Maintenance for Jeep Willys brake parts
The most important characteristic of any vehicle is not how fast it goes, but how fast it stops. When you drive your Jeep, you never know when you will have to stop suddenly, especially if you are driving off-road, so you want to keep your Willys Jeep brake parts in tip top condition.
What brake fluid?
Willys owners generally use one of two types of brake fluid: DOT3 or DOT5. Neither type is necessarily better, but each has advantages.
DOT3 is the most common and cheapest brake fluid you will find. It is easy to find not only in auto parts stores, but even in many grocery stores or drug stores. Its biggest drawback is that it is hydroscopic, which means that it absorbs water. Over time, moisture will build up in the fluid and this will corrode the Willys Jeep brake parts. Homeowners must drain and replace the fluid annually to avoid the danger of moisture build-up.
DOT5 brake fluid is a high-performance, silicone-based brake fluid. While the average Willys isn’t a race car, many owners like it because it doesn’t absorb moisture, won’t corrode Jeep Willys brake parts, and doesn’t need to be replaced. However, it does entrain air bubbles, which are as bad as water, and removing air from the brake line can be a difficult task. It is also harder to find and significantly more expensive than DOT3.
Regardless of the fluid you use, never mix DOT3 and DOT5. If you switch from one to the other, you must completely drain the system before adding the new fluid.
Bleed and adjust the brakes
Over time, you will find that you need to put more pressure on the brake pedal to get good stopping power. This is a clear sign that your Jeep Willys brake parts need attention, so don’t put it off. There are two reasons for this: air in the brake line or misaligned brake shoes.
The traditional two-person method of bleeding air from the lines involves one person pumping the brake and another opening and closing the bleed screw. These actions must be perfectly coordinated to avoid putting more air into the system. There are also a number of devices that allow a person to purge the air without an assistant.
Over time, as the brake pads wear, they don’t make full contact when the pedal is depressed and require more pressure to get the same stopping power. Modern cars have self-adjusting brakes, but Willys Jeep brake parts do not have this feature. Owners should periodically take out the toolbox and manually adjust the brakes.
Keeping track of brake fluid levels, air in the lines, and brake shoe adjustment is important to ensuring the safety of the driver and passengers. Rather than waiting for problems to begin, a regular maintenance schedule is the best way to keep your brakes working at their best.