages to your brake line having issues. The first is the build-up, when the brake line is failing but not broken. You can confirm this is happening by observing a few things in the behavior of the brakes themselves.
- Pump the Brakes Seeing how the brakes feel will tell you a lot about their health. Strong brakes are responsive, meaning they offer resistance immediately. Weak brakes will feel spongy, like kicking a pillow.
- Check for Fluid
Remember, brakes are handled through hydraulic fluid. You can see this fluid pooling under your car if there is a leak that causes your brakes to weaken.
If you suffer a complete loss of your brakes while driving, then you have to do a few things to ensure your safety.
- Put the Car into Neutral Neutral will basically disable the car’s ability to accelerate. It is not as good as braking, but the car will tend towards going faster if it is in drive.
- Turn Your Hazard Lights On This will let people know you need to get out of the way fast. Needless to say, you have to honk your horn if anyone is in front of you and pull over to the shoulder.
- Pull Your Parking Brake as LATE as you can It is critical for the health of your car that you do not pull your parking brake unless you are going under 25 miles per hour. Even that is stretching it, but if you are in a tight neighborhood where you cannot pull over to the shoulder, then you might need to pull the parking brake even if it might damage your car to avoid running into anyone.
Visit us to Get Your Brake Line Replaced
That is a stressful bunch of steps, but these are your brakes we are talking about. You can procrastinate a lot of car maintenance, up to and including problems with your engine. But when it comes to your brakes, it is other people’s safety at stake as well as your own.
Call 510-793-6067 and let’s get you set up with a quote on how much a replacement will cost, as well as a time for you to come in.
