Defender 90 brakes...

I recently had my 90 serviced and the pads where replaced with non standard land rover pads. Since then I have had several experiences of brake fade, which has been pretty scary, and the engine has been uprated! Anyway, does anyone know the best pads that I can get for my 90. It has disks all round. I don't think it is a good idea putting vented/drilled disks in because of the offroading clogging them up.

"Roy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I recently had my 90 serviced and the pads where replaced with non
> standard land rover pads. Since then I have had several experiences of
> brake fade, which has been pretty scary, and the engine has been
> uprated! Anyway, does anyone know the best pads that I can get for my
> 90. It has disks all round. I don't think it is a good idea putting
> vented/drilled disks in because of the offroading clogging them up.
>


Roy,
Its probably time to change your brake fluid for starters. If you're getting
a burning smell when braking hard then you're overheating the pads -
probably want to find some harder compound ones. Most likely cause of the
fade though is crap old brake fluid full of moisture, which is boiling.
Don't see why vented discs shold cause a problem offroad. As soon as you're
back up to speed on a normal road any muck will soon be thrown out from
inside. Wouldn't use drilled as the mud could collect and act like a
grinding paste.

Andy

normally the 90 brakes are never a problem .
brake shoes have gotten to be none too clever these days with the advent of no
asbestos in them .

you shouldnt really have any trouble with most brake shoes , ie mintex std or
the county brand .

most 90s hardly wear the pads down , they will almost last for years .

you say youre engine is uprated , do you have a v-8 petrol engine or a diesel
, if its petrol you need to check the engine vacuum reading as it may have a
lot less vacuum now to run the brake servo and you may be suffering in that
respect.

this is allways an issue when fitting performance camshafts .

to help aleviate this add a vacuum assist tank in the hose to the servo , you
can get these from SUMMIT RACING in the usa , or try something else of a
similar nature .

if you have a diesel , is it a vacuum pump used for braking , if so check the
pump and hoses connecting between pump and servo .

if you are constantly braking hard , and moreover you keep whacking the brakes
on when you think they are fading , then you will heat up the calipers and thus
the brake fluid, this will , if you carry on braking hard cause the brake fluid
to boil and youll get air bubbles in the brake lines leaving the brakes
inoperable .

range rovers are allways hard on front brake pads but i find 90s are completely
the opposite .

"Roy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I recently had my 90 serviced and the pads where replaced with non
> standard land rover pads. Since then I have had several experiences of
> brake fade, which has been pretty scary, and the engine has been
> uprated! Anyway, does anyone know the best pads that I can get for my
> 90. It has disks all round. I don't think it is a good idea putting
> vented/drilled disks in because of the offroading clogging them up.
>
>
> --
> Roy
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Roy's Profile: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/member.php?userid=1
> View this thread: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/showthread.php?t=17679
>

Sounds like dodgy pads to be fair but it rather depends on how uprated your
engine is and how you use your brakes.
If it is a genuine heat issue then vented discs will be a great
improvement and will be absolutely fine offroad. Crossdrilled will not help
with the cooling as such but will keep your pads clean won't present
problems offroad - in fact the holes are somewhere for the water / mud to go
so you even get to have brakes that work when they are covered in crap!

Have a look at the brakes page of my website www.llama4x4.co.uk This
features EBC SUV pads that will cope to temps far higher than a 'normal' pad
and so again may help your problem.

Try changing how you brake rather like when you are driving in mountains.
Resist the temptation to control you speed with the brakes, use the engine /
gears to control your speed and only use the brakes to slow / stop. Press
them hard and then let them off giving them time to cool between
applications.
To sit with your foot on the brake for long periods rather than a bloody
good slowdown and then release will build up the heat as there is no cooling
time....

Hope this helps a little.....

David
LLAMA 4x4

In article <[email protected]>, EMB wrote:
> There may be several grades of Remsa pad available, even the cheapest
> will be ok - the minimum they will make for a given model is OE
> equivalent (within 5% of temp and performance specs). The pads come
> pre-scorched so they need very little bedding in.
>

Pre-scorched??

Is that some sort of heat treatment?

I thought that the bedding in process with brakes was the pad wearing to
match the surface of the disc exactly, so maximising contact area between
pad and disc.

Is that wrong?


--
simon at sbarr dot demon dot co dot uk
Simon Barr.
'97 110 300Tdi.

Simon Barr wrote:

> Pre-scorched??
>
> Is that some sort of heat treatment?

Yep, grilled to medium-rare in a furnace so that the friction material
is fully cured.
>
> I thought that the bedding in process with brakes was the pad wearing to
> match the surface of the disc exactly, so maximising contact area between
> pad and disc.
>
> Is that wrong?

Bedding in is about getting some heat into the pads and finishing the
"curing" process of the friction material. Bed in too aggressively and
you'll cook the pads and have poor braking, bed in too little and either
the pads will be soft and wear rapdily, or the first time you're hard on
the brakes you'll cook them and lose a lot of braking efficiency on a
permanent basis. If your discs aren't flat on the braking surface get
them skimmed or replace them - you shouldn't need to wear the pads to shape.

--
EMB
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