Thread: Whinge Warning

I know there are 2 different diameter boosters. Mine had the smaller/standard one, but pretty sure the army ones are the larger diameter - not sure if they were actually an improvement as I haven't driven one.

Rovercare used the defender booster and M/C with disc rear end on his 120/130 and that stopped well, but you need the defender pedal box too. That's as close to straight bolt on as you get.

My disc rear with D1 booster and M/C works REALLY nicely, but the D1 booster mounting bolts are slightly closer together so require "adjustment" of the holes in the pedal box face to fit. Working dimensions eg booster pushrod length and pivot location etc work nicely together.
Out of interest the later Defender pedal box for rear discs ('94 on??) doesn't work with D1 booster due to pivot/pushrod length differences.

Biggest issue with the drum braked Counties on our Cape York trip was the drum brakes going out of adjustment over corrugations. Even after they were adjusted up correctly they were crook again after only a few km's.

Steve

Originally Posted by land864

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I would do the turbo Steve except I don't think I will be getting much change out of $ 5000 for all the work being done

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It cost me less than $1500 to turbo mine.

Steve .Coz the old ones needed machining and for not much extra $ it was worth buying the drilled and slotteds apparently. You've never experienced brake fade until you get towed out of Wonnnagatta with no driveline and using only the brakes to slow down on all the steep bits Only managed to hit the tow vehicle in front once after pumping madly for 20 pumps on one occassion. Only then did we think it might be a good idea to belay mine from one behind as well

isuszr. Yep , I already have a Garrett turbo GT28? sitting on the shelf but this latest cash outlay to the Suzy has stretched the friendship a bit with the house finance manager so the turb will have to wait. That is $ 1500 I don't have currently

Originally Posted by land864

Steve .Coz the old ones needed machining and for not much extra $ it was worth buying the drilled and slotteds apparently. You've never experienced brake fade until you get towed out of Wonnnagatta with no driveline and using only the brakes to slow down on all the steep bits Only managed to hit the tow vehicle in front once after pumping madly for 20 pumps on one occassion. Only then did we think it might be a good idea to belay mine from one behind as well

isuszr. Yep , I already have a Garrett turbo GT28? sitting on the shelf but this latest cash outlay to the Suzy has stretched the friendship a bit with the house finance manager so the turb will have to wait. That is $ 1500 I don't have currently

hard arse here,

Did you run the engine up to get vacuum? Fade or not very effective braking? If it felt like you were bending the steering wheel when you held onto it while applying the foot brake it was probably your booster running out of vacuum. Fade would result from repeated hard braking.

Howdy HA

The engine was idling the whole time I was getting towed out and I gave the accelerator a tickle often. Not really fade but more like " Holy crap why has the pedal gone all the way to the floor"
That happens when the brake gets really hot.

Originally Posted by land864

Howdy HA

The engine was idling the whole time I was getting towed out and I gave the accelerator a tickle often. Not really fade but more like " Holy crap why has the pedal gone all the way to the floor"
That happens when the brake gets really hot.

That rules the vacuum answer out. Can't say I am familiar with fade, have smelt brake linings and felt the heat coming off the brakes but no pedal to the floor. By the livin' Gawd that made you, You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! To live and tell the tale.

Only time I've had proper fade was in a Dunnydoor auto towing an unbraked trailer down from Kangaroo Valley into Nowra. Was accompanied by smoke pouring out from the guards when we finally pulled up (and stains on the seats). Still had pedal height though, but little stopping no matter how hard I pushed on the pedal.
Pete, what you're describing sounds like what I imagine would happen with crappy old fluid thats full of moisture if it gets hot and boils. I honestly wouldn't have thought you'd be giving the brakes a hard enough time on a tow to make them fade, but happy to be educated if that's whats actually happened (and rather you than me on the end of the pedal!!).

I'd also be interested in your mechanic's opinion of whether a trackside fix could have been done to the center diff. If it was just the bolts coming out of the low range gear its not a big job to pull the output housing and tighten them up again.
Not questioning your decision to drop the shafts and tow out, but in hindsight with the braking issues etc it may be a better/safer option if someone else finds themself in a similar situation.

Steve

i would say it is long overdue for a fluid flush and change to a super dot 3 or dot 4. i have experienced total pedal loss in my 144S volvo pushing hard down some winding mountainous roads, trying out a targa stage....


jc