Squeaky brakes can be irritating to listen to as you drive around. While it could signify you need new brakes, if you have changed them, it signifies something else. Brake rotors are one of the most crucial components for the safety and security of your car.
You should clean your brake rotors regularly if you want to keep your car in good repair, and it can be recommended to clean them after a lengthy drive. If you do not clean them, they can get choked with dust and malfunction.
Because the wheel would typically need to be removed, cleaning brakes and brake rotors can be difficult. While car wheels and brake rotor should be removed if possible, it isn’t always workable to do so. It can leave you asking, can I use brake cleaner without removing the tire? (Read Is It Bad To Mix Gas From Different Stations)
In our guide, you can learn more about how to use brake cleaner without removing wheel.
By the end, you’ll see how to get rid of all the accumulated chemical compounds from your brakes using several methods. You’ll also find the best ways to keep brakes clean and prevent rust buildup.
Why Use Brake Cleaner?
Most of us are aware of monitoring brake pads, rotors, and brakes regularly to ensure they don’t wear out too quickly.
The brake rotors might become dusty for various reasons, which can come from brake pads rubbing against surface rust on your rotors.
Here are all the reasons you can get dusty brakes.
Dust From Brakes
Brake dust is created as your brake pads wear down. This tiny dust settles on the rotors and remains until they are cleaned.
Brake Fluid
For various reasons, your car’s brake fluid or oil may leak. The leaking braking fluid or oil may drip on the rotors. It combines with dust and oil particles to form a sludge that accumulates around your brakes without dripping off.
Rust
Your car’s brake rotors can rust and deteriorate if you live in a humid climate or if there is salt on the roads during the winter months.
Besides this, driving through shallow water or just washing your car can cause brake rotors to be covered in surface rust.
Why is it important to clean brake rotors?
Regularly examining and cleaning brake rotors is a healthy habit to develop. So why clean the brake rotors?
Grime and brake dust can hide problems. So, a dirty brake caliper will show a leaky brake caliper.
Brake dust is the leading cause of screeching brakes. The dust cleaning will lessen the screeching.
While fitting brake pads, lubricate the rotor with brake grease. You don’t want brake grease on your new brake pads. Cleaning the rotors with a clean rag can help prevent this. (Read Color Of Power Steering Fluid Guide)
How To Clean the Brake Rotors Without Removing Wheel?
You’ve come to the right place when you want to clean brakes without taking tires off.
It’s straightforward to remove rust from brake rotors without removing the wheels, although not all-wheel types offer you full access.
Brake Cleaners
Brake cleaners are one example of a product that you can use to clean and dissolve grease during car maintenance and cleaning your brakes and brake rotors.
It comes in liquid form and could be in a pressurized spray can. Position the spray bottle’s hose onto your rotor and spray the cleaner.
Let it sit before washing with plain water.
You don’t have to remove the wheel because you’ll reach the rotor using the pipe from your spray bottle.
Air Blower
A leaf blower is an electric air blower that is used to clear the garden boundaries in the backyard. They are, nevertheless, powerful enough to clear brake dust from rotors with ease (when dry).
Detail Brush
Cleaning brake pads or wheels with a little detail brush is possible. It is the most effective tool for cleaning brake rotors.
Being situated beside your vehicle makes it simple to use the strategy. Your car’s brake rotors can be easily cleaned of rust. All you’ll need is a little brush and some water.
It’s a plastic-handled, long, flexible nylon-furry brush. The small brush is large enough for brake cleaning when no other cleaning material, such as a cloth or a stiff brush, can reach the braking system without removing the tires.
As a result, it can clean even the most complex wheel designs. Take the brush and place it between the wheel’s rims in the spaces.
Inspect Brake Pads
While driving, brake pads are a mechanical system that cleans the braking rotor. If the brake pad is large enough, it will cover the braking rotor completely.
Cleaning it individually will not require any instruments.
When it starts to wear, the rotor is pushed out, leaving a blank surface for rust and dust to stick to. Therefore, it’s critical to examine your pads regularly.
Soapy Water
Washing your braking mechanism with soapy water is the most cost-effective method.
To have perfectly clean brakes and braking system without removing the wheel, mix a soap and water solution and apply it to the rotors.
A hose pipe or a spray pipe with a small water pump can be used. The soap will wipe away dust particles from the rotors as the water pressure blows them away.
It is recommended to drive your vehicle once the braking system is dry. It won’t leave brake dust when you wash them, yet you can quickly end up with squeaky brakes from surface rust.
After washing, using your disc brakes means they are free from gunk and work against the brake rotor. (Read Coolant Reservoir Empty No Leak)
What is Brake Dust?
There may be dark residues or soot around your car’s wheels, known as brake dust.
Carbon residue, iron particles, and friction surrounding the wheels combine to generate these residues. As a result, the brake pad material determines the color intensity.
Types of Brake Cleaners
If you find soot or dark residue surrounding your tires, the next step is to acquire some brake dust remover or brake cleaning.
These solvents may remove grease and brake fluid from your wheels and restore them to new conditions.
Following is a list of several brake cleaners available on the market.
Non-Inflammable Chlorinated Brake Cleaner
One popular solution for cleaning brakes without removing the wheels is a non-flammable chlorinated brake cleaner.
It is a powerful alternative because it contains chlorine, a drying agent for dirt or brake fluid.
Nitrile is non-flammable and does not harm painted surfaces. But it is pretty costly.
Flammable Non-Chlorinated Brake Cleaner
Aside from chlorine, flammable or chlorinated brake cleaner contains other dust-removing components (such as isopropyl alcohol).
It is cheap yet highly combustible. For example, a brake cleaner containing acetone may damage a painted surface.
Can you apply brake cleaner with the wheels on?
However, cleaning your car’s brake system entails more than simply the outside.
On occasion, the brake parts or suspension components making up the brake system, such as pads, brake rotors, brake discs, brake linings, and brake calipers, may require disassembly.
Luckily, if it is just a brake squeal you need to stop, you can use brake cleaner without needing to remove the wheels.
How To Use Brake Cleaner Without Removing Tires?
If you need to know the full way to stop brake squeal and removing grease by using brake cleaner, you need to know how you spray brake cleaner without removing your wheels?
Find out how to spray brake cleaner without removing tire in the steps here.
1. Set Your Car on a Flat Surface
Setting your automobile steady and ready for operation is the first step before using a brake cleaner to clean the outside section of your brakes.
To clean your brakes properly, make sure your car is parked on a level surface in a well-ventilated area.
2. Prepare Your Brake Cleaner
The next step is to purchase and prepare the best wheel cleaner for the job.
Before cleaning disc rotors and other brake parts, ensure the nozzle works as intended.
3. Use Brake Cleaner to Remove Dust
Now that you understand how chlorinated and non-chlorinated brake cleaners operate spray generously around the exterior part of the brake discs or drums, calipers, and other components.
You may not be able to clean disc brakes, brake rotors, or brake shoes properly if the wheels are not removed.
4. Wipe Wheels and Remove Excess Cleaner
Wipe down the wheels with a little detail brush to ensure that the disc brakes or pads are thoroughly clean. You can also use a lint-free towel to wipe away any excess cleaning.
5. Will a brake cleaner damage the tire?
Yes, the brake cleaner on tires will harm the rubber, especially if the brake cleaner is non-chlorinated.
Most brake cleaners such as Sonax wheel cleaner now contain wax surface protectants, so they can operate as a dust extractor without causing damage to your braking mechanism.
