Hilux Brakes

[robboslux]

From what I understand you will never get the rear drums to lock up on a hilux if you read the previous posts on this topic you will see how to make sure the drum shoes are adjusted up properly. Depending on your setup your front discs should lock up though.

[mow44u]

Hi brake exprets (:

So spent a few hrs actualy several hrs and replaced brake fluid and adjusted up rear brakes and load valve thingy. I pull drums off clean it all down with brake cleaner etc etc. The pads are good an very little worn away from drum. Should i expect to be able to lock up all 4 wheals if i really stand on the brakes because at this point im only just getting fronts to lock a little. Ive blead it several times but pedal feals slightly spungy... Any sugestions? Thanks

Pedal feels slightly Spungy? Enjoy it while it lasts, thats the best pedal feel your going to get.... unless you start uprading things.

Best advice I can give is to regularly adjust the back brakes to make sure they are working.

When adjusting the back brakes. make sure you loosen off your handbrake cable (Top side of the base of the handbrake lever 10mm Deep ) Then tighten it back up once you adjust the drums.

[pzat@bigpond.net.au]

Hi guys,
Did a total brake recon on the week end - replaced the flexible lines with superior eng stainless braided, new front pads and slotted rotors, rear drums, brake shoes and wheel cylinders - full brake fluid flush - I think the best way to adjust the rear brakes is this
1 - reverse at about 20 klm and brake sharply - this moves the auto adjuster below the ratchet catch
2 - drive forward at 20 klm and brake sharply - this moves the auto adjuster up - contacts the ratche catch and adjusts the brakes
3 - repeat 3 times twice per month
My lux weight in at 3 tonne with tool boxes and brakes like a dream

[axeten]

You shouldnt have to brake sharply.
I re-did all mine and cleaned up and anti-seized all the threads. It self adjusts in reverse at slow speed.

Forwards and braking wont matter. This will occur in everyday driving.

Your best to use a small screwdriver after changing the drums/shoes to adjust the gear a few clicks. Then loosely fit the drum and rotate, adjust more and so on until there is a very slight drag feeling on the drum.

[flat out off road]

When we go racing we have found that the hilux brakes when used hard get out of adjustment quite quickly. It takes 120km for the rear brakes to wear bad enough that they are no longer useful (hand brake wont work at this point either) the fronts then have to work harder. We are seeing front brakes worn within 800kms and needing to be replaced, rear shoes about the same. We have just changed to braided lines and this has improved brake pedal feel. We have tried slotted vs standard, it doesnt seem to stop any better, but slotted doesnt get as hot (they still glow red hot) and holds its performance longer. For next year the rules have been changed for our class and we are looking at setting up toyota landcruiser 80 series brakes front and rear (removing drum) this should allow proper biasing of the brakes and even wear which will hopefully allow the brakes to last a little longer.

I strongly suggest keeping on top of rear brake adjustments, once the rears are gone the bias shifts to the front and you will find excessive wear on the front pads or in race mode as we just have get them so hot you warp the disks

[axeten]

May be worth jumping to Ceramic brakes if you wear them out that quick.
Sound like you've definitely got enough heat to run ceramics.

Check out "Endless Brakes". I run these (non ceramic) in an on road car and they were great. For the extra price they will well outlast standard or landcruiser brakes.

[flat out off road]

There is a new rule coming in for next year and hopefully we can alleviate our problems by running better disk setup all round

[bilko]

Hi guys,
Been a long time since I've been on here, but thought I'd add some info I recieved from a local 4x4 shop who does tech articles for magazines. He advised if not towing or carting heavy loads I wouldn't see the benefit of slotted rotors. He said the biggest gains I could achieve is throught changing to braided brake hoses to keep the pressure to the brakes, rather than the rubber lines swelling creating a loss. I'm told the brakes will feel 20%better. This with all the adjustment and component choices could make excellent braking gains. eBay has braid kits for about $200.

One other tip I have heard is, where cars run a common brake/clutch reservoir, make sure you bleed both to get optimal results. He said after his car gets serviced he does both and always finds residual bubbles. I haven't tried it, so can't vouch for it yet.

Thanks for the tips. I'll clean mine, adjust and bleed today.

[jackolux]

Tell ya what bilko , you try some braided line and let us know

Im not saying it wont help the braking but how did he come up with " 20%better." feel , measured the braking force or gut feeling

[Jack S]

20% is quite a big increase! I would like to know how he come up with this figure and if he actually measured this or weather it was a guess. And having braided lines myself from ultimate suspension, I'll tell you honestly now there was f all improvement except for pedal feel...

[bilko]

ok guys. Let me stop u there before you further change the context of my post. As I wrote I was told they would "feel 20% better", not "stop" 20% better or "give" 20% better braking. There is no data here. The point is that it is another method to better what we have as standard.

Let me guess-The ultimate braided lines came with a lift/suspension package, which are known to decrease braking performance? If you notice a slight gain in braking, even f all, but something after a lift, that's a plus. (assuming the reason for the the lines)

Pedal feel is a great sign. Simple hydraulic dynamics would proove that if it's better at the application point, the working point will recieve a measured increase. Note I didn't say output as it depends on functional capacity.

Was the pedal feel measured by any chance? sorry had to add the humor back in it.

[jackolux]

That's ok Bilko you can stop Rolling ya eyes , its just some of the % figures claimed for all kinds of mods are usually just plucked out of the air

Like I said why don't you give the braided lines a try and report back

I have changed to slotted rotors , u-bute front pads new rear shoes and changed the fluid ,
I don't tow anything but are over GVM , it doesn't stop any better .

[bogged tom]

I haven't done a hard brake test on my lux yet but from working on many different cars i found the pedal feel acceptable, my wife says it's spongy but she is used to a Subaru Imprezza.
I did find the handbrake to be very weak it barely holds on my driveway (with 29" tyres) which is steep but every other car sits there ok. I removed the lip from the drums and adjusted them up which brought the handbrake handle down but the pedal feel remains the same.
This makes me question how good the drums really are, i've had 5 minis all with 4 wheel drums, which require regular adjustment (2500ks) to maintain a high pedal, poorly adjusted the pedal gets lower but the brakes are still as strong, it will still brake evenly, even if it is only 1 corner that is out of adjustment.

Just a thought, are the shoes leading/trailing or all the same? If they're all the same then some improvement could be had by cutting/grinding off the leading edge of each shoe to get the self energizing effect older drums have.

Now a little lesson on hydraulics that i think might help
Rubber brake hoses balloon slightly, but if theres 100psi at one end, theres 100psi at the other end, so if one end is attached to a hydraulic cylinder it is getting the pressure supplied, though the master hydraulic cylinder might move slightly more to allow for the balloning volume, there is no pressure lost so the working end will work as desired.
Braided hoses will not balloon and so will make the master cylinder move less distance even though the same pedal force is required.
So better pedal, same brakes.

[dossy92]

i have to agree with a few of the members who have said that slotted rotors help. iv recently placed slotted/vented rotors with some bendix hd pads ( designed for heavy towing, i will go with the 4x4 pads next time though) on top of that i also adjust the rear shoes. i think i paid 200 for the rotors and 80ish for the pads so its not to bad considering i needed to get new rotors anyway
its sad when in the day and age of new and better you still have to adjust the breaks even though they should be self adjusting.

[fully loaded]

Hi guys I have a problem.I run 17 inch steel wheels 265, 70 on my 2012 SR 5 speed when the brakes heat up they start to make noise when i hit the brakes [squeal] but with the stock wheels there is no squeal the car has only 20,000km on it also I have very bad breaks won't stop when cold I will try adjusting the drums see how I go.
Thanks in advance the car has a 2inch ultimate kit with 400kg constant leafs aswell and carrys alot of loads.

[fully loaded]

And thaks for the thread I learned alot.

[TTR]

Just my opinion and experience, but I have a 3 to 4 inch lift in the back of my lux and 3 inch REKON lift in the front. I added a 3 inch peice to the load adjuster rod and also wound it up a few turns... I wound it up a little far the first test drive. The pedal felt great and if I braked with more than just toe pressure I would get the ABS pulse thru the pedal. Truck stopped like a champion ! I wound the load sensor down 3 turns and test drove. It now has great pedal, can stand on the brakes and it nearly puts me thru the windscreen without locking up.

I do believe that the brake set up from standard is not adjusted properly. You will only get brake pedal feel from the back brakes. I am only running standard SR brakes, no braided hoses or slotted rotors etc. Full OEM set up and I have the truck stopping great with 32 inch muddies.

[dossy92]

Hi guys I have a problem.I run 17 inch steel wheels 265, 70 on my 2012 SR 5 speed when the brakes heat up they start to make noise when i hit the brakes [squeal] but with the stock wheels there is no squeal the car has only 20,000km on it also I have very bad breaks won't stop when cold I will try adjusting the drums see how I go.
Thanks in advance the car has a 2inch ultimate kit with 400kg constant leafs aswell and carrys alot of loads.

the brake pads/shoes you have could be a harder compound. in general the harder the compound the longer they take to warm up and the worse they brake untill they are warm i had this problem due to the owner before me had very hard compounds on so it took for ever to pull up, if you head into a local automotive retailer ( super cheap auto repco ect ect) and find someone who knows their stuff then they can explain it all to you.

[Muldz]

anyone know the average life of the front brake pads?

[themadtractor]

I personaly have had no problem with auto adjusting my rear drum breaks on my 2001 lux.

I just put the hand break on, i use low range and reverse you should be able to feel it load up on the breaks and hear a few clicks if adjustment is required. worked every time for me.