Are you familiar with callipers, ball joints and rotor brakes? Well, you should if you are a car owner or need to drive regularly. Even though it may seem like a foreign language, having a basic grasp of how the steering and suspension systems interact with the other components of your car is incredibly beneficial in picturing how your vehicle operates and performs.
1) Ball Joint – If you spend a lot of time in taxis, you’ve probably heard the warning indications of a failing ball joint. A ball joint serves as a pivot point for the coil over suspension and steering linkage, and as it wears, it develops play, which results in a loud clunking or rattling noise as you drive over a bump in the road. A word of caution: When it comes to ball joints, you get what you pay for, and choosing the cheapest replacement component almost always means you’ll have to replace it sooner than if you buy one from a respected brand (or better yet, directly from the manufacturer of your car or truck).
2) Motor for Blower – There might be a problem with your blower motor if your fan stops operating and you can no longer blow air around the passenger compartment. This fan, which looks like a hamster wheel, is wedged under your glove box and blasts air via your vents. They might become loud or stop operating altogether. If you end up with just partial functionality, such as a fan that only blows at specific speeds, the problem is likely to be with the blower motor resistor.
3) Calliper for the brakes – When it comes to stopping, a brake calliper is your greatest buddy since it attaches your brake pads to your braking rotor to save you from ramming into that other car you didn’t see coming. A seized brake rotor can drag your car to one side and burn through your brake pads, or it might start leaking brake fluid, which is never a good thing. Calliper repair kits are available, however considering how inexpensive callipers are, you may as well buy a new one.
4) Switch for the Brake Light – Here’s one with a very self-explanatory name. This little switch is attached to the brake pedal and is used to turn on your brake lights when necessary. If your brake lights aren’t working and you’ve previously tried changing the bulbs, it’s possible that this switch has failed.
5) Rotor Brake – The brake rotor is another important component of your braking system, and it, like everything else, is susceptible to failure. As your brake callipers clamp their pads down on the rotor to bring your car to a halt, they are exposed to a tremendous amount of heat from friction, and if they get overworked, they can develop glazing and hot spots, resulting in a pulsating brake pedal and generally poor stopping performance. Rotors, like brake pads, should be always replaced in pairs (both fronts, and both rears at the same time).
