Automotive Brakes Course

Lesson 1 • Workshop Safety and Tool Identification

Covers personal protective equipment, hazardous materials handling, and essential brake service tools. Ensures safe work habits before any hands-on brake work begins.

Lesson 2 • Brake System Overview and Types

Introduces disc, drum, and parking brake configurations and their typical vehicle applications. Builds a mental map of system variety before component-level study.

Lesson 3 • Brake System Safety Standards

Explains regulatory performance requirements and industry safety benchmarks for brake systems. Connects compliance awareness to professional service responsibility.

Lesson 1 • Brake Lines, Hoses, and Fittings

Covers material specifications, routing requirements, and connection types for brake lines and flexible hoses. Prepares learners to inspect and replace hydraulic plumbing correctly.

Lesson 2 • Pascal's Law in Brake Circuits

Applies Pascal's law to explain how pedal force is multiplied and transmitted through brake fluid. Establishes the hydraulic logic underlying all brake circuit design.

Lesson 3 • Hydraulic Circuit Failure Analysis

Identifies causes and symptoms of hydraulic leaks, air intrusion, and vapor lock. Bridges theoretical hydraulic knowledge to real-world diagnostic decision-making.

Lesson 4 • Master Cylinder Operation

Examines single and dual master cylinder designs, reservoir function, and compensating port operation. Connects master cylinder condition to overall system pressure integrity.

Lesson 1 • Rotor Design and Metallurgy

Examines solid, vented, and slotted rotor designs along with cast iron and composite materials. Connects rotor geometry and material to heat dissipation and wear performance.

Lesson 2 • Brake Pad Compounds and Friction

Covers organic, semi-metallic, and ceramic pad formulations and their friction characteristics. Helps learners match pad compound to vehicle application and operating conditions.

Lesson 3 • Disc Brake Hardware and Noise Control

Identifies anti-rattle clips, shims, and abutment hardware and their roles in noise and vibration reduction. Reinforces correct hardware installation as part of quality brake service.

Lesson 4 • Disc Brake Wear and Measurement

Teaches rotor thickness, lateral runout, and parallelism measurement using precision tools. Provides the measurement skills needed to make accurate replace-or-resurface decisions.

Lesson 1 • Drum Brake Hardware and Springs

Identifies return springs, hold-down hardware, and adjusters and explains their roles in shoe retraction and clearance control. Correct spring tension is critical to pedal feel.

Lesson 2 • Wheel Cylinder and Hydraulic Actuation

Covers wheel cylinder construction, piston travel, and boot seal integrity for drum brake actuation. Links hydraulic pressure delivery to shoe application force.

Lesson 3 • Brake Drum Inspection and Measurement

Teaches inside diameter measurement, out-of-round detection, and surface finish evaluation for brake drums. Accurate measurement prevents premature lining wear and brake pull.

Lesson 4 • Brake Lining Inspection and Replacement

Covers lining thickness measurement, contamination assessment, and bonded vs. riveted lining replacement. Ensures learners can restore drum brake performance to specification.

Lesson 1 • Vacuum Booster Principles and Design

Explains atmospheric and vacuum pressure differential used to amplify pedal force in vacuum boosters. Establishes the operating logic before moving to testing and diagnosis.

Lesson 2 • Hydraulic Brake Boosters

Examines power steering pump-driven and accumulator-type hydraulic boosters and their pressure circuits. Prepares learners to service vehicles where engine vacuum is insufficient.

Lesson 3 • Vacuum Booster Testing and Diagnosis

Covers vacuum leak tests, pedal reserve checks, and check valve verification for vacuum booster systems. Connects test results to specific component failures and repair actions.

Lesson 1 • Mechanical Parking Brake Fundamentals

Explains lever, pedal, and cable layouts that apply rear brakes independently of the hydraulic circuit. Establishes the mechanical logic before addressing adjustment and failure.

Lesson 2 • Electronic Parking Brake Systems

Examines motor-on-caliper and cable-pull EPB designs, control module logic, and actuator operation. Prepares learners to service EPB systems requiring scan tool engagement.

Lesson 3 • Parking Brake Service and Verification

Teaches post-service adjustment verification, holding force testing, and EPB initialisation procedures. Ensures learners can confirm parking brake performance meets safety standards.

Lesson 1 • ABS Operating Modes and Hydraulic Control

Explains pressure hold, pressure decrease, and pressure increase cycles during an ABS event. Connects solenoid valve sequencing to wheel slip prevention and pedal pulsation.

Lesson 2 • ABS System Architecture and Components

Identifies wheel speed sensors, hydraulic control units, and ABS control modules and their signal relationships. Provides the component map needed for systematic ABS diagnosis.

Lesson 3 • Wheel Speed Sensor Diagnosis

Covers resistance, voltage output, and air gap measurement for passive and active wheel speed sensors. Accurate sensor diagnosis prevents unnecessary HCU replacement.

Lesson 4 • Traction Control and Stability Control Integration

Explains how TCS and ESC use ABS hardware plus yaw, lateral, and steering angle sensors to prevent loss of control. Builds on ABS knowledge to address full chassis stability systems.

Lesson 1 • Brake System Bleeding Methods

Teaches manual, pressure, vacuum, and gravity bleeding techniques and their appropriate applications. Proper bleeding eliminates air and restores full hydraulic pressure to the system.

Lesson 2 • Drum Brake Service Procedure

Guides complete drum brake service including drum removal, hardware replacement, lining installation, and adjuster setup. Correct spring tension and adjuster setting are emphasised.

Lesson 3 • Pre-Service Vehicle Inspection

Establishes a systematic pre-service inspection routine covering pedal feel, fluid condition, and visual component assessment. Accurate pre-inspection drives correct repair planning.

Lesson 4 • Disc Brake Service Procedure

Covers complete disc brake service from caliper removal through rotor resurfacing, pad installation, and hardware replacement. Reinforces correct torque and lubrication practices.