90 brake upgrade???

Does anyone know of an effective braking system upgrade for a defender 90. I have a 3.9efi, goes well but stops not so well, the brakes work but you have to stand on the pedal. It is fitted with standard disc's all round and braded hoses. Have thought about bigger vented discs, bigger calipers, would a disco servo make any difference? Does anyone have any experience on this subject?

A servo would reduce the pedal effort required.

How old is the master cylinder? It maybe not as effective as a new one.

What brake pads are you using. EDC pads are much better than many pattern parts.

i have disco axles all round with discs, my brakes are excellent - will out stop almost any average car. The MOT tester was surprised at how much braking power mine creates, thats with standard discs, standard calipers, braided hoses and good fluid bled properly. Check your vacuum pump is sucking properly, and re bleed the system. Ive jus got some BARGAIN EBC pads to go on mine, 99p! Gotta love ebay. Ill let you know how good they are.

boydy1989 said:

Check your vacuum pump is sucking properly

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He's got a V8

the man makes a good point

check your vacuum PIPE is good, and make sure that you are getting some suction on it...

Although taking it off with the engine running will probably make the engine stop, or panic.

i dont think there is anything wrong with the brakes, i just want to upgrade them to make them better. The brakes on my disco are far better than the 90, the disco has a bigger (looks like double) servo, maybe this will easily fit the 90??

chappers90V8 said:

i dont think there is anything wrong with the brakes, i just want to upgrade them to make them better. The brakes on my disco are far better than the 90, the disco has a bigger (looks like double) servo, maybe this will easily fit the 90??

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Changing your servo will not make your brakes any better.

Just as removing your servo wont make them any worse.

The servo just allows your right leg to be more feeble.

Are all your callipers working properly, all pistons sliding in and out freely, sometimes just a good brake clean can work wonders.

If a piston sticks during breaking it can cause the calliper to flex as there is only force being applied from one side, or on a 4 pot it can cause it to flex diagonally, the movement that goes into the flexing wastes hydraulic pressure and can make the brakes perform poorly.

I would go round each calliper, take the pads out, clean everything up, push the pistons home, make sure the pistons are not all rusted up. If you find a jammed one, get some pieces of metal, put the pad in the opposite side, and the metal into the other side to stop the pistons pushing right out and stomp on the brake pedal, you will get a crack as the piston come out, clean up the edge with a toothbrush and some brake fluid and then push it home. If it’s all rusted up you will probably not get it to push home, and forcing it may cause the seal to screw up and start to leak. If you find this I would leave it be and think about A: new pistons and seals, or B: replacing the callipers, remember to do these things in pairs, if you reseal/re-calliper the front NS, you ought to do the OS too.

See what difference that makes, you may be pleasantly surprised.