Thread: Defender Calipers + Rangie

Ah, there you go. I knew there would be some little annoying detail. Is it possible to just make a thin sleeve for the bolts? Are the centres the same for both types of calipers? I actually have an '83 V8 County I'm going to wreck and I could probably just use the entire front axle but the whole thing would need a rebuild and that's a tad too much work at the moment.

Nice build thread, by the way, Grimace. I need an office job so I'll have the time to read all these things.

There is no need to sleeve any bolts. All bolt holes are clearance, the load is taken by friction and the bolts are there to provide the clamp load.

All true for most applications of course, but did you read the link Grimace put up? It sounds like Skiboy did it all correctly and they still came loose. I think brake parts tend to be a bit different as they have such large forces on them.

Originally Posted by Davo

All true for most applications of course, but did you read the link Grimace put up? It sounds like Skiboy did it all correctly and they still came loose. I think brake parts tend to be a bit different as they have such large forces on them.

I actually lost a bolt in one of mine. Not because of clearance but because I didn't torque it up properly. I put a torque wrench on it, tightened them evenly and it gave no more problems.

The early bolts are imperial, later are metric.

Next time you're in a steel framed building, think that every bolt that holds it together has at least 2mm clearance.

Now I'm a little confused, doesn't the '83 rangie have dual pipework to the front while the Defender has single pipework.

On my '85 Rangie we went the simple route and fitted the callipers and ventilated rotors off a '92 Rangie. There was a noticable improvement in the braking and no need to change the plumbing.

Diana

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

Now I'm a little confused, doesn't the '83 rangie have dual pipework to the front while the Defender has single pipework.

On my '85 Rangie we went the simple route and fitted the callipers and ventilated rotors off a '92 Rangie. There was a noticable improvement in the braking and no need to change the plumbing.

Diana

Yes the rangies have dual pipes. It's only a re-plumbing exercise to revert them to the front/back split that every other car in the world uses. The problem with the dual circuits to the front brakes from a safety perspective is losing one corner (burst rotor or sever both lines) and all brakes are lost.

The 92 rangies have the same 41.3mm pistons as the 83 and 85's. The only thing you gain with vented rotors is heat shedding ability. Raw stopping force is the same.

Originally Posted by Dougal

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

There was a noticable improvement in the braking and no need to change the plumbing.

Yes the rangies have dual pipes. It's only a re-plumbing exercise to revert them to the front/back split that every other car in the world uses. The problem with the dual circuits to the front brakes from a safety perspective is losing one corner (burst rotor or sever both lines) and all brakes are lost.

The 92 rangies have the same 41.3mm pistons as the 83 and 85's. The only thing you gain with vented rotors is heat shedding ability. Raw stopping force is the same.

Hi Dougal

Understand what you're saying about the piston size, but being able to shed heat leads to improved braking efficiency. Or that's what I experienced.

My hybrid has dual pipes going to the front callipers. It is a '81 RRC chassis which originally had a dual circuit system. At some point they join as the master cylinder is a single circuit system from a '81 SIII Stage 1.

Is that of any help?