TD5 Defender. Bad breaking

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
P38_Ireland

P38_Ireland

Well-Known Member
Posts
1,392
Location
Co Wexford, Ireland
Hi Lads,

Just bought a new defender. I will be doing a bit of towing in a few weeks and when i was braking the other day all was fine until i braked suddenly and it didnt brake as quickly as it should have, this got me a little worried so i had a spare set of mintex pads so whipped out the old ones which looked to have about 75% material sill on them. but i did notice that the pistons on both sides closest to the engine were fairly corroded, having had a Porsche S2 with terrible breaking before i had the same problem and changed the whole system which cured the problem. So i changed the pads on the defender just to be sure and the breaking is still the same. in an emergency braking situation i could be in trouble. So it looks like i need new calipers (which i dont mind cos i can do it myself)

Question is which caliper do i go for? I see Britpart ones there for maybe £34, each side then i see Lockheed for £90 each side. Is there any other brands i should be considering? i think i'll give the britpart ones a miss and go for the Lockheed but just want to get feedback,

Also i saw terrafirma braided lines for £25 and thought it would be no harm to put them in too.

any thought would be appreciated. thanks
 
Have you tried doing a brake bleed yet? Firing a new bottle of fluid through the system does wonders.
 
Yes, refurbishing the callipers isn't too bad a job. If the internal bores and the grooves the seals sit in are in good condition it's probably a better option. In my experience seals can vary quite a bit in quality and manufacturing tolerance so it's worth checking that they're OEM/genuine. I had some cheap ones that looked like bits of radiator hose sliced up with a Stanley knife. Needless to say I didn't fit them but ordered some proper ones instead.
 
The ones I got were Allmakes, or some such, I believe. Not OEM, but no complaints on the quality. Took some elbow grease and compressed air to get the old pistons out, but once they were out, replacing them wasn't difficult. For less than £60 (including fluid) the front brakes now work as they should.
 
I thought about a new refurb kit. But the inner sides of the calipers are fairly coroded. I noticed the brand thats on them is lockheed, a new lockheed caliper is only £80 all in. I think ill bite the bullet and replace them and put in terrafirm brake lines. I own a food truck and will be towing over the summer. Dont want any chance for error and having to loose s day or so down the road to do it all again
 
Your car, your choice. Corrosion on a lump of metal that size usually isn't a problem. A wire brush will make an easy job of it (and paint them if you want). If you're changing the callipers, at least sell the old ones on eBay or something. They're still 100% serviceable. Mine are Lockheed too, btw.
 
When i say there is corrosion i mean around the seals. I tried to save a set in an old porsche and to be honest all i did was throw good money after bad. Because the corrosion is unser the seals it will never clean up or will new seals fit correctly. For the sake £50 a side in the difference plus labour i think its a bit of a no brainer
 
If there is no fluid getting past the seals and the brakes are not binding then replacing the units will not do much except necessitate a fluid change. Try bleeding the brakes first. Fresh fluid through the entire system, not just a few pumps to get rid of air. Its cheap and Im willing to bet the difference it will make is massive. If it doesn't solve the problem you can always go and put new equipment on.

If you're going to replace the units due to corrosion then I'd rebuild the current callipers with stainless pistons. Im in the same position with my 110. I had to fight to retract the Pistons when I did a pad change. The next pad change will require new discs and I'm going to overhaul my existing callipers.

I'm yet to do a defender set but have done it a million times with others and its a piece of ****.

Cetane
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

landrovereditor
Fitting Britpart Cellular Dynamic Shocks
Replies
6
Views
300
landrovereditor
landrovereditor
T
Defender 90 Rear Shock Fitting issue
Replies
3
Views
289
Anaconda
A
D90 Td5
Aftermarket Hubs
Replies
3
Views
601
D90 Td5
D90 Td5
L
Defender Td5 110 2002
Replies
1
Views
347
Scooby22
Scooby22
D
Diff switch
Replies
2
Views
412
donsdilema
D
Back
Top