The perennial brake problems

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Paxmanmerv

Paxmanmerv

Active Member
Posts
166
Location
Bredon Hill.
Afternoon all!
Guess this has been asked many times before but cant find any of them.
Series 3 SWB, Brakes have never been much good & seem to need a refurb pretty much annually. Is it possible to fit disc brakes to the S3 axles? Has anyone done it? Can standard Defender parts be used? Is it worth doing?
Many thanks one & all!
 
The brakes you have should work well though, until you drive through water, then they need to dry out a bit.
They shouldn't need an annual overhaul either though sums do need periodic adjustment
 
kermit_rr said:
The brakes you have should work well though, until you drive through water, then they need to dry out a bit.
They shouldn't need an annual overhaul either though sums do need periodic adjustment
Click to expand...
These are dire... Never know which way your going to end up heading when the brakes are applied. Also found that the brakes bite/bind when reversing even without touching the pedal. Springs in the cylinders to strong & holding the trailing shoe on the drum? ready to try anything at the mo..
 
That's definitely not right. Do you have the workshop manual/haynes etc?
There should be 2 external springs to hold each shoe away from the drum
It can help to file off the leading/trailing edges to stop the sudden bite
Do the pistons push back by hand? When did you last change the fluid?
 
Thanks for that, both springs are on there (top one on leading shoe & bottom one between both shoes. Have chamfered the leading & trailing edges, pistons are free & move by hand easy enough. No dirt, dust or oil contamination that might cause grabbing. Changed fluid a couple of years ago but for what it costs, may aswell do it again. Got several online manuals & a REME EMER covering these. Got me really stumped..
 
Re. The fluid.. it absorbs water and eventually there's enough to start corroding internals and cause binding

Re. the adjusters it's really important to get left and right the same or it will tend to pull as one brake applies first
 
Feels like the spring in the Cylinder is overpowering the lower return spring. About to strip the cyls & see if there's anything untoward there. Steering & suspension is pretty much uptogether as all renewed 12Months ago.
 
Paxmanmerv said:
Feels like the spring in the Cylinder is overpowering the lower return spring. About to strip the cyls & see if there's anything untoward there. Steering & suspension is pretty much uptogether as all renewed 12Months ago.
Click to expand...
Yeah, they do that on all the 10" drums to a point.
Not a problem in practice, you'll just find the brakes binding slightly when you're stationary and facing up a slight incline.
You'll also feel it if you jack up the vehicle and try to turn a wheel backwards.
Not a problem in practice, (unless you drive everywhere in reverse), and doesn't cause premature shoe wear.
The design of the 109 rears is better IMHO
 
kermit_rr said:
Re. the adjusters it's really important to get left and right the same or it will tend to pull as one brake applies first
Click to expand...
Agree the adjusters need to properly set for a decent braking effort, but...

The hydraulic pressure in the brake lines is felt equally throughout the whole system. If one shoe isn't adjusted up to the drum, that gap will be closed before any braking action is made on the opposite side.

Newer vehicles with independent brake lines, yes, for a single or twin line series, no.
 
I used to fine tune each axle separately. I would clamp the rear brake line, go for a drive and get the fronts working well. Then clamp the fronts and get the rear working well. This also helps to diagnose where a problem is, worked for me.
Replaced the aftermarket snail cams with good 2nd hand backing plates, file any grooves down where the shoes fit.
 
One bit of advice I can offer.
If you're replacing the collars on the stub axles (the ones that the hub oil seals run on)
DON'T fit the Britpart/Allmakes items.
They are made from poor quality
mild steel and are soft as ****e.
The surface might look smooth and shiny, but it will soon rip the sealing lips of your new hub seals to shreds.
Find genuine LR items (hardened and surface ground)
There's also some stainless steel (pattern) ones been made, not sure about them.
 
Now this is interesting.. Just got a pair of front wheel cyls for another Ser3 from a different place & they are about 1/4" shorter body length than the ones fitted to this car. I guess this would mean that there would be less pressure on the trailing shoe as the spring in the cyl is extended further.
 
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