How to Determine Air Brake Adjustment—Applied—Pry Bar—Mark & Measure

For both a road test & your daily pre-trip inspection you must determine if the air brakes are in adjustment. Watch the video! CDL IN-CAB Air Brake CHECKLIST: smartdrivetest.com/cdl-air-brake-checklist SUBSCRIBE TODAY! ► youtube.com/c/smartdrivetest

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Depending on where you're taking your CDL licence, you are required to check air brake adjustment. Either the pry bar or the applied stroke method will be required. Most jurisdictions use the pry bar method to determine if the air brakes are in adjustment.

Safety first: chock the wheels, release the parking brakes and ensure that the system air pressure is above 90 psi (620 kPa).

If using the pry bar method, you'll require a pry bar. Using a pry par, force the push rod out of the brake chamber. The push rod should not extend out of the brake chamber more than 3/4 of an inch, or the width of your thumbnail. In New York & the state of California, they allow 1" inch of travel using the pry bar method.

Other jurisdictions, such as Ontario in Canada, require that license examinees use the applied stroke method. Again, chock the wheels, release the parking brakes and ensure the system air pressure is above 90 psi.

Mark all the push rods at a fixed point - usually the face of the brake chamber. Apply the service brakes and hold - either get someone to hold the service brakes in the applied position or use a stick, or other device. After applying the service brakes, measure from the fixed point out to the mark on the push rod to determine if the air brakes are in adjustment.

With automatic slack adjusters on a Type 30 brake chamber--which are the most common--you are allow 2" of push road travel. In the rare case that you have manual slack adjusters, the push rod is allowed to extend out of the brake chamber 1 3/4" inches.

The amount the push rod is allowed to extend out of the brake chamber is determined by brake chamber size, and the size of the brake chamber is determined by its diameter.

If the brakes are out of adjustment, and the vehicle is equipped with automatic slack adjusters, you can attempt a "6-pack" to bring the brakes back into adjustment. Pump the system to maximum pressure, make 3 full, hard brake applications. Pump the system's air pressure back to maximum and make 3 more full, hard brake applications. Often this will bring the brakes back into adjustment. If not, the vehicle will have to be brought to a mechanic for repair.

Good luck on your road test!
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