XF Brake Upgrade

[Mr Polson 10,214]

So the front brakes on my wagon are about stuffed (needs calliper kits).

 

Was wondering if there are any better (and not extremely expensive) upgrades out there?

 

I think I've read that XG brakes are better and bolt straight up?

[steve mcqueen 1,796]

I would have thought XG were the same as XF polson?

I love the XF Girlock brakes, they pull you up great for a car that is over 20 years old.

If I were you, id get your calipers kitted out. Just had a quick look on evil bay and found

calipers ready to buy starting at around $250, just another option.

If yours are almost stuffed, they might just get away with a good degrease, wash and new pads?

Worth a shot, and stick some bendix or REPCO thermo quiets in the front. Don't scrimp on the front.

This is where most braking is done. The rears, you can go abit cheaper.

[Mr Polson 10,214]

If there's no cheap easy replacement I'll get a kit put through them.

Its got Bendix pads in the front.

 

Tried having them washed and the slides decreased, still didn't fix it. Had three mechanics now say they need kits.

[Thom 6,651]

HQ has a 1/8th inch bigger piston, old hot rod trick is to use Ford rotors (15mm bigger than HQ ) with HQ calipers, don't know how hard they are to fit to a Ford stub axle though

[adrianphu123 73]

i did a brake upgrade a while back, slotted rotors, rekitted calipers, new hoses, new master cylinder and new fluid for all 4 wheels. Renewed, they're not bad brakes. They're not hard to do yourself, as long as you have access to an air compressor to remove the pistons.

[Mr Polson 10,214]

Its got good hoses, rotors, fresh fluid and good booster/master cylinder...

Which is why I was wondering if there was a later model caliper that bolts straight up.

 

Doing an eBay search shows XG use same pads, but have a different caliper kit to XF, which makes me think they're different.

[Outback Jack 6,352]

Stop buying all me XG spares.... lol .

Think it's just the rears have a different handbrake set up on the rear calipers, is also a wind out piston set up on the backs.  Fronts should list up the same.

I could be wrong though... wouldn't be the first time...... lol

 

jack.

[Ando81 2,949]

I would have thought XG were the same as XF polson?

I love the XF Girlock brakes, they pull you up great for a car that is over 20 years old.

If I were you, id get your calipers kitted out. Just had a quick look on evil bay and found

calipers ready to buy starting at around $250, just another option.

If yours are almost stuffed, they might just get away with a good degrease, wash and new pads?

Worth a shot, and stick some bendix or REPCO thermo quiets in the front. Don't scrimp on the front.

This is where most braking is done. The rears, you can go abit cheaper.

 

I agree, I reckon they are good brakes for their age. Only once on my ute have I thought my brakes were about to fail on me but I had a lot of weight in the back of it and I was driving like a dickhead in hilly traffic. Had to stop at a set of traffic lights and really had to push the pedal hard to get her to stop but that was my own fault for abusing the brakes for the previous 5 km. Just my opinion anyway.

[XFChris 126]

+1 on kitting the factory calipers, remember the seals are around 20+ years old, and not sealing as good as fresh ones.

 

New standard rotors (if you need them), decent set of pads, and fresh brake fluid should set you right.

 

And don't underestimate the distance you need to brake too.

[agentkiwi 110]

I bought the kits off eBay & did it myself. It wasn't particularly easy but wasn't impossible either. Hardest part was winding the piston back in!!!

I just followed my Ford shop manual otherwise.

New pads, rotors, bearings, grease, brake fluid. All up cost me about $500 for 4 wheels & 1 weekend.

[Crazy2287 1,886]

Dude the seal kits are like $20. Just put a minor kit in them. If there is corrosion on the piston, polish it with some scotch bright and a drill. As long as it's not too bad. If the piston is fked, then get a "major rebuild kit" as they usually come with a new piston but are more $$$

You don't need to go hectic with your breaks if the cars is not too serious. I have used my car at the track multiple times with factory brakes, just bendex ultimate pads and slotted rotors. No brake fade.<br /><br />Unless your after some hectic performance because your pushing 300kw at the wheels then better to put your money elsewhere in my opinion.

[Mr Polson 10,214]

She's all factory and will be for a while.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'll just get a kit put through the front ones. Factory rotors will do me for now I reckon, and I use Bendix pads. Has fresh fluid too.

 

Now, what about the back ones? They're worse than the fronts (grabbing pretty bad sometimes). Its a late XF wagon with discs. Are they as simple to fix as putting a kit through?

[agentkiwi 110]

Only slightly more complicated because of the handbrake lever being driven by the adjuster screw.

A piston winding or resetting tool is really useful!

[Crazy2287 1,886]

If your putting a kit through then you can pull em apart and reset the piston using the wormdrive keyway where the handbreak lever bolts on, and a spanner.

 

Quick 3-2-1. Once you have the caliper in front of you, Pads are already removed. Look at the back of it, and hold it in a vice. remove the return spring then loosen the handbrake lever retaining bolt. Lake the lever right off. Get a spanner to fit where the lever just came off and spin it clockwise. It will wind the piston out of the caliper.

 

To pull it back in, once you have the caliper to this stage, and you try and wind the piston back in the wormdrive shaft will pull into the housing as it winds into the piston. Put the handbreak lever retaining bolt on a few turns so that it holds the spanner loosely to the wormdrive. Then as you turn it in, stop an lever the worm drive back. Keep repeating this until you pull the piston all the way back, then reset the handbrake lever and install the return spring.

 

To polish the internal bore where the wormdrive shaft pivots, Jam some scotchbright into the jaw of a 13mm chuck drill and spin it up with some wd-40 or similar. Will polish any dirt and crap out so the handbrake will work flawlessly again.

[Dyllan187 324]

On the talk of upgrading brakes, does anyone know where/if you can get braded brake lines for an XF?

[slydog 7,873]

Pete XES...

[blu xe 825]

Don't be tempted or talked into running too hard a pad , all you'll do is chew up rotors. Unless you drive like a tool everytime you drive your car. But then if its anything like up here at the moment the boys in blue will sort out your licence before you need to worry about rotor wear anyway.

[XF0747 69]

werent the early xf calipers girlock then they went to pbr in the later models?

if that is the case later model xf would be the same as xg

[Mr Polson 10,214]

werent the early xf calipers girlock then they went to pbr in the later models?

if that is the case later model xf would be the same as xg

Nope, all my XFs (including the 92 model I wrecked) have had Girlock calipers.

[eattsie9 350]

anybody got any info on whats involved in putting new kits through the calipers? i want to do all mine while ive got everything out for my suspension/steering gear/ diff swap

 

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[eattsie9 350]

nevermind i should probably read the whole thread propperlt before asking questions...

 

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