Whether you're studying for an upcoming ASE brake certification test, expanding your knowledge or honing your brake repair skills, this course is for you. There are no grades and no pop quizzes or tests. It's not even a pass-fail course. The only credit you'll receive will be thanks and appreciation from your customers and employer for a job well done.

The goal of this course is to help you do better brake jobs and avoid common mistakes that often result in comebacks, unhappy customers and lost time and wages.

Lesson One: The Basics
Obviously, brakes are an essential safety system because they stop the vehicle. If the brakes can't do their job, there's no telling what might happen. So it's important to make sure every brake job you do is done correctly and to your customer's satisfaction. There are no exceptions!

First, a rule to live by: A basic brake job does not consist of hanging a set of pads, giving the rotors a quick turn and sending the vehicle out the door. Quickie brake jobs may seem like an easy way to make a buck, but they are less than complete.

"Complete" means "full, finished, ended, perfect or made whole." If you are doing a "complete" brake job, therefore, you should inspect everything and replace anything that is worn, broken, defective or out-of-specification to restore the brakes to line-new condition.

But what about par...