A5 Brakes
Review Answers
Reading Your Results: A5 Brakes, Test 2
This test comes at the same content areas from the hydraulic circuit and the bench rather than the pedal. There are more questions about what a specific valve does, more about line and hose service, and more that turn on separating a brake fault from something that only looks like one.
If you missed the hydraulic valve questions
A front-disc, rear-drum system carries several valves that each solve one problem, and this test expects you to keep them apart. A metering valve delays front disc application slightly so the rear drums, which have to overcome return springs first, begin working at the same moment. A proportioning valve limits how much pressure reaches the rear brakes above a designed split point, so the lightly loaded rear axle does not lock before the front. A pressure differential switch senses an imbalance between the two circuits and lights the red warning lamp. Each one produces a different complaint when it fails, and knowing which valve owns which symptom is worth several points on the real exam.
If you missed the questions built on a measurement
Three questions here hand you a reading against a limit, and each is asking whether you know what that number controls.
If you missed the questions about what is actually a brake problem
Several questions on this test describe a symptom that has nothing to do with the brake system, and that is deliberate, because it is the trap that costs technicians the most time. A growl that increases with vehicle speed and changes when the vehicle is steered is a wheel bearing being loaded and unloaded by weight transfer, not a brake. A vibration at highway speed that does not change when the brakes are applied is a tire and wheel problem, since a rotor fault only produces vibration when the pads are clamping it. An intermittent wheel speed sensor code right after an axle seal replacement is a sensor or tone ring that was disturbed during the job. Before diagnosing a brake, confirm the symptom actually appears when the brakes are being used.
If you missed the EXCEPT and LEAST likely questions
Four appear on this test, and the method is the same one that works on the real exam. Identify what the three real causes share before hunting for the odd one out. On the hard-pedal question, three answers all remove or reduce power assist, and one is a condition that makes the pedal travel further rather than harder. On the drum-drag question, three answers all hold the shoes against the drum after release, and one affects how the brake applies rather than how it releases. Naming the shared trait first is faster and far more reliable than working through four options one at a time.