1999 GMC Sierra 1500 Pickup Owner's Manual - Page 197

Rear Drum Brakes If you havereardrumbrakes,theydon'thavethewearindicators,but if you everheararearbrakerubbingnoise,havetherearbrake lining inspected. Also, therearbrakedrumsshouldberemovedandinspectedeachtimethe tiresareremovedforrotationorchanging.Whenyouhavethefrontbrakes replaced,havetherearbrakesinspected,too. Brakeliningsshouldalways be replacedascompleteaxlesets. Brake Pedal Travel Seeyourdealer if the brakepedaldoesnotreturn to normalheight,or if there is arapidincrease in pedaltravel.Thiscouldbeasign of brake trouble. Brake Adjusiment Everytimeyoumakeabrakestop,yourdiscbrakesadjustforwear. If your brakepedalgoesdownfartherthannormal,yourreardrumbrakesmayneed adjustment.Adjustthembybackingupandfirmlyapplying the brakesafew times. Braking In Emergencies Atsometime,nearlyeverydrivergets into asituationthatrequireshard braking. You havetherearwheelanti-lockbrakingsystem. Your frontwheels do, thevehiclecan't canstoprollingwhenyou brake veryhard.Oncethey respond to yoursteering.Momentumwillcarry it inwhateverdirection it was headedwhenthewheelsstoppedrolling.Thatcouldbeofftheroad,intothe very thing youweretrying to avoid, or into traffic. So, usea"squeeze"brakingtechnique.Thiswillgiveyoumaximumbraking whilemaintainingsteeringcontrol. You do this bypushingonthebrakepedal do, itwillhelpmaintainsteering withsteadilyincreasingpressure.Whenyou control. In manyemergencies,steeringcan help youmorethaneventhevery bestbraking. Steering Power Sieerhg Ifyoulosepowersteeringassistbecausetheenginestopsorthesystem fails to function,youcansteer but itwill take muchmoreeffort. 4-1 9