Drive Safe with Meritor® Medium-Duty Brakes

Home > Parts Professional Articles > Parts > Drive Safe with Meritor® Medium-Duty Brakes

Expertise

Parts Professional Authors

Drive Safe with Meritor® Medium-Duty Brakes

The stop-and-go life of a medium-duty truck can be demanding on brakes. Driving city streets or work areas puts brakes through hundreds of cycles a day. Each time you press down the brake pedal, your brakes should respond smoothly and predictably.

It may not be something you think about, but brakes are Meritor’s business.

The worldwide leader in braking systems for heavy- and medium-duty trucks, Meritor supplies brakes that are standard original equipment on numerous applications.

We know that Meritor takes the role of brakes seriously, and their innovations aren’t just competitive advantages—they keep you safer on the road.

Smooth Stopping

Pads are the most commonly replaced item in a disc brake system. That makes sense—the pads are directly responsible for making contact with the rotor, providing the friction that stops your truck. The quality and composition of the pads’ lining plays a huge role in stopping your vehicle quickly and smoothly.

When you inspect your brakes, look at the pads. Check for abnormal or premature wear and for foreign substances that could impair braking or damage your pads or rotor.

Meritor offers pads for three different levels of service applications, including make-specific original-equipment friction materials. The MMD line of pads is best for emergency vehicles, city delivery and extreme-use applications. The MD line features great performance, low noise and long life.

Don’t skimp on replacement pads— money saved now may turn into a larger expense over time.

Longer Life

While you’ll be replacing brake pads from time to time, your rotors should last much longer. They should also stand up to heat, resist rust and wear evenly. Meritor uses refined technology and patented innovation to ensure long rotor life.

A major advance in rotor manufacture is cryogenic processing. After the metal is heat-treated, computer-controlled cooling takes the temperature below -310 degrees Fahrenheit. This increases the durability of the metal significantly by preventing microscopic stress cracks. Side-by-side testing has proven that Meritor cryogenic rotors last longer than unprocessed rotors—in some cases, up to twice as long.

In addition, cryogenically-processed rotors are resistant to warping and cracking under the stress of heavy use. Wear is more even in the treated rotors, which means less frequent rotor turns, and Meritor cryogenic rotors meet or exceed SAE J431 and SAE G3000 material specifications.

Another advantage of Meritor is its patented PlatinumShield™ coating. For vehicles that must remain on the road in demanding weather and road conditions, PlatinumShield™ resists rust-causing substances such as rock salt, magnesium chloride and calcium chloride. This chip-proof coating thoroughly seals the rotor, including its ABS teeth and cooling veins, to prevent corrosion. Thoroughly lab- and road-tested, rotors coated with PlatinumShield™ have demonstrated significantly longer life than uncoated rotors.

Your brakes may be the single most important system on your vehicle. Choose them wisely, and ensure your safety every time you press the brake pedal.

Visit your Kenworth dealer today to learn more about the advantages of Meritor brakes.