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Brakes are one of the most overlooked system of the vehicle. Brakes are what stops your car. Brake systems are fairly simple. You have a master cylinder, brake booster, proportioning valve, lines and cylinders. Power brakes use vacuum from the engine to help you apply your brakes through a brake booster. When you depress the brake pedal, a rod pushes through the master cylinder. The master cylinder then pushes fluid into the proportioning valve (also called a combination valve), which then distributes brake fluid to the front and rear of the vehicle through brake lines. The cylinders (calipers on disc brakes) then push the brake pads onto the rotor (or brake shoes on a drum system). The harder you depress the pedal, the more the master cylinder pushes brake fluid. Sounds simple, right? It is, but it is extremely important that all of your parts are in working order, and also matched to your system. For example, if you use a drum brake proportioning valve on a disc brake system, the ratio of fluid front to back is not enough. If you use a drum brake master cylinder on a disc brake system, the master won't be able to push enough fluid to extend the caliper piston enough, so it's important to make sure all your components are matched, especially if converting from drum to disc.