Brake System Rust And Corrosion Prevention Services: Why & How
Brake systems are a critical component of any vehicle, ensuring safety and control while on the road. However, these systems are susceptible to rust and corrosion over time due to exposure to moisture, salt, and other environmental factors. This is where Brake System Rust and Corrosion Prevention Services come into play.
These services are essential in maintaining the longevity of your brake system, enhancing its performance, reducing costly repairs or replacements in the future, and most importantly ensuring your safety while driving. They involve various techniques such as regular inspections, cleaning procedures and application of anti-rust treatments that help protect your brake system from damaging elements. Without these preventative measures in place, rust can lead to significant damage that may compromise the effectiveness of your brakes when you need them most.
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What is Brake Rust?
Brake rust is a type of corrosion that affects the metal parts of a brake system, such as calipers, rotors, drums, and other components. It occurs when moisture contacts the metal parts and combines with oxygen, resulting in a chemical reaction that causes rust to form on the metal surface.
Brake rust can cause significant damage to different components in the system and can even lead to failure if left unchecked.
How Does Rust Affect Your Brakes?
Rust and corrosion can have a big impact on the performance of your brakes. Without regular driving, rust can build up on the rotors and brake pads, reducing the structural integrity of the rotors, as well as increasing noise, vibration, and harshness, known as NVH.
If rust is found on the backing plate of the brake pads, this can cause delamination in the friction material, further affecting the stopping ability.
When you apply your brakes during frequent driving, surface rust is usually cleaned off, but it can easily return if your car remains unused for some time. In such cases, it’s advised to have your brakes checked to see what environment the corrosion has caused.
Doing so will ensure that braking performance isn’t impacted due to rust built up over time. Taking care of this issue early on could potentially save some more costly repairs.
Why does Brake Rust Happen?
Rust is one of the most common issues that can arise when it comes to brake parts. This mainly occurs due to rain, dew, snow, and humid conditions. These conditions inevitably cause moisture to penetrate the brake pads and rotors’ steel and cast iron material.
Over time this prolonged exposure to moisture causes rusting on these parts, thus decreasing the effectiveness of their braking abilities.
It’s essential that car owners inspect their brakes for rust damage regularly and use preventative measures to avoid tire discoloration from occurring in the first place.
Aside from regular inspection, a few steps you can take as a car owner are waxing and polishing your car frequently, storing your brake rotors away from water and dust when not in use, and parking your vehicle in an area with good air circulation.
Furthermore, car owners need to pay close attention to any changes in their vehicle’s overall performance and audible sounds coming from their brakes when driving; as any suspicious noises or decreased performance might be potential signs of rust development within the braking system.
When to Take Brake System Rust and Corrosion Prevention Services?
- Before the onset of winter, when salt and sand are used on the roads.
- After driving on coastal roads or in areas with high humidity levels.
- After long periods of inactivity or storage of the vehicle.
- If signs of rust or corrosion on the brake system components are detected during inspections.
How to Stop Brake Rust From Happing?
If your goal is to minimize the amount of rust on your brakes and rotors, then a good place to start is to select quality brake parts. Wagner offers superior parts like their OEX and OEX Car brake pads, which have galvanized steel plates and premium stainless-steel hardware designed for better corrosion resistance and durability.
The galvanizing of the Wagner OEX and OEX Car brake pad on the backing plate provides an even better bond against rust jacking. To optimize braking performance, it’s recommended that the OEX and OEX Car brake pads are paired with their premium rotors which feature an E-Shield coating.
This helps provide maximum protection against rust accumulation in high-moisture environments. So with Wagner quality products, you can rest assured knowing that you’ll have extended use out of your brakes and rotors with minimal rusting over time.
Ways to Reduce Rust on Brake Parts
Before taking brake system rust and corrosion prevention services and spending money on it. You can apply the dry steps:
The first step in preventing the rusting of brake components is to ensure that you park your car in a dry and temperature-controlled environment. A temperature-controlled garage, or at least an area of shade, can prevent extreme temperature changes that can accelerate the oxidation process within your brake system.
Additionally, avoiding overexposure to moisture is essential. It’s always best to keep your vehicle as far away from a body of water as possible and try to drive around during normal weather conditions too.
Rust prevention is also important when selecting parts for your braking system. Look for corrosion-resistant parts like stainless steel, aluminum, or brass whenever possible because they reduce the chances of rust forming on those particular pieces of equipment.
Additionally, wiping away moisture on your brake components after particularly wet drives or off-road situations helps reduce rust formation and preserve their function for longer periods.
Cleaning and lubricating brake components regularly will help keep them running smoothly and extend their operational lifespan.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
1. What Is Brake Corrosion?
Brake corrosion is a type of corrosion that affects the brake system in a vehicle. It occurs when moisture, oxygen, and other contaminants come into contact with metal components of the brake system and cause them to deteriorate over time.
The most common form of corrosion found on brakes is rust, which can reduce their performance and even cause catastrophic failure in more extreme cases. In addition to rust, other forms of corrosion, such as pitting and flaking, can also occur.
2. How Do I Prevent Rust On My Brakes?
You can take several steps to help prevent rust from forming on your brakes. First, it’s always best to park your car in a dry, temperature-controlled environment whenever possible.
Additionally, selecting quality brake parts with corrosion-resistant materials will also help reduce the chances of rust forming on those pieces of equipment. Finally, regular cleaning and lubrication of brake components can also help extend their operational lifespan.
3. Can Rust Affect Brakes?
Yes, rust can affect brakes. Rust can form on the brake system due to moisture and oxygen exposure over time, which causes corrosion and degrades the performance of the brakes.
This type of corrosion is most common on steel components such as brake rotors, calipers, drums, and pads. In addition to degrading the performance of the brakes, rust can also lead to increased wear and tear on the brake system, leading to more costly repairs.
4. Can Rust Cause Brake Noise?
Yes, rust can cause brake noise. Rust is a type of corrosion that occurs when metal is exposed to water and oxygen over time. When brakes are exposed to water and salt, they can start to rust, leading to a layer of rust on the surface.
This layer of rust can cause friction between the brake components, such as discs or drums, and the pads, resulting in squeaking or squealing noises when the brakes are applied.
5. What Chemicals Remove Rust Stains?
Chemicals that can remove rust stains include oxalic acid, phosphoric acid, citric acid, and hydrochloric acid. Oxalic acid is a mild bleaching agent commonly used to remove rust stains from metal surfaces. Phosphoric acid is an effective rust remover that can also be used to clean metal surfaces and tools.
Conclusion
Rust and corrosion can be prevented on brake components by regularly cleaning, lubricating, and inspecting them. Additionally, selecting corrosion-resistant parts for your braking system and parking your car in a dry, temperature-controlled environment can help reduce the chances of rust forming. Taking these steps will help extend the operational lifespan of your brake components and ensure that your vehicle is operating safely.
