Ke10 Rear Brake Upgrade - Info / Suggestions Please

[rollababe09]

hey guys, has anyone done a brake upgrade on a KE10

 

first things first, my we rolla is stock std & I do want to keep it that way.

 

the last 2 Warrant of Fitness checks ive come up with issues with the handbrake/rear brakes - right side mostly.

just went for a new WOF check today, it runs out this week so need to make sure shes legal asap. I have that under control but want a long term solution.

 

I am stick to death of the car always being picked up on rear braking issues when I go for my 6mthly wof. You guys call it something dif in aussie i think.

 

anyway, I want to keep the car std as, the only thing I want to do is upgrade the rear brakes to disc if possible, disc brakes would be great & get rid of the constant drum brake issues I'm having.

 

Looking at drum set up, I figure the easiest way may well be to chuck a complete diff set up in & get the drive shaft yolks modified up to the factory ones. Or i could be totally wrong, i havent done a rear upgrade myself!

 

OR is there a rear disc upgrade thats able to be done?

 

has anyone done anything like this??

 

I'm thinking maybe something like RWD Starlet might fit, they are small & narrow, havent looked into it properly, just thought id post here & see whats what from you in the know......?

or the earliest corolla that came out with rear disc. I guess there may well be axle/diff shortening involved, but if i could get away without all that, would be great. wishful thinking

 

or if i just go for disc upgrade alone, something in the corolla/celica side of things. I do want to keen the same stud patturn & std wheels - like i said, this is an upgrade purely to get rid of my drum problems, not for performance at all!

 

info guys???

Edited June 14, 2010 by rollababe09

[phife]

What exactly is wrong with the rear brakes that can't be fixed? Is it a matter of rear brake cylinders? hand brake cable? adjustment?

The ke10 had the smallest of diffs, even ke20 is slightly wider.

Any diff upgrade will require some mods, either shortening, stud pattern change or just even moving the mounting spots.

More than likely you wont be able to use the standard 12" wheels.

All this would cost significantly more than getting the brakes fixed properly.

[rob83ke70]

get the brakes fixed up properly.... any mechanic worth taking it to should be able to do it - might cost you though.

 

handbrake cables can be made. wheel cylinders can be rebuilt or replaced, shoes can be replaced or relined. drums can be machined or replaced. its all possible.

 

Robert.

[rollababe09]

i take it no ones done this then.

 

Ive just replaced the wheel cylinders etc - got my wof so all sweet.

 

I'm just sick of drum brakes on the back, they are a pain in the ass, I want disc rear, that simple really.

 

I think ive found some out some info on this anyway now, but wanted to know if anyone had done this at all.

 

Prob just a case of removing the drum assembly's & getting something made up so discs can go on, I know people that have done it using nissan gear.

 

if anyone has done this kinda of Mod, be keen to hear from ya

[rob83ke70]

seriously, rear drums aren't that bad!!

 

I wouldn't worry about it unless you were racing or putting serious km on the car!

 

Robert.

[TheNOBBLER[RL]]

Hi there,

 

Ok, I can see why you want disks on the rear but you will most likely end up causing yourself far more trouble than it's worth.

 

Without doing a complete brake upgrade you will end up overbraking the rear, you may be able to sort out the brake bias to get acceptable results after a while. Also, you most likely won't get a rear disk setup that will fit over stock 12" wheels. Not to mention the fact you will need to upgrade your master cylinder etc.

If you were going to upgrade the lot you could just shorten an r31 skyline diff to suit and you then have an unbreakable disk rear with later rolla stud pattern. This would go well with a big front disk setup... But as you want to keep it standard drums on the rear would still be your best bet.

 

If you have new linings and have had the drums machined/replaced along with new wheel cylinders you will have very few brake issues. You will however have to spend 15 or so minutes every 6 months adjusting the drums but that will be about it. They work very well on such a light car, I am planning on keeping my 11's drums on the rear and I will be doing track work!

 

Go with drums, keep them adjusted and you won't have any other issues provided it's all decent in the first place. I know, I'm still running good, unboosted, recoed drums all round on my val wagon... It pulls up great and is twice the wieght!

 

JP

[rob83ke70]

I'm wincing at the thought of all this extra weight!!! the car is nice and light - don't add all that weight and spoil an original stock car...... also its no longer original especially with nissan parts!!

 

I'd get the drums completely reconditioned - I've seen drums untouched (other than adjusting every now and then) go for 200,000km or more!

 

you realise that new small cars still run drums on the rear?

 

 

Robert.

[Evan G]

drum brakes have more surface area than disc brakes. therefor more braking force. only problem with drum brakes is that there not vented therefor can cause brake fade

[Felix]

You are going to notice front brake fade way before the rears. Front brakes do about 70% of the braking effort.

[phife]

So your still not convinced. A couple of rear disc brake options: Series 2 RX7, JDM AE86 both of which have 13's as minimum. If you really want to retain the 12's then you're on your own.

It will be a custom job to make small rear disc and calipers fit on the stock diff, and even then you will need to consider brake biasing, master cylinder etc. More effort then it's worth IMO.

Yes "bolting on" has been done with bigger diffs with bigger brakes usually with some mods, but you wont find anything to suit 12's

 

Perhaps you feel the drums are constantly troublesome because they weren't fixed properly to begin with. Remember that there are alot of brand new small cars still built with drums, obviously they must be still ok.

[KeRoLLin]

there's a dude selling a ke11 with v6 and rear discs on the car in the forsale section.. may be have alooksie and pm him? :yes: :D

[67Rolla-Ken]

Drum brakes on rear are fine... I don't think the style of brakes is the problem, probably more the condition of them or some other component?? Check with the other Rolla nuts in your area and see if they know of a trusty mechanic who can fix (or replace) yours properly.

 

When working properly there are no issues with the rear brakes or handbrake in stock standard format. I think swapping out for someone else's drum brake setup would fix easier than swapping for a disc setup.

 

I hope this is helpful, even if it's not the answer you were hoping for?? :yes:

[rollababe09]

thankms guys for the info so far. the brakes are fine now, they had new shoes about 6mths ago. New cylinders 2 weeks ago now.

the right hand brake cable lever in the drum was onstantly seasing up, causing some of the issues in my WOF.

since that the lever has been sorted & as mentioned, cylinders replaced & brake system bleed, have a decent hard pedal.

only 1 side of the drum brakes was working before & those need replacing soonish.

 

ive got 2 cars & loads of room to the work, i don't mind changing the master cylinder, bias etc if need be.

 

I had thought of seeing if front ke10 disc sets could be modified with plates etc to fit on the rear.

or another KE models front brakes. Some guys i know have done simular things, but as i mentioned, with nissan bits, easy to come by & cheap to buy.

 

I will check out that ke10 for sale, thanks for that KeRoLLin!!!

 

cars been off the road, been stuck in doing the clutch on the rolla, full service & lube too. dam the diff oil was bad!

 

anyway, thanks heaps for the info guys, always to good to hear from everyone.