[prolecs]

Upgrade to 2010 Jimny brakes -

Anyone got these looking for a new home - (or other suitable brake upgrade parts)?

* Front - LWB vitara calipers and disks?

* Rear - calipers ex Renault Megane 2002/2008

[prolecs]

Well I have managed to collect the necessary parts for the upgrade, and bought in a rear disk kit from the UK.

The FRONT - The "new" calipers are Vitara 89-98 SE416 4/5 door only, and proved to be hell to find. Plenty of three door bits about!! It took months of searchers with wreckers and on ebay and a couple of incorrect units supplied and returned. I guess the model is so old now. Anyway I ended up with two Tokico 54mm sets, virtually stuffed but the casings were the key item. One complete set and one without anti rattle plates or pads. If you are buying, make sure the anti-rattle clips come with the calipers - you can't buy them on their own (seems some disk pad suppliers have the clips included).
I bought new vented grooved disks (easy to get and cheap) and did a temporary fit up. It appeared the disks were not machined correctly, so I sent them back. The supplier/manufacturer checked them out and advised there was nothing wrong. So I had another go. You could see the disk did not run true, so I went to a local shop. He checked them out as ok. Had to be me, so back I went for another check on the car. This time I got some more light on the subject and found the issue. 107mm bore disks, 108mm carrier. What a goose!
Off to the machine shop and trim them to 108mm hole, and of course they fit perfectly.

I had the new front calipers sand blasted before I started. Well worth the $$$. Then stripped down and cleaned with solvent, and scraped the seal grooves of rust and dirt with a small pick, and emery tape. Then assembled with an old kit and spray painted.
Meanwhile ordered new seal kits and pistons. Seal kits are available but not common; pistons are not available that I could find. Eventually I imported from the UK (yet to arrive at this time).
The partly refurbished front calipers are sitting on the car waiting impatiently for pistons and seal kits.

REAR - found the Megane calipers easy enough online (2005 so a bit more modern), and ordered kits (not cheap). Hand cleaned the calipers (never again) and spray painted, and then fitted new seal kits. Damaged one dust cover, and had to buy a whole kit!
The conversion kit parts fitted the caliper no problem.
Removed the rear brakes (lots of rusty items on one side, the other was oily as the diff seal was leaking, and bearings were a bit suspect as well. So out with axles and in with new seals. Bearings and ABS rings ordered.
Cleaned up the diff, installed new "O" rings for the ABS sensors, and fitted the new brake lines, caliper carrier from the conversion kit, and calipers. Now just waiting to get the bearings pressed off the axles and new ones on and I can rebuild the rear end.
Leaving for China next Wednesday so I hope the parts get here or Jimny will be on the hoist for a month.
Next installment when work is complete and I'm back in the country.
My next project is locking diffs - lockers already ordered, but have to chase bearings, crush tubes, and gaskets.

[Mattman]

mad. excited for next installment

[prolecs]

Well the brakes are finished. FRONT: New vented disks and sand blasted/painted Vitara LWB calipers (with new caliper pistons and kits, pads) and new diff seals. REAR: Megane rear calipers (hand cleaned and painted), new kits with original Jimny front rotors, with the conversion kit from the UK. New rear diff bearings, ABS rings, and rear seals.
Issue with the new vented front rotors, as they had 107mm hole not 108mm. I never realised that was the issue and thought they were not machined true. Returned them but the vendor told me I was imagining things. I was too, and a closer look showed it was the mounting hole making them bind and not sit flat on the hub. DUH!
No issues with bleeding although I got the local garage to pressure bleed it as well. Hand brake needed adjustment once the auto brake adjusters in the rear had done their trick, as I could hear the rear brakes groaning a little as I slowed up at traffic lights. Stops straight and true, and no sign of the rear end over or under braking on harsh stops.
Still that groaning noise as I cpme to a stop, so machined the old rotors and dressed the pads. See how it goes!

Costs went well over budget. Megane calipers $50/seal kits $160, Front calipers $75, seal kits $33, pistons to suit (from the UK) $45, new front vented rotors $136, pads front and rear $100, the rear disk adaptor kit $236, rear diff bearings $285, sandblasting and paint. All up about $1200. My labour not counted.

[prolecs]

The groaning noise - it got worse and I isolated it to one rear wheel, so this weekend I pulled wheels off. Nothing obvious, however, I noticed the rotors (ex the front but now machined) are NOT hubcentric, and not a snug fit for studcentric!
ID of the rotor is about 108.5mm, the hub itself has a protruding section of about 99mm diameter. So as a test I found some wire about 4.5mm diameter and wedged in a wire ring to hold the rotor hubcentric, until the wheel studs are tightened and lock the rotor in place. It then serves no further purpose.
I also cleaned the pad faces on the concrete floor (they are wearing evenly) and also dressed the rear ends, and re-lubed the friction points on the noisy side. So far no noise!!! So I will investigate some centering rings as I doubt the cleaning did anything to assist.

[prolecs]

Well I'm close to giving up with the rear disks. IF it did not mean an new set of axle bearings and ABS rings I would rip the disks off and go back to the dreaded drums!!

My fuel consumption is more than 10l/100km, and I can hear the rear disks groaning at low speed particularly in reverse, so they are not releasing. Particularly on the drivers side.
I believe the Renault self adjusting mechanism is the issue but can't prove it. I understand the hand brake mechanism makes the disk outer piston (that pushes the pad) rotate on a screw shaft and so move out relative to the inner piston (operated by the handbrake mechanism) to apply the handbrake action . It screws out (but not back) when you operate the handbrake. I assume as the pads wear, it moves out on the screw shaft, but if adjustment is not required, somehow it does not screw out?
Anyway, I took calipers to a brake EXPERT with new kits and asked them to install. They failed to get access to all the seals and charged me a bomb for the effort. It is no better and maybe worse. I could cry.

Think I will remove the caliper and hang it under the car, to see if the fuel economy improves. If so, I need to scrap these brakes.

[Zapnologica]

Any update on your brake debacle?

I was really keen on doing this conversion. But it's not as simple as an easy bolt on...

[Zapnologica]

Any update on your brake debacle?

I was really keen on doing this conversion. But it's not as simple as an easy bolt on...

[prolecs]

I am still putting up with them, but would not recommend the swap. Because I am no longer doing 100km plus per day everyday, I am not so worried about the shit fuel economy.
When I do drive it around the suburbs, it groans as I reverse out or move off, and more often and more loudly as I corner particularly with light pressure on the pedal. I wonder if the axle flange is deflecting (big rims and tyres) and so the disk moves out of alignment with the caliper?
No one with the modification has commented so I don't know if it is just my setup or a problem common to the arrangement.

MAybe there is an alternative conversion to try.

[Zapnologica]

prolecs wrote:

I am still putting up with them, but would not recommend the swap. Because I am no longer doing 100km plus per day everyday, I am not so worried about the shit fuel economy.
When I do drive it around the suburbs, it groans as I reverse out or move off, and more often and more loudly as I corner particularly with light pressure on the pedal. I wonder if the axle flange is deflecting (big rims and tyres) and so the disk moves out of alignment with the caliper?
No one with the modification has commented so I don't know if it is just my setup or a problem common to the arrangement.

MAybe there is an alternative conversion to try.

Thanks for your honest feedback. It's not often that you get people saying, hey I have done it , but I wouldn't recommend it... I appreciate that.


Thanks