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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2012 19:52:39 GMT 2
After all the issues Ive had with my rear brakes since I bought the car, I decided to fit disks. I chose to use Golf 2 GTI rear calipers, as they are from a similar size car, parts are easy to get for them, and they have a cable operated hand brake. I used an old set of front disks which I had skimmed to fit the new calipers. Although the front disks have the same bolt pattern as the rear, they wont fit over the end of the half shaft, as its diameter is too large. I had these machined down to fit inside the disk: After removing the all the components for the drum brakes, there is a gap where the backing plate used to fit: I used this old backing plate as a template. The new mounting bracket for the calipers was made from 3mm steel: I then welded on a few layers of plate to make up the required distance for the calipers. I had no idea how hard it was to cut a circle with an angle grinder till I tried this, so please ignore the fact that the my circle is square: The caliper had to be trimmed along the red line to make space for the longer mounting bolts: All ready for installation: Caliper mounted: A new handbrake cable had to be made up, as well as new brake lines as the golf fittings are different to the lada's: What it all looks like installed: Because I don't have an alternator in the car, I haven't been able to test it out yet. Ill let you all know what its like after the first drive.
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Post by ronnie on Aug 26, 2012 20:19:09 GMT 2
Hi Conrad
Very interesting mod. Looking forward to seeing the results.
Ronnie
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Post by keithbatkins on Aug 26, 2012 20:28:17 GMT 2
Conrad....you have skills which I can only dream about having :-) Did you retain the original rear brake pressure regulator system which is missing from CERATOTH ? Regards to all at LOCSA. Keith and CERATOTH.
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lincslada
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Post by lincslada on Aug 26, 2012 21:35:39 GMT 2
Excellent job there.Id be intrested to see what diffrence it has made id imagine quite alot..
Cheers Gav
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Roons
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Post by Roons on Aug 26, 2012 21:58:38 GMT 2
Conrad. Nice mod! I may copy u once my brakes give me problems. Well done!
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Post by Charles on Aug 26, 2012 22:27:37 GMT 2
This is a mod I would look into someday. Its just expensive to do if your brakes are still working fine.
Charles
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oldschool
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Post by oldschool on Aug 26, 2012 22:51:27 GMT 2
pretty impresive...alot very capable people on here...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2012 5:28:34 GMT 2
Keith, yes I still have the regulator fitted.
Ruan, if you want I can post the dimensions of the bracket.
Charles you are correct, it cost approximatly R2000. The biggest expense is the calipers. I could have got a cheaper set, but I wasn't keen on using 2nd hand parts.
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spikes
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Post by spikes on Aug 27, 2012 6:41:54 GMT 2
Nice job there, Conrad.
Spikes
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ladanivabelgium
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Post by ladanivabelgium on Aug 27, 2012 7:45:00 GMT 2
very nice job, Conrad, but i have one remark:
the holes are square ;D
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2012 8:31:14 GMT 2
I blame santa, he doesn't want to bring me a laser cutter
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dimitris
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Post by dimitris on Aug 27, 2012 9:28:25 GMT 2
Very nice job Conrad, but I will make few comments.
1. I think that you will need a bigger master cylinder because the brake pedal will be much down. 2. I do not think that is right to remove the rear brake pressure regulator. 3. I believe that niva brakes are very good, so I would make other mods before and after the rear disk brakes....... but you decide what to make first in your niva of course.
cheers Dimitris
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bobbyd
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Post by bobbyd on Aug 27, 2012 12:41:35 GMT 2
My disc brake conversion is GREAT! I can do handbrake slides in the bush, my hand brake holds the vehicle and most inportantly I can stop my Niva by putting my foot on the pedal! My standard rear drums were pure ornaments and I enjoyed throwing they in the scrap bin!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2012 12:57:42 GMT 2
Thanks bobby I hope mine are as good. I have to say your conversion was the inspiration for mine.
Dimitris, I haven't tried the car on the road yet, but when bleeding the brakes, the pedal had the same travel as before the conversion. These are also the same calipers that ladaworld uses in their disk brake kit, and they don't change the cylinder. Because of this I'm hoping that I won't have to change the master cylinder.
I also agree that the pressure regulator is neccessary and I dont plan to take it out.
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bobbyd
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Post by bobbyd on Aug 27, 2012 13:11:11 GMT 2
Youll be fine conrad
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Post by ronnie on Aug 27, 2012 14:57:00 GMT 2
Hi Conrad
When I bought the Niva it had no rear compensator. I added one and I agree it is required if you do not want the rear brakes to lock up.
Ronnie
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2012 5:33:51 GMT 2
Right so I fitted the alternator in and wanted to test out my new brakes on the road. Unfortunatly I never got that far, as my handbrake doesn't work.
At the moment I have adjusted it so tight that you can only pull the lever up 1 click.This still doesn't hold the car on a downhill. Anybody have any ideas what could be causing this? Is it perhaps that the pads need to bed in, is there an adjuster somewhere on the vw calliper that I don't know about?
The brakes themselves seem fine, it only appears to be the handbrake that isn't working.
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Roons
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Post by Roons on Sept 3, 2012 11:20:43 GMT 2
Conrad. had the same problem on my gti. Relax the cables completely give the callipers a slight tap with a hammer and tension the cables again. This worked for my (old) gti.
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Roons
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Post by Roons on Sept 3, 2012 11:23:33 GMT 2
Hand brake on the gti is good but i am not shure if it wil lock your wheels on tar road with the bigger wheels.
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Post by Charles on Sept 3, 2012 13:09:32 GMT 2
Also bed the brakes in first. With the cables slacked off completely pres the pedal hard a few times and tension the cable. Ruan the hammer trick also works.
Charles
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2012 13:42:30 GMT 2
Thanks guys, Ill try that and report back.
I'm not actually looking for better braking on tar, although it would be a nice bonus. I just want brakes that work after they have been through water.
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Roons
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Post by Roons on Sept 3, 2012 13:55:24 GMT 2
Charles. If u have new pads and discs do u have to bed them?
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Post by Charles on Sept 3, 2012 18:48:21 GMT 2
Yes, especially then. the surfaces is both still brand new and smooth. You will have almost no braking.
Charles
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2012 21:06:38 GMT 2
Right, so bedding in the pads was a dismal failure.
I tried the suggestions above before setting the handbrake, and also drove approximately 5km with the handbrake partially engaged to get the pads to bed in. Sadly its still not holding.
Ive come to the conclusion that the Bosch brake pads that I bought are the problem. I will be replacing them with a set of ATE's in the hopes that that solves the hand brake issue once and for all.
The good news is that the pedal feel is far more positive than it ever was with the drums.
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Post by Charles on Sept 11, 2012 21:57:32 GMT 2
Drive it a bit more and see. also adjust the handbrake all the way down. Then after you drove it set it.
Charles
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Roons
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Post by Roons on Sept 12, 2012 7:53:12 GMT 2
Get rid of the bosch pads. They are very bad (not locking rear wheels on tar) had some on my gti and its the worst pads i have ever used. I fitted bendix ultimate semi racing pads and it worked great. Ruan
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Post by marius on Sept 12, 2012 8:39:04 GMT 2
Hi Conrad
Fitting disks on the rear should vastly improve the Niva's braking abilities so the Bosch pads may well be the problem?
Marius
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2012 5:33:54 GMT 2
Its time for an update on what happened with this upgrade. I bought new pads to try and cure the handbrake problem, but while changing them discovered that the right hand side caliper was leaking. As i needed to use the car, I refitted the drums while I wait for a replacement caliper. The store I bought it from has a policy that the defective part has to be sent back to head office for testing/evaluation before they confirm if they are going to replace it, which will take 4-6 weeks. This means it will be a while before i refit the disks. I have been asked for the dimensions of the bracket I made, so Ive included my first attempt at using Google sketch-up:
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spikes
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Post by spikes on Oct 2, 2012 6:14:55 GMT 2
Great drawing, Conrad. I hope you get the brakes sorted out.
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