LR4 Stainless Steel Brake Lines

[Land Rover Joe]

Tribe,

It has been quite some time since this thread (and the folks who have commented are no longer on this forum), but I am rebuilding my whole brake system (not include the actual steel lines running under the body as well as the master cylinder) as part of a major project this year. For the purposes of my build, I will be posting my experiences here with the new brake lines and such.

There has been a new thread on the subject of Stainless Steel Brake lines:
https://www.landroverworld.org/threads/stainless-steel-brake-lines.40227/page-3

There is also a good thread about upgrades to the larger Brembo Brakes (Calipers):
https://www.landroverworld.org/threads/brembo-calipers-and-ss-brake-lines.40362/#post-207781

 

[powershift]

The LR4 brakes are pretty weak. AP Racing monoblock calipers are what I'd like, but would need to go to a R20 rim instead of R18 https://apracing.com/performance-upgrades/factory-big-brake-kits. Might need a larger master cylinder and/or booster, but increasing the swept area with a strong monoblock is where the power is.

 

[Land Rover Joe]

The LR4 brakes are pretty weak. AP Racing monoblock calipers are what I'd like, but would need to go to a R20 rim instead of R18 https://apracing.com/performance-upgrades/factory-big-brake-kits. Might need a larger master cylinder and/or booster, but increasing the swept area with a strong monoblock is where the power is.

@powershift

I don't think the brakes are that terrible on the LR4, but the Brembo racing calipers are indeed a heck of an upgrade, which several members of the forum have apparently done.

In my case... I have a set of 18" Compomotives so if I want to run those wheels...no Brembo for me. Thus, I am rebuilding all of the brakes with the original aluminum factory calipers.

Here are a couple photographs of the front knuckles (steel) and calipers (aluminum) after the rebuild (to include gloss black caliper paint available at your local auto supply store - nothing fancy). The rebuild was pretty complete to include pistons, pins, fasteners, hoses, ABS sensors, etc (but reusing the original calipers).

In the second photo, you can see the new braided stainless steel hoses (Stainless Steel Brake Hose kit by Terrafirma Goodridge, 6 hose set with hardware for LR4 with 2 inch lift purchased from Atlantic British). This hose set is replacing the stainless steel hoses I put on back in late 2012 (and where this thread began - above).

The third photo has the old front brake lines removed - still functional after all these years but a bit worn and discolored. Notice the mounting hardware on those brake hoses...more about those brackets at a later date (stay tuned!)

The last picture is a photo of the front left caliper before beginning all this work - I was surprised how corroded everything was (but I suppose should not have been).

 

[Land Rover Joe]

A few more photos - the caliper paint I used. Note - this is nothing special and I have since learned that there are specialty kits for just doing calipers. That would probably be better than my relatively amateurish Auto Zone purchase...but we will see how things hold up.

The second photo is the what the left rear knuckle and assembly looked like before tear down.

The third photo is another close-up of the caliper rebuild (front) - it was a bit difficult to source all the parts for the rebuild and I ended up using three or four different suppliers (and a lot of back-and-forth).

The last photo is a close-up of the rear knuckle, with new bearing, after the full service (for compare and contrast of what it looked like on the vehicle before disassembly!)

 

[Land Rover Joe]

More close-up photographs of the rear-end (left rear) after the rebuild was completed and re-assembly / fitment back onto the truck ~

 

[Land Rover Joe]

But back to the brake lines.......

Here is an image taken from the workshop manual regarding the layout of the brake lines (all of them).

Previously, I thought that my steel brake lines were alright (several forum members have noted problems with their lines being corroded and requiring replacement). I assumed that my steel (NOT stainless bent tubing but just regular European-sized rigid steel tubing) lines were good to go. Which is partly true: I have done numerous anti-corrosion campaigns over the years to help protect them.

On this diagram, you can sort of see where the flexible tubing interfaces with the inflexible lines. I have replaced the flexible (plastic, OEM) tubing on the front and lower with stainless steel back in 2013. I have sought to replace these, as well as the upper flexible tubing, with the new kit I have recently purchased from AB (hard to see on this diagram).

For the rear assembly, the breakdown in the Workshop Manual is not really helpful when it comes to routing the brake lines - see the second image. This diagram is essential for the rebuild - but does not tell you anything about the hydraulic brake lines.

 

[Land Rover Joe]

This image, however, is much better to communicate what I am currently facing, and I found it online.

The point is that for the rear brake hoses, there is a short steel / inflexible line which connects what I am calling the "lower" hose (which mates to the caliper) and the "upper" hose (which wraps around all that junk like suspension and knuckle).

In this figure, the left-hand (driver-side for LR4/NAS) flexible (OEM are plastic, my aftermarket are braided stainless steel) lines are annotated as 2282A and 2282B. What I have learned is that the little steel line which connects them, annotated as 2267A (left-hand side), has suffered greatly over the last 15 years. The fittings are so corroded that we are worried that they will simply disintegrate when we try to put everything back together...so the entire steel line (with integrated fittings) needs replacing.

Also heavily corroded are the fittings on the longer lines which run from the main brake lines along the frame from the engine bay and connect into the "upper" flexible hose - annotated on this diagram as 2C292A (in the blown up or call out diagram, the reference is 2267D). Thus, I must also replace those hoses as well.

The anti-corrosion I had done worked great for the lines themselves...just not the fixtures, which are now the "weak link" in the brake system.

 

[Land Rover Joe]

The Team at Land Rover Palm Beach has been kind enough to assist me with this sub-project, so I have ordered from them (which correspond to what I have outlined above in Post #17 to replace those respective rigid / inflexible steel brake lines with steel fittings):

Order Contents:

P/N	Quantity	Price Each	Description
LR056968	1	$ 185.05​	Tube - Brake.
LR056967	1	$ 185.05​	Tube - Brake.
LR021678	1	$ 44.42​	Tube - Brake.
LR021679	1	$ 44.42​	Tube - Brake.

 

[Land Rover Joe]

For those wanting to know more about selecting, cutting, and bending brake lines - see the second half of this episode of Power Nation -

Installing High-Performance Suspension on a '69 GTO - Detroit Muscle S11, E14​

Christian from LR Time has also redone (bent and then replaced regular steel) brake lines on the rebuild of his wife's DISCO 3 (AKA "Mall Crawler")...and I think they will show some of this for their LR4 project car "Prince Charming" whose episodes are now being posted by them.

 

[Land Rover Joe]

Tribe,

As this project continues, it is worth noting what pads and rotors we actually installed for my 2010 LR4 rebuild.

I decided to give the "advanced" or "performance" brakes a shot to see if they actually make a difference. In the past, I figured that these really would not give me all that much more "performance" for the price...so have just been experimenting with after market and OEM over the years (conclusion: OEM is better).

I purchased from Atlantic British the

EBC Performance Brake Rebuild Kit, Front And Rear, 3GD Series Sport Brake Rotors And Greenstuff Pads With Wear Sensors For Land Rover LR4​

Out of the box and installed, they feel quite superior to the OEM (and definitely cheaper after market sets). They grip well and seem to have a smooth application of braking force. We will see how they hold up but I would say that these are the best brakes I have had on the truck (which I have tried).

No squeal and a solid performance thus far. Maybe you do get with you pay for (and at a thousand bucks for a whole change over - one is certainly paying!)...at least when it comes to brake pads and rotors.

Meanwhile...waiting for additional parts (Post #18) to arrive to complete the brake hose installation, which should include some specially fabricated brackets for these new Terrafirma braided stainless steel hoses in the front, but also maybe the rear. Note: the Terrafirma do not come with the right brackets / holders (like the OEM do) in order to keep all of these hoses properly managed and aligned along the knuckles and suspension.