[CairnsZook]

Picked up a socket today from Websters, and an adapter from Blackwoods.
Front diff housing had been painted, bearings packed, and hubs rebuilt.
The locker was installed today too, so it should all be back in tomorrow.




Now I'm just waiting on parts for the brakes

[Zook_Fan]

air locker or mech?

[CairnsZook]

Air - nothing but the best for this Zook

[Mike]

CairnsZook wrote:

nothing but the best for this Zook

i wish i could have the same atittude about my zook

[Zook_Fan]

i do but not the pocket to match

[CairnsZook]

I'm having troubles finding some Vit calipers. No wreckers in Tassie have any LWB Vits, and one in Victoria only has a front left caliper.

Got a quote from Burson's today for Vit vented rotors - $160 each. How does that sound? Maybe I should just bite the bullet and get new calipers too.

[royce]

I paid about $65 each for rotors, your getting shafted
you wont get new calipers I dont think

[CairnsZook]

Woah - that's way cheap. What brand are they? And where from?
I found an online shop for calipers, but I don't think they sell to Aus
http://www.car-stuff.com/suzukibrakecaliper.htm

I'll send 'em an email, see what they say.

[Mike]

launceston 4x4 didn't have them? did you try moonah wreckers? i know they got a couple sierras in storage so they might have a vitara there too

[CairnsZook]

Nah mate, I reckon I called every wreckers in Tas. No-one has LWB Vits, only found one SWB.

[Mike]

i have to admit i don't see many driving around
do you know anyone who can get trade at repco or bursons?

[CairnsZook]

Actually there's 2 within a block of my place. I even stuck my head under one to have a look at the calipers - hope the owner didn't see

And yeah, that was trade price

[royce]

I got RDA brand, big brakes on a light car are hardly going to get the rotors hammered to need really good ones

I would try some of the big nsw suzi wreckers for callipers and just get em sent down

[CairnsZook]

Found some calipers at Suzisport Brisbane, they are on their way. $55 each


Thanks Royce, I'll check out the RDA's.

[Damo]

CairnsZook wrote:

Found some calipers at Suzisport Brisbane, they are on their way. $55 each


Thanks Royce, I'll check out the RDA's.

I only paid about $100 for a pair of those rotors.

[CairnsZook]

Aaaaalrighty then - the calipers have finally arrived.

Now, I know I have to hold the vit calipers on an angle when bleeding. I'm assuming I position them so the bleed screw is up high, so that's where all the air goes.
But in which order do I bleed?
Left rear, P&B valve, left front, right front?

[royce]

yes thats all about right

[CairnsZook]

Cheers Royce, they're all bled, now I just have to "bed in" the rotors and pads.

There was actually quite a lot of crappy/dirty brake fluid that came out of the P&B valve. I just kept bleeding until I got the good stuff. The fronts didn't really require much bleeding at all.

Now, I have heard, that it isn't really recommended to bed in new pads and rotors at the same time. It's preferable to put old pads back on for a little while.
So I reckon I'll try to brake really gently for a few days. Then, when I can see that the pad had contacted all the way across, I'll do the pad bed in procedure.

Here's what I have found:

Brake Burnishing Procedures for New Brake Pads or Shoes
At Bendix, we highly recommend that new pads and shoes be broken in properly.
After every brake job the technician should first confirm that he has a good brake pedal by gently stroking the pedal to move the wheel cylinders and caliper pistons back out to the normal position. After confirming a good pedal the follow burnish procedure should be used during the test drive:

30/30/30 Burnish Procedure
• Perform 30 stops from 30 miles per hour with a 30-second cooling interval between stops. These stops will be performed at a decelerating rate of 12 feet per second or less. This means that it should be a gentle easy stop.

• The 30/30/30 Burnish Procedure beds the pads and shoes into the rotor and drums. It also deposits the necessary friction transfer to the rotors and drums for optimum brake performance.

• Following this procedure also assures that your customer will have excellent brake performance from the first time he or she drives the car after brake service has been performed. You should not depend on your customer to break in the brake job. The only way to assure that it is done correctly is to incorporate it into your brake job test drive.

Remember, proper burnishing assures a long lasting, high performing, noise free brake job!

[royce]

DONT FUCN PUT OLD PADS BACK IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! whoever told you that load of shit knows nothing, I would ignore them from now on

follow the instructions like Bendix say and try and avoid heavy braking for a few hundred km's and they will be good as

you dont bed rotors in really, you are bedding the pads to the surface of the rotor, but seeing they aer both new and square it will be good fromt eh start

[CairnsZook]

Here's where I found the info:
http://mrtperformance.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=2

I know they are talking about Ricer Performance brakes but is there really that much difference?

Edit - here's some more info:

http://www.repcotrade.com.au/go/news/db ... bedding-in

http://www.repcotrade.com.au/go/news/db ... l-deposits

[royce]

that DBA guy has been shouted off a few forums but what he is referring to is new fancy rotors being gradually heated to stabilise the grain of the iron and season it with a layer of resin from the pads, much like we would do with a camp oven what he is saying is that the big braking required to get the heat is a big no no for new pads as they will fade and go to shit, on normal pads and rotors its not necessary

[CairnsZook]

So you're saying that my new and improved Vit rotors and calipers aren't high performance?

Oh well, I'll spose I'll just do the 30/30/30 thing to be sure anyway. Can't be any harm in that.

Then I'll just keep telling myself that I have high performance brakes anyway

[royce]

hehe I have the same, they are so big they never need to be worked hard

[Damo]

royce wrote:

hehe I have the same, they are so big they never need to be worked hard

Hmmm, that could be interesting taken out of context....

And you still haven't come over to fit my brakes yet Royce

[Bruce]

Damo wrote:

royce wrote:

hehe I have the same, they are so big they never need to be worked hard

Hmmm, that could be interesting taken out of context....

And you still haven't come over to fit my brakes yet Royce

That's cause he's too busy fixing Casper

[CairnsZook]

Went for a test drive today and everything is A-OK.

The braking has noticeably improved, but then again the old pads were beyond rooted and the fluid did need changing . No leaks anywhere either, which is always good.

After the knuckle rebuild, the steering feels lighter and more responsive. Or maybe I'm imagining things because I've been driving my mate's Rocky around for the last couple of weeks...



So, I am very happy with the result.

I can be confident I'm not going to have any problems there for quite some time. I learned quite a lot about how the front end is actually put together. Especially since I'd never even changed the pads in the front before .

Now I'm itching to test out the front locker.

[royce]

good shit, its a good feeling to do a major job yourself isnt it

[CairnsZook]

It sure is Royce.

I also saved a lot of money, and I know the job has been done right.

[CairnsZook]

Holy shit - this thread's nearly a year old. I'm way behind schedule

It just so happens, that I have a couple of months off work, and thought I should get stuck into the Zook again.

First on the list is the 1in body lift and raising of the t-case, I'll also put a tube bar on the front. Cost here is minimal, as I already have the BL kit, and a mate will weld up the bar for me.

I was planning on getting some 33' Silverstones, but as they are no longer being imported, I will have to go with something else. Or maybe (dare I say it) only 31's.
If going with 33's, I'll do a virtual lift and put in some 6.5 gears.
Can anyone suggest an alternative tyre for me? Something as narrow as possible, as I don't want the tyre rubbing on the springs.

Alternatively, I was thinking about adding a Warn 6000lb winch to the tube bar, upgrading the alternator and battery and keeping the 29's for a little longer.


I reckon the costs for the two options will work out to be pretty similar. I have plenty of time (probably too much) to fart-arse around doing the work.

I either end up with a more capable Zook that gets stuck less often, and rely on a snatch or my hand winch for recovery.
Or go the winch, and not be worried about driving the biggest, baddest, stickiest mud hole I can find, because I know I'll be able to winch myself out.



What are your opinions fellas?

[Mike]

if it was me i'd go sweet tube bar with winch
after having to winch my zook 50 metres up a hill with a hand winch i'd never want a 4wd without a winch again