Гальмівна колодка настільки стара, що гальмо не працює.

A word-by-word breakdown:

• гальмівна = brake, braking, related to braking
• колодка = pad, block, or in this context brake pad / brake shoe
• настільки = so, to such an extent
• стара = old
• що = that
• гальмо = brake
• не працює = does not work / is not working

So the structure is roughly:

• Гальмівна колодка = the brake pad
• настільки стара = is so old
• що гальмо не працює = that the brake does not work

Гальмівна is an adjective that agrees with колодка.

• Base noun: гальмо = brake
• Related adjective: гальмівний = brake / braking

Because колодка is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective also has to be:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So:

• masculine: гальмівний
• feminine: гальмівна
• neuter: гальмівне
• plural: гальмівні

That is why we get гальмівна колодка.

On its own, колодка can mean something like a block or pad, depending on context.

In mechanical vocabulary, гальмівна колодка is a set phrase meaning:

• brake pad
• sometimes brake shoe, depending on the system

So even if колодка has broader meanings in other contexts, here the full phrase clearly means a brake component.

Because стара agrees with гальмівна колодка.

The noun колодка is:

• feminine
• singular

So the adjective старий must change to its feminine singular form:

• masculine: старий
• feminine: стара
• neuter: старе
• plural: старі

So:

• гальмівна колодка стара = the brake pad is old

This is just normal adjective agreement.

In Ukrainian, the present-tense verb to be is usually omitted.

So English:

• The brake pad is old

often becomes simply:

• Гальмівна колодка стара

In this sentence:

• Гальмівна колодка настільки стара...

literally looks like:

• The brake pad so old...

but it naturally means:

• The brake pad is so old...

You can think of an invisible є in the background, but in normal Ukrainian it is usually not said here.

настільки ... що is a very common pattern meaning:

• so ... that
• to such an extent that

In this sentence:

• настільки стара, що... = so old that...

So the full idea is:

• The brake pad is so old that the brake does not work.

This pattern is useful in many sentences:

• Він настільки втомлений, що спить стоячи.
  He is so tired that he can sleep standing up.

• Було настільки холодно, що ми не вийшли.
  It was so cold that we didn’t go out.

Because що introduces a subordinate clause.

Main clause:

• Гальмівна колодка настільки стара

Subordinate clause:

• що гальмо не працює

In Ukrainian, clauses like this are normally separated by a comma.

So the comma is not optional here in standard writing.

They are related, but not the same.

• гальмо = brake
• гальмівна колодка = brake pad, which is one part of the brake system

So the sentence says:

• one component, the brake pad, is too old
• as a result, the brake does not work

This is similar to saying in English:

• The tire is so damaged that the car can’t drive properly.

The tire is not the whole car; it is a part that affects the whole system.

Ukrainian often uses the singular гальмо when talking about:

• a brake as a mechanism
• one brake
• the braking function of a device

English often prefers brakes in some contexts, especially for cars, but Ukrainian does not always match that habit.

So гальмо не працює is perfectly natural as:

• the brake doesn’t work

Depending on context, Ukrainian can also use the plural гальма, but the singular here is not strange.

Both main nouns here are in the nominative singular.

• гальмівна колодка = nominative singular
  It is the subject of the main clause.

• гальмо = nominative singular
  It is the subject of the subordinate clause.

So this sentence is actually fairly straightforward in terms of case: both nouns are just subjects.

працює is the 3rd person singular form of працювати = to work / to function.

Because the subject is singular:

• гальмо = brake

the verb must also be singular:

• гальмо не працює = the brake does not work

If the subject were plural, the verb would change:

• гальма не працюють = the brakes do not work

So this is standard subject-verb agreement.

The given word order is natural and neutral:

• Гальмівна колодка настільки стара, що гальмо не працює.

Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible, but changing it changes emphasis.

For example:

• Гальмо не працює, бо гальмівна колодка настільки стара.
  The brake doesn’t work because the brake pad is so old.

This is also natural, but the sentence now starts with the result rather than the cause.

What usually stays important is the connection:

• настільки ... що

That pattern should remain clear.

Ukrainian does not have articles.

So a noun like колодка can mean:

• a pad
• the pad

depending on context.

Likewise гальмо can mean:

• a brake
• the brake

In this sentence, English will usually translate it with the:

• The brake pad is so old that the brake doesn’t work.

But Ukrainian does not need separate words for a or the. Context does that job.