PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE BRAKE SYSTEM
Regional Haul
(R05/10) Y53-6033 – 181 –
Brake System
To operate your vehicle safely, you need some under-
standing of its brake systems. Brake adjustment and
brake balance must be set carefully to allow equal stop-
ping 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 oper-
ations: 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 compli-
ance with FMVSS 121. Contact your Peterbilt
dealer for instructions.
All of the following areas are interrelated and must con-
form to original specifications:
Once a brake system is set to specifications, changing
any one of its components or any combination of compo-
nents may degrade the system. All parts have to work
together to perform as they should.
Because your brake system is air operated, see the fol-
lowing section “Air System” on page 189 for more infor-
mation 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.
• tire size • cam radius
• wedge angle • drum radius
• brake linings • brake chambers
• slack adjusters
