Turns out I need to put new pads into the E-Brake (if I want it to work) and got me to thinking:
1) The E-brake drum really gets the hell beat out of it in the rought stuff.

2) The drum also takes the brunt of hits and could be protecting the T-case and exhaust (at least on my truck).

By removing the E-Brake drum I would gain about 2-3" of ground clearance in that area, but at what cost....
Also, not sure how expensive a decence Line-Lock for the brakes would run?

Any thoughts? I am sure I am not the first person to give this some consideration.

I had made an attempt to mount a parking brake on my transfer case output last week but gave up. I will be going to line locks. I like the security of a manual brake but the line locks will work better and with an extremely low crawl ratio and a manual transmission, it will already take one hell of a grade to get my rig to roll in gear...it won't. The line locks are in case it were to pop out of gear. just can't let any kids play in the rig while parked on a grade.

I've seen a small dia disk brake on an LT230 before... it was made up with after market parts from the US. Sorry I can't recall more right now.

I've seen a small dia disk brake on an LT230 before... it was made up with after market parts from the US. Sorry I can't recall more right now.

You can't tease me like this and just leave me hanging. :flipoff2: Get me those part numbers!

This is a subject I've grappled with for some time now. My LT230T is too close to the frame to allow the original drum brake setup to fit so I've experimented a bit with disk brakes. My first design used a Wilwood SPOT caliper which is a small mechanical caliper. Not nearly enough clamping force to hold the truck. A stiff breeze could get it moving. Next came the Wilwood hydraulic caliper on the left in the photo. Better clamping force but not enough friction surface. The pads are only about an inch and a half square. The mechanical brake on the right in the photo is my lastest attempt at making the disk brake system work and I'm confidant that it will generate enough clamping force and friction to do the job. The disk in the photo was an early iteration and isn't going to be used, I just dug it out for illustrative purposes.

http://www.hoopsbodyarts.com/109/l_img_0386.jpg

In my hung-over condition I can't remember who makes the hell-for-stout mechanical caliper pictured. It is stamped out of 1/4" plate and is very well built with ample pad surface. I've shared this with Timm so I'm sure you'll start seeing them on his conversions soon. I'll dig around tomorrow to find out where I ordered this from. I know that it's one of the Toyota-specific manufacturers out there but I've killed the brain cells where that info was saved.

I'm going to go dry heave now...

It looks like the one made by All Pro Offroad for the 4 banger tacomas:

http://www.allprooffroad.com/brakes.htm

Line locks can and will lose pressure over time. I know of two instances where a truck rolled down something relying on a LL (both were installed correctly).

As far as gearing goes, I think having ultra low gears will make it "easier" to move while it is in gear. You get a mechanical advantage with the lower gears vs the engine compression.

I would stay away from the disc conversions on the tcase output unless you can get something that is so small in diameter that there is no chance to bang it on rocks (or some kind of indestructable skid plate for it). Same problem with pinion brakes as well. Thankfully our drum ebrakes are pretty robust, as mine has seen some serious scrapin'. And it doesn't hang below the frame rail at all.

Why not get some ebrake calipers that will fit our discs (maybe Caddy eldorado's) and put them on the rear axle clocked away from the existing calipers. People do it for fiddle brakes on Rovers and other rigs. Can't see why it wouldn't work for the ebrake. You are only out the cost of the calipers (rebuilt down at the local auto store). And some welded on caliper brackets which are super easy to make and weld on. You "could" get fancy and make them fiddle brakes as well as ebrakes.

Billster

Line locks can and will lose pressure over time.
That's true, but most of the time the e-brake is used to hold the truck only a short time while the truck is still running or out of gear while winching. I don't think the gradual loss of pressure is a real detriment for the common usage. If you want to park your truck on a slope, out of gear, for a long time then it definitely is a problem.

As far as gearing goes, I think having ultra low gears will make it "easier" to move while it is in gear. You get a mechanical advantage with the lower gears vs the engine compression.
I would think just the opposite. It is easier to turn over the engine in a higher gear which is why when you are bump starting you use 2-high or 3-high.

As far as calipers on the rear disks go... those of us with Series rigs are out of luck for the most part. I think that line lock is a viable option for a parking brake provided that it isn't relied upon to hold the truck long-term while out of gear and provided that your brake system is in good condition. If the All-Pro Offroad caliper doesn't do the trick, that's my next step.

I think you are right on the gearing part. Just doesn't seem logical. As far as the disc on the tcase goes, just make sure it is protected. Cuz it will get damaged if you wheel the truck in the rocks.

One of the two line lock failures I have seen were exactly how you describe. Offroad, engine running, parked the truck for 30 minutes or so at the back end of a string of trucks waiting for a truck to get over some big ledge. The LL truck slid back off a big rock and crunched the vehicle behind it. Not to be trusted as an ebrake IMHO, even for short periods of time (okay maybe 5 minutes is okay).

Billster

Keep in mind I am running an Auto and my emergency brake never worked bery well anyways. I figure the linelock has to be as good as my current setup, which is stock BTW. I do agree that the current drum is probably a better option than converting to a disc simply due to toughness of the drum off-road.

Larry,
The e-brake on my current rangie didn't work very well. When I had the LT230 out to fit maxidrive low range gears, I found someone had left 1 of the small rollers (about 3/8" dia and run on actuator cam) out.

Bill,

Re gearing. As you know, logically, when driving from engine to wheel the reduction gearing, reduces engine rpm to lower wheel rpm and increase torque at engine to greater combined torque at wheels.

Now, when driving from wheels to engine (engine braking), the gearing is step-up, not reduction. The torque at the wheels is reduced to a lower torque at the engine. Mechanical efficiency also absorbs a deal of the torque.

You probably have tried this with a gearbox on the bench. With the gearbox in a low gear, you can turn the input shaft easily by hand, but turning the output shaft is difficult or impossible. And this is just against internal friction (mechanical efficiency).