Peterbilt Medium Duty Trucks Operator's Manual after 1-07

Preventive Maintenance
BRAKE SYSTEM
If your truck has an air brake system, see the pages below.
Brake System
All of the following areas are interrelated and must conform
to original specifications:
If your truck has a hydraulic brake system, please go to
“Hydraulic Brake System” on page 153.
Introduction
• tire size
• wedge angle
• brake linings
• slack adjusters
• cam radius
• drum radius
• brake chambers
To operate your vehicle safely, you need some understanding
of its brake systems. Brake adjustment and brake balance
must be set carefully to allow equal stopping forces at all
wheels. Tires are also a very important part of the whole system.
How fast you can stop depends on how much friction
there is between the road and your tires.
CAUTION: The air brake system of this vehicle
was configured for ONE of the following operations:
tractor or truck, and complies with the
respective portions of FMVSS 121. A tractor
shall not be operated or configured as a truck,
nor shall a truck be operated or configured as a
tractor, without significant modifications to the
air brake system in order to retain compliance
with FMVSS 121. Contact your Peterbilt dealer
for instructions.
Once a brake system is set to specifications, changing any
one of its components or any combination of components
may degrade the system. All parts have to work together to
perform as they should.
Because your brake system is air operated, see the following
section “Air System” on page 160 for more information on
checking your brakes.
Any replacement components in the brake system should be
the same or better than the original components. Any
changes from the original specifications can affect the performance
of the entire system.
Medium Duty (R10/06) Y53-6008 – 149 –