Toyota Landcruiser Rear Brake Upgrade Package - Hoppers Stoppers

HOPPERS HOPPERS STOPPERS 

STOPPERS 

May 2007 

Toyota Landcruiser 

Rear Brake Upgrade 

Package 

9 Nevada Ct 

Hoppers Crossing Vic 3029 

Ph 03 97486950 

Fax 03 97485965 

Email hopstop@hoppers.com.au 

Web www.hoppers.com.au

Toyota Landcruiser Rear Brake Upgrade Package 


STOPPERS 

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED 

WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT IS 

PROPRIETY CONFIDENTIAL 

AND MUST NOT BE DIVULGED 

TO ANY THIRD PARTY WITHOUT 

OUR WRITTEN CONSENT 

2


Rear Brake 

Upgrade 


78/79 Series 

Toyota 

Landcruiser 

Original rear slip-on disc with small 

caliper 

Handbrake inside rear disc 


STOPPERS 

Introduction 

Toyota Landcruiser 78/79 Series Vehicles are used extensively 

throughout the country, and in particular, are favoured by mining 

operators, many in underground use where conditions are 

extreme. 

Whilst the basic vehicle is well respected by the industry, the rear 

disc brake arrangement has proven to be inadequate for the 

conditions, with the rear brake pads and hand brake both 

exhibiting accelerated wear way beyond the rest of the vehicle. 

In worst conditions, the rear brake linings will wear to the metal 

backing plates in a matter of weeks, resulting in total loss of rear 

brakes with accompanying work safety concerns. Handbrakes 

often fail to hold with days. 

Analysis of the Problem 

With this series of 78/79 series vehicles, Toyota moved to a rear 

disc brake design incorporating a drum type hand brake within the 

disc. 

There may have been reasons for this design, but it seems to 

have been a retrograde step when subjected to regular immersion 

in muddy and highly corrosive environments. 

There seem to have been several compromises needed to arrive 

at this design. 

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Cause of Rear Brake Problems 

1 Combining a drum handbrake and a disc rotor and caliper 

within the confines of a 16-inch wheel necessitates a 

small brake caliper and small pad radial section, resulting 

in an undersized pad area. 

The standard design has a thin disc and a handbrake of 

small diameter and swept area relative to the weight of 

the vehicle. 

2 The backing plate and handbrake arrangement allow mud 

and slurry to enter but not exit, causing abrasives to 

accumulate and rapidly destroy the handbrake, including 

its function as an emergency brake. 

3 The small disc pad contact area is at odds with the 

affects of loading under abrasive conditions where rates 

of wear are parabolic for wear rate versus load. 

4 The handbrake design is fiddly and complicated with 

many small parts that prove to be difficult to assemble 

correctly. 

Hoppers Stoppers design solution 

There appear to be a few possible ways to approach this 

problem, with a couple of companies proposing designs. 

Some take unconventional and unusual approaches but appear 

expensive to purchase and repair; with their application probably 

only justified if they perform perfectly for a very long time. 

Hoppers Stoppers' approach is to stick to proven principles and 

overcome the basic weakness of the existing design. 

By all reports, the front brakes on these Toyotas work adequately, 

and considering their environment do not give significant 

problems in the field. 

In our view these brakes are not particularly special in their 

engineering, just the same basic front brakes that they have 

made for many years. 

If we built a rear brake set as solid and even better designed than 

the front it should last as long. This requires a big, thick disc rotor 

and brake lining swept area similar to the front. 


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Upgrade 


78/79 Series 


Landcruiser 

300 dia by 28 thick rotor fitted to 

original hub 

Larger revised caliper 

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Rear view of transfer case 

Disc type handbrake installed 

1 Rotors 

Being a full floating rear hub and axle design, restricts the 

inside diameter of the rotor face, particularly when we try to 

retain the simple loose fit "slip on" design. 

In order to achieve a suitably larger swept area, it is therefore 

better to attach the rotor from the inside in the same manner as 

the front arrangement. 

This will require the hub to be removed from the axle housing 

for disc fitment; this is not a big job and in any case allows 

repacking of the bearings. 

In order to facilitate the original conversion, 5 counter sunk 

holes need to be drilled on the rear carrier hubs, either at the 

mine's workshop or as a change over supplied by Hoppers 

Stoppers. 

The end result is a 300mm diameter rotor; 28mm thick 

compared to the original 18mm thick and almost double the 

swept area. 

No other alterations are required and all standard bearings and 

seals are retained, with the ability to convert back to the 

original design if desired, say at time of trading in the vehicle. 


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Improved Design By Hoppers Stoppers Handbrake 

Relocation 

In order to provide a suitably robust rear caliper and rotor design, 

it is therefore necessary to go back to the 'old days' and relocate 

the park brake back to the rear of the gearbox transfer case. 

As drum brakes accumulate abrasives, it is best to do this with a 

disc brake design, the disc being attached to the output flange 

and the caliper of simple mechanical lever type attached to the 

end of the transfer case. 

This allows us to utilize the differential ratio to "multiply" the brake 

effect for an effective park/emergency brake, which is also better 

located up higher for less emersion in mud. 

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Hoppers 

Stoppers 


Design 

78/79 Series 


Landcruiser


2 Caliper Design 

Within the automotive industry, all common rear calipers are 

much smaller than the front with usually much smaller pad 

area. 

Brake balance considerations dictate much smaller rear 

hydraulic piston areas, essentially meaning that there is no 

readily available alternative rear caliper that offers a solution. 

We therefore achieve our desired large pad area and thick 

rotor requirements by sleeving an Australian made front caliper 

down to smaller bore piston of suitable diameter. 

This also has an added benefit of allowing us to make the 

sleeves and pistons from corrosion resistant materials more 

suitable for the intended use. 

These calipers are plated cast iron, and by specification 

designed for regular immersion in dirt and water. 

3 Brake Pads 

As the base calipers are originally for the front of a locally 

made vehicle, the pads are available in many material options. 

Brake torque applied by a caliper to a rotor is proportional to 

the hydraulic area and does not change with pad area. 

It is therefore possible to reduce the specific load on the pad, 

greatly reduce wear rate and still have correct brake torque. 

4 Attachment 

Caliper mounting to the axle housing is via a 12mm thick steel 

plate attached to the original backing plate holes using original 

size 4 off 12mm bolts. 

For comparison, the original caliper attaches to a 5mm plate. 

The new caliper cradle attaches to this using 2 off 12mm bolts, 

which are the same size as original Toyota rear caliper usage. 

Rear Brake Kit ready for installation 


STOPPERS 

Handbrake caliper, mounting 

bracket, disc rotor and carrier 

plate 

6 

Hoppers 

Stoppers 


Design 

78/79 Series 


Landcruiser


Before 

After 

Summary 


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5 Handbrake 

Hoppers Stoppers rear brake upgrade design principle is based 

on the fact that known acceptable front brake performance is 

repeatable at the rear. 

The basic vehicle remains unmodified in every aspect with 

existing brake master cylinder and piping, wheels, hubs, gearbox 

and such kept in standard condition. 

Fitting is simple and quick with normal tools and no special 

knowledge. 

Initial kits are not expensive and spare parts similar to that 

currently paid. 

The product is provided with an Engineers Report suitable for 

legal registration so that road going units can be converted and 

when sold, the new owner can legally continue to use the vehicle. 

To attach a suitable "tail shaft disc" we arrange a 10mm thick 

carrier plate to be sandwiched between the output flange and 

the universal joint yolk. 

This requires a small and acceptable movement of the slip joint 

at the front of the tail shaft. 

This caliper is designed for regular immersion in saltwater with 

all metal parts being either hot zinc coated or stainless steel. 

It is attached to the extension housing using six bolts already 

used to attach the end cover plate. 

The original hand brake cable is rerouted from its position on 

the left hand side of the axle to the chassis at the centre of the 

vehicle where it will work the centre-mounted handbrake. 

Note that we have avoided hydraulic actuation of the park 

brake as any brake fluid leaks would cause the brakes to 

release, as would any cooling of the hydraulics. 

Eg. After parking the vehicle with the brakes in a hot state. 

Handbrake 

From Inside 

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Toyota Landcruiser Rear Brake Upgrade Package - Hoppers Stoppers

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