The front wheels are equipped with disc brakes, which, depending on the equipment, are blown from the inside with air for better heat dissipation. The rear wheels are braked by automatically adjustable drum brakes.
The hydraulic braking system is divided into two circuits running diagonally. One brake circuit works front right, rear left. The second is front left, rear right. Due to this, in the event of a breakdown of one of the circuits, one front and one, diagonally, rear wheel is still braked. Thus the machine can be stopped.
The pressure for both brake circuits is built up in the brake master cylinder when the brake pedal is depressed. The brake fluid reservoir is located above the master brake cylinder in the engine compartment. The hydraulic clutch is also supplied with brake fluid from this reservoir (in some models, however, the clutch drive is not carried out hydraulically, but mechanically - through the clutch cable). For all models, if the brake fluid level is too low, the warning light on the instrument panel lights up, but the amount of brake fluid must still be checked regularly.
On cars with a gasoline engine, there is a vacuum brake booster, which, when braking, creates, due to the discharge in the intake pipe of the engine, an additional force on the pusher of the master cylinder piston in proportion to the force from the pedal.
On diesel vehicles, the vacuum is created by a special vacuum pump attached to the engine.
The brake force regulator on the rear axle ensures that during heavy braking the rear wheels do not lock. Cars with anti-lock braking system (ABS) or with all-wheel drive do not have a brake force regulator. The brake force on the rear wheels is controlled by the ABS control unit.
An anti-lock braking system is available as an option on the VWT4 (ABS). The work described here applies to all VW T4 models, with or without ABS.
Depending on the diameter of the wheel, different disc brakes are installed on the front wheels: models with 14-inch wheels have a floating caliper disc brake, models with 15-inch wheels have internally ventilated disc brakes on the front wheels with a floating frame. Therefore, when replacing brake pads, different working methods are used.
Brake cleaning removes brake dust. This dust is hazardous to health. Therefore, when cleaning the brake system, do not inhale dust.
Brake pads are produced by the factory only for certain models of cars. Therefore, it is recommended to use brake pads approved only by AG VW.
Work on the brake system requires the strictest cleanliness and precision. If you do not have the necessary experience, you need to entrust the work to specialists.
Attention! When the road surface is very wet from rain, it is necessary to depress the brake pedal from time to time while driving to free the discs from wet abrasion products. Although moisture is ejected from the discs as a result of centrifugal forces, a thin silicone film, rubber abrasion products, grease and dirt are formed in places, reducing the reliability of the brakes.
After installing new brake pads, they must be ground in by braking. Up to 200 km it is impossible to produce sudden braking without the need.
Corroded disc brakes produce a Rubbel effect when braking, which cannot be eliminated even by prolonged braking. In this case, the disks are replaced.
Burnt dirt on the brake pads and grooves lead to the formation of grooves on the discs, which reduces the reliability of the brakes.
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