[JFF45]

That pic shows that it’s getting near time to change that serpentine belt. It’s starting to show fine cracks in the hardened rubber.

 

[JFF45]

Good work so far. Looking forward to the drive report

Took it for a quick run around the block. It’s an entirely different feeling to the doughy vacuum system. The pedal has absolutely no “soft” feel about it and very little play. I even went back into the shed and put a bit more free play in the pedal but haven’t driven it again since.

There‘s no question the brakes are much more responsive with less pedal pressure. It’s just the application of that pressure that’s a lot different because of the way the pedal feels. I’m sure I’ll get used to it in no time.

I bled the brakes by myself with that vacuum tool and it works quite well. You just need to have something to hold the receiving jar upright so you don’t suck fluid into the tool.

The steering was easy and quick to bleed. I emptied what I could from the system and replaced it with the Nulon synthetic trans fluid I use for my trans.

So, in summary, anyone with average mechanical ability can do this mod on their own. I’m a 76 year old grandad and I had no problem at all

 

[rgren2]

That pic shows that it’s getting near time to change that serpentine belt. It’s starting to show fine cracks in the hardened rubber.

Can’t be worn out, only 10 years and 100000km old. 🤔😉🤣🤣

 

[dkril]

Can’t be worn out, only 10 years and 100000km old. 🤔😉🤣🤣

Barely broken in.

 

[JFF45]

Final job is to trim the fuse box cover to get around the reservoir.

 

[JFF45]

Can’t be worn out, only 10 years and 100000km old. 🤔😉🤣🤣

Yeah, that sort of explains what I’m seeing

 

[cremulator]

Last month I fitted the Marks 4WD Adaptors hydraulic brake booster and braided brake lines.
This incident was one of the deciding factors:

I'll skip the whole removal and installation, but flag some points that may be helpful for others fitting this unit.
The kit comes with everything required and is pretty straightforward to install. Having said that, the unit is about 30mm-40mm longer than the factory booster so it is challenging to fit with the fuse box in the engine bay.
It took two of us a whole day to remove and fit the booster and replace all brake lines with the braided ones.
The only thing that required some modification was the bracket that holds the fuel filter, as one of the hard lines from the master cylinder fouled on it due to the extended length of the hydraulic unit.
Before:

After:

Here are pics of trying to fit it with the fuse box:

And this is the part of the bracket we had to modify to clear the brake line:

So I will say the difference is amazing!
Instead of slowing you down like you were coming to the end of a theme park ride, as the factory brakes do, it now responds more like a car. The brake pedal has a firm feel with little give in it, and it now takes less pressure to get a response.

A friend of mine runs a garage that performs roadworthy inspections. They use a machine to measure braking performance as part of that test, so I arranged a before and after to see the difference it made on my car. It has a sensor to also measure pedal force.

(Note: on Marks 4WD Adaptors website, they have test results braking from 100km/h using a 79 series dual cab LandCruiser weighing 3780kg)
Braking Distance – Standard factory vacuum – 98 metres
Braking Distance – Marks4wd Hydraulic booster – 58 metres

So this is the result of my experience, and I made sure nothing changed between tests (this is with an unloaded car, no passengers, no spare wheel, front tyre pressure 33 PSI, rear tyre pressure 35 PSI running 10+ year old 285/75R16 tyres with roughly 5mm tread, standard rotors and callipers)

You can see that the distance was reduced slightly, but the pedal effort was greatly reduced. During the hydraulic adaptor test, pedal application had to be backed off as the wheels started to lock up (no ABS). With the factory set up, there was absolutely no way that you would be able to lock the wheels on my car.

I am very pleased with this modification and I don't feel like I will require any heavy-duty pads to further improve the performance as it may just induce locking the wheels more easily.

 

[JFF45]

This has to be one of the best bang for buck mods you can do to a GU. If you’re like so many who do the usual go faster mods and/or have a habit of overloading then this should be high on your list.
I think it should be mandatory with any GVM upgrade.

I decided to go a bit further with my installation and do the rear brakes a bit better as well. I have the DBA slotted with ECB pads in front but can’t justify that cost for the rear so I’ve ordered RDA slotted/dimpled rear rotors and I bought DBA Extreme pads to go with them.
Also ordered front & rear caliper overhaul kits because, although the chassis only has 164k, the vehicle is now 21 years old and the kits are sub $100 and not hard to do so why not..

When that’s all done I plan to spend some time to get the load sensing valve working at its max. We do the extended bracket mod when we lift the vehicle but with hard springs and/or airbags to stop the sagging, the valve doesn’t know we’ve added any load.

A big decision now is what colour to paint the calipers..

 

[geeyoutoo]

This has to be one of the best bang for buck mods you can do to a GU. If you’re like so many who do the usual go faster mods and/or have a habit of overloading then this should be high on your list.
I think it should be mandatory with any GVM upgrade.

I decided to go a bit further with my installation and do the rear brakes a bit better as well. I have the DBA slotted with ECB pads in front but can’t justify that cost for the rear so I’ve ordered RDA slotted/dimpled rear rotors and I bought DBA Extreme pads to go with them.
Also ordered front & rear caliper overhaul kits because, although the chassis only has 164k, the vehicle is now 21 years old and the kits are sub $100 and not hard to do so why not..

When that’s all done I plan to spend some time to get the load sensing valve working at its max. We do the extended bracket mod when we lift the vehicle but with hard springs and/or airbags to stop the sagging, the valve doesn’t know we’ve added any load.

A big decision now is what colour to paint the calipers..

View attachment 541163

Red.

 

[dkril]

Royal blue. Be different to the usual red or yellow.

 

[JFF45]

Red.

To match my rocker cover?

 

[JFF45]

Royal blue. Be different to the usual red or yellow.

The car is already dark blue. I was thinking maybe simple aluminium silver.. or zinc gold.

It doesn’t really matter in the front because the ECB pads give off so much dust

 

[rgren2]

Black heat paint, will dissipate heat quicker.

Dupli-Color High Heat Black 340g

Dupli-Color High Heat is designed for painting areas that are exposed to extremely hot temperatures such as industrial machinery and exhaust systems. Colour: Black Resists temperatures up to 1093°c Resistant to oil and other automotive fluids Will not blister, flake, crack, or peel Made in...

www.automegastore.com.au

 

[JFF45]

Black heat paint, will dissipate heat quicker.

Dupli-Color High Heat Black 340g

Dupli-Color High Heat is designed for painting areas that are exposed to extremely hot temperatures such as industrial machinery and exhaust systems. Colour: Black Resists temperatures up to 1093°c Resistant to oil and other automotive fluids Will not blister, flake, crack, or peel Made in...

www.automegastore.com.au

but then I won’t see them through the black wheels I think I’ll just leave them brake pad black anyway..

 

[Overboard]

This has to be one of the best bang for buck mods you can do to a GU.

You've got me considering this. Not so much for myself because since I've been using the Yellowstuff competition brake pads I've been able to lock the wheels on dry bitument with max effort braking, however my wife is not able to exert that much pedal effort and it takes her considerably more distance to stop in a hurry. It would also be nice to only have to buy sub $100 brake pads next time they need changing instead of the $500 Hollywood stuff.

 

[JFF45]

You've got me considering this. Not so much for myself because since I've been using the Yellowstuff competition brake pads I've been able to lock the wheels on dry bitument with max effort braking, however my wife is not able to exert that much pedal effort and it takes her considerably more distance to stop in a hurry. It would also be nice to only have to buy sub $100 brake pads next time they need changing instead of the $500 Hollywood stuff.

I could also stop mine well with the ECB pads and extra pedal pressure but I didn’t like it. My wife’s Kia brakes really well with normal pressure and that’s what I wanted.
It’s not the same braking pedal feel as the Kia with vacuum booster but brakes just as well now.

It really is a well made kit from Marks and not hard to fit.

 

[geeyoutoo]

As much as I like this mod I'm not sure I need it, mine goes almost 3T in normal running, like Overboard I can lock wheels even with ABS since going to slotted and dimpled rotors and 4.8 soft pads, and, I have minimal dust.
As said I like the project but seeing as I don't tow heavy weights anymore I see it as overkill for me.

 

[JFF45]

I decided I was still young at heart..

 

[geeyoutoo]

I decided I was still young at heart..

View attachment 541184

Yay! Red!!!!

 

[JFF45]

Yay! Red!!!!

Yep, the young fella at Autobarn said red makes it go faster and stop quicker..