Hand brake on rear axle discs rather than transfer case?

george man · May 13, 2021

Hi all,
has anyone come across a defender with handbrake going to the rear axle discs rather than the transfer case?
On my old defender i replaced the axle drum with an x eng disc conversion which prevented the issue of the drum filling with mud and sticking on, but i've always wondered if it's possible to add a second caliper to the rear brakes so when you put on the hand brake you don't get the trademark lurch forward! Would remove the element of suspense on steep hills and i can't help thinking it would put less strain on the propshafts!

tottot · May 13, 2021

I don't think you need worry about strain on prop and half shafts unless you are daft enough to yank the hand brake on while moving.
Now I have seen hand brake on the wheel done for 4x4 trials where hey are used to skid assist steer the vehicle. These are usually hydraulic and would not be legal for road use.
Fitting a second calliper bracket to the axle casing would open its own can of worms.
Replacement callipers with built in hand brake may be the way to go but getting the right level of brake performance [ same as original design] and meeting the spec of vehicle regulators another problem.

Hicap phill · May 13, 2021

I have used twin callipers on non road going motors.
Problems are for a road handbrake you need a cable so unless you can source this it’s a pain.
I used 2 RRClassic small callipers & modified a clutch master cylinder to operate.

for the slight advantage I would run the Xeng hand brake. These are tried & tested

Also regarding strain on a prop shaft,imagine breaking a 1/2 shaft this would leave you with only 1 wheel as a brake

kevstar · May 13, 2021

Hicap phill said:
I have used twin callipers on non road going motors.
Problems are for a road handbrake you need a cable so unless you can source this it’s a pain.
I used 2 RRClassic small callipers & modified a clutch master cylinder to operate.

for the slight advantage I would run the Xeng hand brake. These are tried & tested

Also regarding strain on a prop shaft,imagine breaking a 1/2 shaft this would leave you with only 1 wheel as a brake

100% agree with matey I have X eng hand brakes on mine tried n tested

tottot · May 14, 2021

With a transmission hand brake of any sort, a broken half shaft results in no hand brake at all

unless you put in diff lock.

lynall · May 14, 2021

Mnay Vag motors have elecric handbrakes, the motors themselves are built into the callpers, and whilst they are ecu controlled on the car they can be powered on and off with a bit of two core.
Vids on youtube.

Hand brake on rear axle discs rather than transfer case?

george man

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tottot

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Hicap phill

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kevstar

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tottot

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lynall

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