any burley mortor sports rear disc brake upgrade?

[targis58]

How much did it improve the braking power for you?

How much did it improve the E-brake power for you?

Was it pretty easy to swap the brake kit without any issue?
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90 westy 2wd w/ TBD

[insyncro]

I use rear disc brakes on all vans that have had engine conversions and will be towing.

I have had no issue setting up and tuning the rear discs to have excellent brakeing and a very good e brake.

I have Burleys kit on a van currently...no issues in 15k miles.

The South African rear drum setup will give much better e brake control for offroad capable vans.

[Jon_slider]

I have smallcar rear disks, dont know how they compare to Burleys.

The stopping power, combined with my big SA front brakes, is fantastic, and my 87 Syncro Westy is heavy, 5000 lbs.

I previously had a 4700 lb 86 syncro westy with stock brakes. The stopping power by comparison was downright scary and dangerous!

I highly recommend Van-Cafe's front big brakes, if you dont already have your fronts upgraded.

I did not do the rear disk install, but it required changing wheel studs to insure enough threads for the lug nuts. There was also some sort of machine work involved to make the axle nut fit with enough threads to hold properly. Burley should be able to tell you about those details.

My Emergency brake works OK, nothing to write home about.. some people say it is not as good as a drum brake.. I found them about the same. the disk Ebrake is Definitely not better, some people report disk based Ebrakes being less effective than drum based Ebrakes.

[madspaniard]

I have Burleys rear disk brake kit installed, it is just an Audi-based kit.

My drum brakes were working excellent before doing this upgrade, they were really well adjusted so I didn't feel a bug difference in stopping power. They just work and feel like you are braking in a modern car.

I'm not too happy about my e-brake and need to look into it. Not sure what the problem is, to engage it I need to pull the hand brake all the way up and even after that it doesn't feel very safe, like it wouldn't take much to get going with the e-brake engaged. I was actually planning to look at it today. This issue seems to be common to rear disk brake installs, not specifically related to Burley.
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1991 Westy auto w/ Peloquin TBD

"The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad” - Salvador Dali

[targis58]

Thanks for the posts

E-brake was the first reason I was thinking about upgrading the brake.

I have the vc's front SA disc brake and the SA drums for the rear. and I don't think there is any e-brake improvement from the drum upgrade since brake shoes are still the same small size...

Hey Mad. If you were gonna work on your e-brake today could you please post what you find out.
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90 westy 2wd w/ TBD

[canasync]

Ditto on the ebrake.

A buddy of mine installed the rear discs a few months back and even after proper adjustment the ebrake leaves alot to be desired.
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1987 Syncro
3 knobs
PumpeDüse TDI (17mm Garret Turbo, bigger injectors, stage 4 malone tune, intercooled)
Cruise Control
Remote Start/locks
Custom Lift
Custom Bumpers with receivers
Coast Mountain Hightop - Comming Soon

1985 2wd Vanagon Pre-runner in the making
soon to be powered by 2.5L Subaru
Custom Lift

[r39o]

The rear discs are OK, if you need to rebuild your rear brakes anyway.

With simple changes like stainless flex hoses and SA drums, to me, it is a toss up.

I may be an old maid, but I just do not like the turned down hubs.

Like for the front, I looked for discs that did not require any material removal, or maybe a little. There are other discs that you only need to remove a bit of meat.

I just have left my rear brakes alone.

They work fine if in good shape. Many, many rear drum setups are not properly maintained, I have noticed and hence the wanting for something better, which you do not really get with the rear discs.

They rear disc sure is neat and easy to service, but does not seem to provide such a huge change as one might want.
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"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!

1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....

Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently)

[squeegee_boy]

I've got the kit from Burley. It's more or less identical to the SmallCar kit.

The parking brake is... okay. It holds the van on hills but not as well as the drums.

I knew that going in, though. The reason I bought them was because cleaning sand and mud out of the drums after every 4x4 adventure got old *really* fast.

Stopping power feels the same as the drums. I have the syncro.ca big brakes up front, too.

Robyn
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1984 FrankenSyncro Westy. EJ25 RMW kit
1971 Super Beetle with an EJ22. Oh yes. Daily driver

[Jedi]

I was just wondering if you folks have adjusted the E brake cable under the van to improve your brake hold?
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1961 Westfalia SO23 Mango Green/Seagull grey
1961 Westfalia SO34 T/BW
1961 Westfalia SO34 SWR
1964 Westfalia SO33 pearl white
1965 Westfalia SO42 Velvet green
1986 Syncro Wolfram grey with black int GL
1986 Syncro Doka
1987 Syncro Sevana beige Adventurewagen
1987 syncro Sevana beige GL
1973 Pumpkin orange Thing
2 1963 Rag top bug's
1965 Manx
1970 Single cab
1971 combi
1990 Vanagon GL
2007 Audi A4 3.2L quattro

[svenakela]

If the calipers are VAG they are autoadjusters, right?
In that case it's important that the wires aren't too tight and that the e-brake arm really goes back to the "bottom" position again. If everything is done properly the e-brake is taking action at the first click.
The main wire should be pretty loose, sloppy actually. If the caliper arm doesn't turn back to the start position you'll neither have self adjustment nor enough travel to kick in.
To adjust the e-brake, pull it and push the pedal hard a couple of times. Release the e-brake. Push the pedal again, pull the e-brake and push the pedal again a couple of times. This procedure is even in the worksop manaul for VW Passat. It helps the auto adjuster to set the correct pre-tension.
My experience is that the wires gives enough resistance to stop the arm going back. On my Multivan I added the external large spring from the newer Audi calipers to help the arm going back. My e-brake works for sure, I can stop the wheels without any problem even in high speed.

[madspaniard]

David helped me today adjusting the e-brake, we are not brake experts. We increased the tension on the main cable, which was pretty loose to start with, this seems to be against what Svenakela just said, maybe I should have left the cable loose. The adjustment increased the "safety" feel of the hand brake, I no longer need to pull it all the way up to fully engage the e-brake. However, I did a test, got the van up on a steep driveway and pulled the e-brake, the van rolled back down so the cable adjustment did nothing to improve the braking power of the e-brake...
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1991 Westy auto w/ Peloquin TBD

"The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad” - Salvador Dali

[squeegee_boy]

[Jon_slider]

imho, the rear disks do NOT make the parking brake better than stock drums, and Neither will hold on Steep hills, even after multiple adjustments.

Because I was with Bill Langan when he broke an axle on Truck Hill, and his parking brake was useless there, so he Had to try backing down, which led to a rollover...

I invested in 4 wheel Line Locks, specifically for emergency parking of a disabled vehicle on a steep hill.

They Definitely hold, on ANY hill steepness Ive tried.. however, they only disengage if you step on the brake again, which means the device is useless as a hill holder brake when trying to start uphill from a stop (you cant just flip the switch to disengage the brake line locks).. I still rely on the emergency brake for that transition..

The line locks can also be used as a theft deterrent. If the switch is on when someone steps on the brakes, they lock, and the vehicle stops! Wherever it is, in the middle of the road most likely..

In fact, I often forget to turn the switch off when pulling out of my driveway, which means I get stuck after backing into the street, until I remember to turn off the brake lock..

my linelocks were purchased and installed by Jack Sefeurer, of BRU Auto in El Cajon, CA 619-287-9716

[danfromsyr]

Sounds like you folks need to work up the next Subaru frankenadaptation
the HILL HOLDER
invented by Studebaker and installed on thousands of Subarus..
I'm only familiar with them on the Subaru Brats..
we'd installed one into a Berrien Buggy, it was a simple device with a rolling check ball and a cable that reacted from the Clutch pedal

step on the Brake & Clutch then you can release the Brake and it'll hold till you release the clutch again. very handy for steep uphill stops.
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[madspaniard]

[Farfrumwork]

[svenakela]

[r39o]

[svenakela]

[Howesight]

Svenakala:

You and I must be lucky. My Audi URS4 uses that same caliper (in my case, a Girling brand) and my e-brake is good and strong and enables me to do handbrake 180 degree spins.

However, it was not always thus. I was the second owner of this car and the e-brake did not work well at all when got it, so I removed and rebuilt the calipers, tried to lube the cable and sheath, installed stainless brake hoses and fiddled and fiddled.

I just could not get the e-brake to hold sufficiently on my (then) steep driveway. In the end, I had to replace the entire e-brake cable and sheath which, on the URS4 requires removal of the entire exhaust system from the downpipe back (!!!) and removal of a bunch of heatshields as well.

Only after doing this did I have decent operation of the e-brakes and it is obvious in hindsight that the reason for the poor performance is that the cables, which only stuck very slightly, prevented the self-adjusting mechanism from working and in no time, the adjustment was so poor that the e-brake had very little clamping power.

The other problem with these calipers is that the operating shaft in the caliper (which attaches to the lever attaching to the cable) has a very poorly designed seal that allows salt, grit and water in to rust the shaft whereupon it will not return to its resting position. When it will not return to resting position, the automatic adjuster will not work.

Bear in mind that these are not large rotors nor large calipers. They do not strike me as a significant improvement considering how finicky the calipers are. I am also in an online group of URS4 and URS6 owners, and the e-brake failure/weakness on these cars is a common complaint.

If the rotors on this rear brake swap were larger, then the e-brake would not be so sensitive to all aspects being in perfect order. I have complete confidence in the Vanagon drum brakes when it comes to e-brakes, and I am careful to keep them in adjustment so that the stopping power is also reasonable. For me, the e-brakes are absolutely critical since I sleep in my Westy. I often park on the only flat spot in a steeply hilly area, so there's no room for compromise on this.


So I think the drums give a more reliable e-brake, evne thought the disks may give a stopping advantage ( at least on longer grades). But most people, I reckon, don't get all they can out of their drum brakes. A great way to check if maladjustment on your drums is affecting your braking is to lift your ebrake one or two clicks and test your service brakes. If braking performance improves noticeably, your drum brakes need attention, most likely, to be adjusted and fix whatever is keeping the self-adjusters from properly adjusting. It's a pretty robust self-adjusting system, but corrosion, sand and lack of use can seize it up.

(Having said all that, you guys can all flame me later when I install rear disks just because they look so damn cool).
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'86 Syncro Westy SVX