Thread: Are my brakes inadequate...

pump the breaks 5 or 6 times that should exhaust the vac reserve and give you a firm pedal.

if thats all good then the master cylinder is ok providing that the pedal dosent sink

now start the car the pedal should sink to about the 3/4 of max travel position

if that happens then the vac application is good

shut the engine down

you should be able to apply the brakes at least twice with the vacume reserve which you will here letting go

as i posted in another thread, try that lot first

then inspect the pads for glazing and since you have to pull them out to do that rub them down on a flat wet piece of smooth concrete (those 2x2 foot paving slabs are perftect) to remove any glazing and then put a small chamfer on the leading edge of each pad.

see what that reveals and get back to us...

Dave has given a good explanation as to how to test the brakes. The oversize tires will have an adverse effect on braking, but should not be all that much. My guess is that you have either a sick vacuum system (if you are using manifold vacuum excessive idling speed will reduce the vacuum available or there may be a kinked hose fro example) or a small vacuum leak.

Those brakes do quite a good job of pulling up a fully loaded 110, so they should do OK with the 90.

John

Thanks, will give this a try over the long weekend (in WA ) and get back to you.

Cheers

I just replaced my fronts with slotted ... with new pads .. messy pads but I can lock her up no problem .. she is still heavy, you need to count for that.. but them new pads and disks made a hell ofa difference ...

I had warped disks, and hated driving the 110... had to fix the friggen thing.

Bojan,
What year is the vehicle, as the Defenders came with drum rear brakes for a while. If the rear has been converted from drum to disc without doing anything about the master cylinder, it could make the brakes a bit stiffer. I'm running 255/85x16 on my 90 with the drum rear brakes, and I have no problems with pulling it up.

Originally Posted by cmurray

Bojan,
What year is the vehicle, as the Defenders came with drum rear brakes for a while. If the rear has been converted from drum to disc without doing anything about the master cylinder, it could make the brakes a bit stiffer. I'm running 255/85x16 on my 90 with the drum rear brakes, and I have no problems with pulling it up.

That's a great point, I think it's somewhere between '85 and '89. It was likely to have come with drums at the back. How could I check this?

Im pretty sure that at that age it would have had drums on the back...

Originally Posted by Offender90

That's a great point, I think it's somewhere between '85 and '89. It was likely to have come with drums at the back. How could I check this?

If before 1989, for a start, it is not a Defender, and could not have had a 200 Tdi, as they were not introduced until 1989. But V8s were fitted from new, although I am not sure about the 90, as they were not sold in Australia until well after then. The Defender name was only introduced in 1989 to distinguish what were simply called Landrovers from Landrover Discovery.

And rear discs were only introduced in, I think, 1991.

Somewhere, and I am sure someone else can give the URL, there is a website that you can put in your VIN and it will give the original configuration of your vehicle.

John