Andra · Feb 13, 2019

Hi I got a 90 going to fit 200tdi all good finishing house extension first before working on 90 . I would like to know are the drum brakes real bad? I never driven a 90 with drum brakes so I dont know. I will be using it for pulling trailers and shooting. I could get an axel but is it necessary?

Thanks Andy any advice most welcome

Turboman · Feb 13, 2019

Andra said:
Hi I got a 90 going to fit 200tdi all good finishing house extension first before working on 90 . I would like to know are the drum brakes real bad? I never driven a 90 with drum brakes so I dont know. I will be using it for pulling trailers and shooting. I could get an axel but is it necessary?

Thanks Andy any advice most welcome

Pretty much same as discs if properly set up and adjusted.

The back brakes don't do all that much in any case.

Andra · Feb 13, 2019

I thought that but I thought I should ask guy with knowledge of the brakes ect. That's how we learn

Thanks andy

Rougharse Racing · Feb 13, 2019

My 110 has drums on the back, I would say that the only real advantage of fitting discs, at the rear is that they are easier to maintain and they self-adjust.
I wouldn't go out of my way to fit discs unless I had a spare axle sitting around doing nothing, as Turboman said, the rear brakes don't do a lot of work.

Andra · Feb 13, 2019

Thanks I kinda knew that from other car ect but it's better to ask if you dont know so thanks oh i should have asked vented brakes or just fit that green stuff pads on the front

tottot · Feb 13, 2019

If you want to upgrade a pre defender 90's brakes you can fit the larger 110 front calipers that became standard on all models when the TDI engine came in.Bolt on job.

Gmacz · Feb 13, 2019

Modern cars have discs all round, reason is they are better. My 90 has discs all round and brakes are excellent, better than drums, probably the best upgrade. My 90 has a 200tdi now as well.

payydg · Feb 13, 2019

Just keep it standard and focus on the maintainance.

mick the builder · Feb 13, 2019

Standard brakes are more than adequate if maintained properly.

frog hopper · Feb 14, 2019

Standard defender brakes should be good enough to actuate the over-run brakes on heavy trailers, light trailers are no problem anyway.

Think about what your towing.

nobber · Feb 14, 2019

Gmacz said:
Modern cars have discs all round, reason is they are better. My 90 has discs all round and brakes are excellent, better than drums, probably the best upgrade. My 90 has a 200tdi now as well.

Modern cars have discs because modern cars has ESP, ABS etc and it is more reliable and easier for these systems to have discs. However, some modern cars still run drums on the back (modern for me being anything ten years old ish, cos Im proper old) and seem to do OK.

I wouldn't go messing with brakes if I wasn't sure what I am doing, its not a question of simply fitting bigger, stronger brakes as one would first assume, its more involved than that. Having a brake test roller like in MOT stations is a must in order to get the balance correct between back and front, we had a kit car in today, brakes were all over the place, drums on the back, we couldn't have set them up correctly had we not have had rollers to test the braking efficiency of each wheel.

Turboman · Feb 14, 2019

Gmacz said:
Modern cars have discs all round, reason is they are better. My 90 has discs all round and brakes are excellent, better than drums, probably the best upgrade. My 90 has a 200tdi now as well.

Modern cars have discs because they are cheaper to make and fit in a factory, and if the company is making or buying in brakes, they might as well use the same brakes on everything. Motor manufacturing is all about cost.

Disc and drum brakes both have advantages and disadvantage. Interestingly, heavy vehicles, like trucks and tractors, rarely use discs.

Oldseadog · Feb 14, 2019

Turboman said:
Modern cars have discs because they are cheaper to make and fit in a factory, and if the company is making or buying in brakes, they might as well use the same brakes on everything. Motor manufacturing is all about cost.

Disc and drum brakes both have advantages and disadvantage. Interestingly, heavy vehicle, like trucks and tractors rarely use discs.

^^^ +1 for what @Turboman said
Never seen vacuum-operated disc brakes on anything, have you?

Rougharse Racing · Feb 14, 2019

The rear brakes have a pressure limiting valve to prevent the back end locking up under heavy braking. Rear brakes locking up will cause the arse end to try and overtake the front end, which is a very bad thing.
It seems a little pointless upgrading the performance of rear brakes when there is a valve fitted specifically to reduce / limit their efficiency.
If I had the choice of discs or drums on the rear, I would go for discs only because they are easier to maintain.

flat · Feb 14, 2019

tottot said:
If you want to upgrade a pre defender 90's brakes you can fit the larger 110 front calipers that became standard on all models when the TDI engine came in.Bolt on job.

This is exactly what I did. Changed the master cylinder as well for the later one with a bigger stroke.

You also need to change the rigid pipes from the flexis in the wheel arch to the calliper as the larger callipers are a different shape.

Makes a big difference to the stopping power, like noticeable difference

nobber · Feb 15, 2019

Rougharse Racing said:
The rear brakes have a pressure limiting valve to prevent the back end locking up under heavy braking. Rear brakes locking up will cause the arse end to try and overtake the front end, which is a very bad thing.
It seems a little pointless upgrading the performance of rear brakes when there is a valve fitted specifically to reduce / limit their efficiency.
If I had the choice of discs or drums on the rear, I would go for discs only because they are easier to maintain.

That valve is nothing more than a steel ball and a spring, it's set up the work in the system its designed for , not all braking systems have a balance valve. Defenders (none abs) however do and the valves for disc and drum are different.

Colthebrummie · Feb 15, 2019

When I bought my series 3, 109 station wagon, the brakes were appalling. It had a full mot but God knows how. I put new shoes and adjusters on it and the brakes were transformed. I can lock the wheels up no problem. I wouldn't consider converting to disks unless it was for competition purposes.

Col

Turboman · Feb 15, 2019

Rougharse Racing said:
The rear brakes have a pressure limiting valve to prevent the back end locking up under heavy braking. Rear brakes locking up will cause the arse end to try and overtake the front end, which is a very bad thing.
It seems a little pointless upgrading the performance of rear brakes when there is a valve fitted specifically to reduce / limit their efficiency.
If I had the choice of discs or drums on the rear, I would go for discs only because they are easier to maintain.

Discs are easier to maintain. Drums are more resistant to water, grit and mud, so they may need less maintenance on the rear end of a landrover.

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