Home made X-Brake - LT230 Tranfer disc brake handbrake
So here it is 20 Jan 2007 and have owned me Bushy for nine years. In that time have had a working handbrake for about 3 months total time. Finally got sick of not having a working handbrake, and I know that one of these days Im gonna get caught at yearly road registration time. I did get caught years ago by a copper who pulled me over in Forbes (NSW), and got a defect notice.
X-Eng in the UK specifically make such a rotor disc brake for the LT230 transfer case, but alas, I can't justify in spending the dollars for what it is. X-Eng: http://www.x-eng.co.uk
My original transfer was a 1984 1.001:1 ratio from an auto rangie. This era of rangie transfers had a pathetically designed handbrake. All linkages are ok, but the idea of having this little wedge thing with little round balls to move the brake pads has gotta be the most spastic design ever.
Finally having a free weekend had a bit of a looksey to having a crack at making me own.
And having the front bits of my old Sube wagon on my back verandah made it nice and easy to start having a look and a play.
This is the front engine cross member along with the front hubs off me old 1984 EA81 Sube Wagon. Had plans to make it into a buggy of Rhinobuggy's but... am never gonna get around to it. So, may as well have a crack at trying to use it as a hand brake, ala x-brake. The Subaru front brakes are a single hydraulic piston caliper with the manual hand brake (emergency brake for those in the U.S.) also being incorporated into the housing.
After a little bit of a clean up of the rotor, and machining out the front and rear by 5mm and also cutting out a diameter of 97mm to allow the rotor to sit on the flange of the transfer and for the driveshaft to sit on the rotor.
Rotor sits nicely on the transfer.
Fortunately I've kept me old blown transfer so by building the bracketry for the calipers to sit on made it much easier to do it on the bench, rather than underneath the car. After much careful measuring, cutting, welding and drilling she is finished and squeezing the handbrake lever on the caliper housing, she appears to work very well.
After finishing the brackets, unbolted it all, and started chucking it on the transfer on the old girl. Looks good. Or at least much better than the old drum brake.
I modified the original linkage of which I haven't taken any photos yet. Made it to connect on to the subaru handbrake cable.
Just needs some slight adjustment and all should be sweet.
The Landrover stuff that is a complete rubbish and stupid design of utter crap that never works.
http://www.bushy.lookscool.com
http://www.bushy.ismad.com
email: djmaunder@rockdale.com.au
Made: 20/Jan/2k7.
Last update: 22/Jan/2k7.
