Crown/Birrana Brake Wear Gauge detects warped disc plates

Innovative Australian engineering company and manufacturer, Birrana Engineering, has released details of yet another customer benefit delivered by its highly acclaimed Brake Wear Gauge.

Customers using the Birrana Brake Wear Gauge on their heavy duty mining trucks have reported that the gauge has saved some of them many thousands of dollars by identifying warped disc plates and contaminated hydraulic fluids.

Quick and accurate
Chris Loveless, Birrana Engineering Sales Manager, said "thanks to the speed and accuracy of the Birrana Brake Wear Gauge, customers were able to frequently check their rate of brake wear without losing down time.

While doing so, some customers had noticed that instead of the brake life progressively decreasing at each measurement, it had suddenly increased.

Identifying problems
"Some of our competitors have claimed that this shows that our gauge is inaccurate – but it’s actually the exact opposite," explained Chris.

When a brake life reading jumps unexpectedly upwards, it means only one thing – the disc plates are warped.

Significant cost savings
Warped disc plates are almost always caused by overheating, and if the braking system is not quickly overhauled, contaminated fluid may be circulated throughout the entire hydraulic system and cause serious damage to other components.

By using the Crown/Birrana Brake Wear Gauge as an integral part of brake life monitoring and change out planning, mine site operators can achieve significant cost savings in many areas.

Reliable diagnosis
Gary Wood, Workshop Superintendent with Henry Walker Eltin, has been using the Birrana Brake Wear Gauge on Cat® 789 and 785 fleets since new, and has never had any problems regarding the brake tool’s reliability or integrity.

"Using the Birrana Brake Wear Gauge has proved very beneficial in regards to tracking wear, diagnosing faults and forecasting change-outs," says Gary.

"I now have a drama getting my fitters to check the brake pack heights "the old way," he claimed.


Cat® is a registered trademark of Caterpillar®, Inc. The use of the Cat® trademark is for reference purposes only and we do not imply, express or claim any affiliation.