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Automotive vocabulary · Brakes, Suspension, Steering and Tires

Brake caliper

Meaning in automotive, with examples

nounCommon term

In automotive, brake caliper means: The housing with one or more hydraulic pistons that sits over the brake disc and squeezes the brake pads against it when the driver presses the pedal.

In Turkish: fren kaliperi, kaliper

How it is used

Technicians clean and lubricate caliper slide pins, rebuild or replace seized calipers and wind back the piston when fitting new pads. A sticking caliper makes the car pull to one side and the wheel run hot.

Example sentences

  1. The front left brake caliper is sticking, so that wheel is much hotter than the others.

  2. Use the scan tool to open the electric parking brake before you push back the caliper piston.

Common collocations

  • sticking caliper
  • caliper slide pins
  • caliper piston
  • rebuild the caliper
  • brake padA steel plate with a layer of friction material that the caliper presses against the brake disc to slow the wheel. Pads wear down and must be replaced regularly.
  • brake discThe metal disc that turns with the wheel and is squeezed by the brake pads to slow the car. Its minimum thickness is usually stamped on the disc itself.
  • brakeA device that slows or stops a vehicle by pressing a friction material against a rotating disc or drum. Most cars have hydraulic disc brakes at the front.
  • bleedTo remove trapped air from a hydraulic or cooling system, for example the brake lines, by letting fluid flow out through a bleed screw until no bubbles remain.

More terms: Brakes, Suspension, Steering and Tires

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