Improving brakes in general and braided hoses

[chadr]

I need to do some work on the brakes of my 95; I've been noticing that the brakes are getting a bit spongier but had put that down to the (relatively) recent SL and the fact that the rear brake valve had not been adjusted to compensate.

The ABS light came on today and stayed on for a little while. It went out after I turned the ignition off/on and hasn't been back on since. However when out and about today, I noticed that the ABS kicked in at a very unexpected moment; gently slowing down to the approach of a roundabout, in the dry and I was just feathering the brake..... Didn't happen again but I was quite cautious after that and drove accordingly.

Haven't had a chance to look at the brake disc/pads when I got home but the pads certainly may be on their way out - they have IIRC about 25-30k miles on them, the discs were changed then too, so they should still be OK. The calipers were given a clean bill of health about 10k ago (by Greg/LCs Overland).

However I would like to improve the overall braking on the truck. I need to get the rear "valve" adjusted and I'm thinking of changing to grooved discs along with some EBC or similar uprated pads. The brake fluid needs a change too, so I'll get that done and was wondering whether upgrading to braided hoses was worth the outlay and if so which/where from?

Thanks in advance.

 

[fridayman]

I've got grooved discs, braided hoses and toyo pads. It brakes pretty good for its size.

 

[Beau]

Im running EBC dimpled and grooved Disc with Original pads. The disc make the biggest difference, especially when going down hills and hard braking, they don't fade!

The reason why I run toyota pads is because they last the longest and produce the least dust. I used to run Mintex pads which were also very good.

 

[BlackWidow]

Reference your ABS light, That means that the ECU has seen a problem and that it has put it self into a safe mode ie turning the ABS off.

When you had your ABS activity was it below about 5mph just as you are comming to a stand?

I had a simmaller thing happen on mine but only when on full lock to start with then it got worse and started to do it nearly all the time. The fault turned out to be a dirty O/S/F sensor wheel and a poor earth bond on the speed probe to the same wheel.

Now that you have had the fault light on the fault will be logged in the ECU and if you have the Max Ellery manual it will tell you how extract the fault codes without using a computer by just bridging a couple of terminals out in the diagnostic plug under the bonnet. You can also do a live drive test as well which is how I found my fault as I had nothing logged on the ECU.


Steve

 

[chadr]

Thanks for the responses.

Fridayman - where did you source your braided hoses from? How much were they?

When you had your ABS activity was it below about 5mph just as you are comming to a stand?

You can also do a live drive test as well which is how I found my fault as I had nothing logged on the ECU.

Steve

It was when I was slowing from around 20mph to perhaps 5mph, not a complete halt. However after doing a quick search on this forum, what I thought was ABS activity sound very similar to the symptoms of warped discs or glazed pads described in this thread.....
http://www.landcruiserclub.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=11223&hilit=glazed+pads

What do you mean by/how do you do a "live drive test"?

 

[fridayman]

I fitted Goodridge hoses - I think I just bought some off ebay for just under £100. The discs are Nitrac 8 grooved discs - can't remember where I bought these but they were around £300-350 for the set.

 

[chadr]

Thanks - I might look into the hoses.

 

[J66P]

these are the ones i am looking at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Goodridge-Toy ... 4163f0c645

but then you can get colour coded ones for a few quid more if you want http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Goodridge-Toy ... 4163f0c507

discs are not too expensive either http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Landcruiser-C ... 19cd5c8c3d

 

[fridayman]

... but then you can get colour coded ones for a few quid more if you want...

That is the top of a slippery slope...

 

[BlackWidow]

What do you mean by/how do you do a "live drive test"?

By bridging out certain terminals in the diagnostics plug under the bonnet and driving a certain speed over a certain distance the ECU will look at the system and via flash codes using the ABS light let you know what it finds. In my case it noticed a low voltage return from my O/S/F sensor...........Dam clever stuff realy.

If I get 5 mins later I will post a bit more detail with pics if you like.

Steve

 

[DaveWall]

Roughtrax do a braided hose kit for the LC.... I bought the Hilux LN107 kit to use on mine as I have raised the suspension by a couple inches, and it gave me slightly longer brake hoses for the rear axle - perfect for the lift.

Dave

 

[chadr]

Thanks - I've just sourced the front and rear brake pads from Toyota (Simon Holton - using the club discount ) among some other service bits for both the Colorado and Yaris. Went for OEM as they seem to be less dusty but almost as effective as the "upgrade" pads.

I'm thinking of the grooved discs from MTEC and will look at the braided hose kit from Roughtrax. Once I have collated all the bits, I'll get around to doing the lot.

Thanks again for the tips!