Disco 3 brakes - which brands

[reb78]

I am going to overhaul the rear brakes on the D3. I have branded discs and pads but am struggling to find calipers that are from a reputable brand. I cant bring myself to pay genuine prices (~£200 per caliper) when good aftermarket parts are usually around £60 each.. but therein lies the problem. TRW don't seem to be available at the moment (which I think is the OEM for these) - well, I can find a left side TRW but not the right.

The usual suppliers have Britpart, Bearmach and Allmakes pattern parts but I tend to avoid these for brakes as they are often rather ****e to put it bluntly....

Other brands I can find are Einbach (?? never heard of them), EAC (have used some bits for non critical parts and were ok - seem to be a brand for parts sourced by a UK firm but not sure they are made in the UK) and Bremtech (seems to be an Aussie firm but I think the parts are made in China)

Any thoughts or experiences on the three brands above or are they all sourced from the far east with the usual poor QC? I have never been in a spot where I cant get TRW, AP, Delphi etc parts for brakes.

 

[wyn]

I usually use whatever "Advanced factors" have on their website for my D3.
I did use bearmach to replace a sticking rear caliper.....just bought their cheapest and stuck it on....seems to be ok.

 

[Craig-SM]

Have you thought about just refurbishing your current calipers with piston and seals.

 

[jenki]

Bigg Red? I have not used them but seem to be well regarded. I did use Brakes International on an Avensis years ago they were OK.

 

[johnik]

Einbach are a German co, euro car parts supply them, i have used loads of their products and never had a problem, there is always http://www.brakesint.co.uk/ same goes for them re quality

 

[reb78]

Thanks everyone.

Einbach are what Advanced Factors stock.

Brakes International have Bremtech.

i just hadnt heard of either brand and wanted to avoid sweatshop poor quality stuff. Sounds like either are fine.

I might refurb the old calipers and keep them for spares. I have done that on the 110. Seals and pistons from Bigg Red should be decent quality.

 

[Mma man]

I heard a rumour that you will soon only be able to fit originals from the manufacturer if boris gets through the legislation he's trying to sneek through at the moment.

 

[zzr1200]

Island 4x4 in Kent give you options on brands, I've never had a problem with them...

And they appear to be about the cheapest supplier.

 

[Ubique]

Lrparts.net will sort you some TRW calipers, make sure you change the slide pins if they're even slightly corroded. Pin kits are about £4.
Brakes are not something I'd ever be going cheap on.
Matford Landrover sell on fleabay as 'Matford1' sometimes they have things like genuine wiper arms, brakes and other components at really good prices.

 

[reb78]

Lrparts.net will sort you some TRW calipers, make sure you change the slide pins if they're even slightly corroded. Pin kits are about £4.
Brakes are not something I'd ever be going cheap on.
Matford Landrover sell on fleabay as 'Matford1' sometimes they have things like genuine wiper arms, brakes and other components at really good prices.

Oh, I agree - I am not looking for cheap. Happy to pay for a decent brand but would rather avoid dealer prices!

You got my hopes up though... lrparts only seem to have Britpart in stock...

I will check out Matford on ebay.

 

[reb78]

Island 4x4 in Kent give you options on brands, I've never had a problem with them...

And they appear to be about the cheapest supplier.

You have never had to return anything to them.... They once took payment for a brass tank rad for my 200tdi 110, then told me they had none in stock and it would take 6 weeks for them to refund me... I have had some parts off of them that have been ok, but whenever there is trouble with a part they are dreadful to deal with. I had a new viscous fan off of them for the 110 once and it was permanently on. They argued, refused to take it back initially, then told me it was fine and threatened not to refund - it sounded like a plane on take off all of the time and you couldn't stop it turning.... it was stuck on. I wont use them anymore. I think they are cheap because their customer service is non-existant!

 

[zzr1200]

I think they are cheap because their customer service is non-existant!

I can honestly say I've never had a problem with them.

I fact I advised my next door neighbour to order a V8 Disco2 cat equiped downpipes from them as they were way cheaper than anybody else I could find online.

 

[reb78]

I can honestly say I've never had a problem with them.

I fact I advised my next door neighbour to order a V8 Disco2 cat equiped downpipes from them as they were way cheaper than anybody else I could find online.

To be fair, they are fine if they have what you want, send the brand you are expecting/have ordered and it works when fitted. Being online mainly (I think they do have a shop) they barely need to do any customer facing stuff but when they do they let themselves down big time...!

 

[Ubique]

Oh, I agree - I am not looking for cheap. Happy to pay for a decent brand but would rather avoid dealer prices!

You got my hopes up though... lrparts only seem to have Britpart in stock...

I will check out Matford on ebay.

That was the impression I got, the comment was more for the wider audience. Odd about lrparts, I got some TRW from them a few months ago, think they were the OEM option on the drop-down list.

 

[reb78]

Eurocarparts (never look there!) stock Pagid calipers. They are fairly decent aren't they?

 

[indy4x]

I heard a rumour that you will soon only be able to fit originals from the manufacturer if boris gets through the legislation he's trying to sneek through at the moment.

I started reading something about that, not sure of the detail

 

[Ubique]

More Boris-bashing.... It's an EU extension of the 'block exemption' rules, the ones that save you money by allowing you to keep your warranty intact by having it services outside of the dealer networks - and it only applies to registered businesses, you'll still be able to fit any old tat to your own vehicle if you so wish.

Higher repair costs if UK approves ban on aftermarket parts

UK vehicle part suppliers are urging the government to veto a proposal they say would cost the average car owner an extra £100 on repairs

www.iaea-online.org

OEM stuff will still be able to be sold & fitted as it will automatically comply.

 

[Ubique]

Eurocarparts (never look there!) stock Pagid calipers. They are fairly decent aren't they?

https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/trw/2185306

 

[m_c]

Eurocarparts (never look there!) stock Pagid calipers. They are fairly decent aren't they?

I'd only fit Pagid calipers to somebody's vehicle who I wanted to injure.
In all my years in the trade, I have never seen so many faulty calipers straight out the box.
Leaking pistons. Leaking handbrake levers. Wrong tolerances so the pistons cause the pad to either bind, or give a soft brake pedal because the piston retracts too much.
You can even buy an axle pair, and each side will come with different fitting bits. Even had one a couple weeks ago, where the slide pin wouldn't even fit through the bore.
And if they do work, there is a high chance they'll be back in a few months needing replaced under warranty.

I'm pretty sure they just buy whatever reconditioned calipers they can source, and stick them in their own box, with zero QC done.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Fit Britpart as I wouldn't be surprised if exactly the same calipers are sold by different suppliers with their own sticker ! AFAIK Britpart don't actually make things themselves but rather contract out the manufacture. I've had crap from the Blue Boxes myself in the past but if you buy a caliper and remove the piston to ensure no swarf left inside (I've had that happen with a genuine LR clutch master cylinder !) then you don't have much to go wrong.