Electric park brake for 80 series - options? Worthwhile? Or silly overkill?

[sunrk]

Related to my transfer case rebuild thread, I did a search for any hf1a's currently for sale on gumtree, etc. and the top listing was this one for an 80 series electric park brake retro-fit kit....

TOYOTA LAND CRUISER - HF1A PART TIME 4WD - ELECTRIC TRANSFER CASE HANDBRAKE KIT (EPB)

FINALLY AN ANSWER TO ALL YOUR HANDBRAKE (or lack thereof) PROBLEMS! Introducing the newest version of the BBG transfer case handbrake kit - a no fuss, premium quality bolt-on solution! Now with electric operation - which gives far superior holding ability and super simplified install and...

www.boostedbuiltgarage.com

Manufacturer claims it will fit a factory part-time 80 series with hf1a transfer case! Are there there any other alternative park brake setups for 80's (that don't involve fiddling with the brakes at the rear wheels)?

The kit is designed in Australia to be fully ADR-compliant which is nice.

It seems really overly-fancy for a very old 4wd but something that actually is designed to fit factory part-time landcruisers (or those retro-fitted with the part-time transfer case) is quite rare I think.

 

[SoTexCruiserDoc]

This looks brilliant. I’d get it in a heartbeat if HF1a. I’ve reached out to the company for other options for AWD (until I swap the t-case to part time). Our Australian Cruiser envy continues…

 

[ToothDr]

I’d take manual over electric all day. Overkill. How often does the stock one fail?
btw my 2021 200 series still has a manual parking brake.

 

[mehbohdi]

Check this out. cheaper alternative and uses existing e-brake, just eliminates e-brake handle. Emergency Brake | Paramount | E-Stopp Corporation.

 

[SoTexCruiserDoc]

I’d take manual over electric all day. Overkill. How often does the stock one fail?
btw my 2021 200 series still has a manual parking brake.

Me too. But every time I’m looking down Black Bear or up Poughkeepsie, and that thing is creaking and the truck still moves some, I’m thinking how I don’t want to define exactly what an e-brake “fail” is and end up as an unfortunately popular youtube…

 

[sunrk]

I never park my 80 out of gear because it's so hard to get the handbrake to work right and *stay* working right.

But $2k for an electronic park brake is a lot for an 80 which isn't work the $100k that a 79 series is.

 

[mudgudgeon]

This looks brilliant. I’d get it in a heartbeat if HF1a. I’ve reached out to the company for other options for AWD (until I swap the t-case to part time). Our Australian Cruiser envy continues…

I'd save your envy for something worthwhile.

This style of park brake is problematic.

Older cruisers and Nissan's had a drum style park brake on the transfer case. I've watched them skip and skid down hill as an open rear diff allowed one wheel to roll backwards, the other with low traction skid and skip in the opposite direction.
Scary if you're behind it on a steep bit of trail, or on a wet grassy hill etc with low traction

 

[sunrk]

Bizarre thing with the 80 handbrake is downhill rear facing it always grabs (but I still park in gear for safety) but downhill front facing it's a PITA to get to hold and I will never park downhill forward facing on a steep grade even with the front wheels turned to push the LHF wheel (RHD land remember!) up against whatever curb there is.

I have installed the Superior Eng mod that 'pulls more cable' but that only works up to a point. I've tried the dogbone mod but my 80 has smaller disk brakes which the dogbone mods most commonly available for don't work with.

Having said that I've got all parts now to replace rear brakes with the bigger style. Yet another 'future project'.

 

[Feistl]

On the same sort of topic, what would people be willing to spend for an electric park/hand brake conversion kit that upgrades the factory rear drum/disk to a bigger slotted disk with an OEM caliper with inbuilt electric handbrake?

Just I have done the conversion on one of my 80 series and am about to do it on a couple more... I could potentially put together a bolt on engineered kit for those who are interested. That said, there is obviously some cost involved as it involves a custom machined rear hub, custom machined disk rotor, brackets, wiring loom and obviously the calipers/pads...

Still, would be cheaper than the HF1A PART TIME 4WD - ELECTRIC TRANSFER CASE HANDBRAKE KIT while being significantly better/more reliable...

 

[sunrk]

Electric park brakes on higher spec new cars are basically a fad and are used to implement features most people don't need because with everything being auto gearbox pretty much now nobody knows how to use a clutch, handbrake, throttle to do hill starts etc. To make e parkbrake legal here in Oz would require very heavy engineering certification as it's a big departure from factory spec design submitted when Toyota was seeking approval to import and sell 80 series here from new.

 

[peneumbra2]

You could probably buy a very large anchor for less money...

 

[auttiman]

I had a VW Passat 6 speed turbo with an electric E brake on it years ago. That POS brake wouldn’t disengage one time and it was a major hassle fixing it. And for this reason, I’m out.

 

[Feistl]

Fair enough...

I just got fed up with the stock 80 handbrake... Everything replaced (handbrake cable, all the fittings/parts, dogbone upgrade, new performance drum pads, DBA rotor, fully adjusted and bedded in properly.).. and still struggles to hold the cruiser on an incline without yanking hard on the lever to try and apply enough pressure.

And while I agree I'm not a fan of electric handbrakes in general, compared to the Toyota I much prefer them.

To make e parkbrake legal here in Oz would require very heavy engineering certification as it's a big departure from factory spec design submitted when Toyota was seeking approval to import and sell 80 series here from new.

I mean, the toyota handbrake design is based on the original FJ40 handbrake from the 1960s, meaning it was designed nearly 70 years ago. It was s*** in the FJ40s (which weigh half as much, and is less than useless in the 80s) Whereas the caliper I am using is fitted to some $200k+ German SUVs...

The engineering is actually very straight forward... The caliper and rotor are both ADR approved, the bracket is multiple times stronger than what toyota used and dual calipers/independent handbrakes means better redundancy compared to the split cable design of the 80. Plus the electric handbrake NEVER needs to be adjusted and doesn't suffer from wear, cable stretch, heat, water, mud etc

Yes, there can be instances of the electronic brakes getting stuck on... But id rather deal with that very occasionally than the potential of the cruiser rolling away and causing damage/injury every time I park it on a slight incline.

 

[sunrk]

I'm interested in this from the tech perspective at least. How is it controlled? 80's have no integrated computerised management system like modern vehicles so it would be a standalone thing. Is there a way to release it (or apply it) if something goes wrong electrically?

 

[Feistl]

I am still playing around with various control methods, but essentially the electric brake itself can be driven with 2 wires... Essentially when the handbrake is engaged fully you see a amp spike (~30amps), so a very simple circuit can be used. Its actually very very similar to how the auto down of the power windows work, when the load reaches a tipping point it breaks the circuit.

To release the handbrake you simply reverse the polarity (Simple H bridge) and run the motor for 2 seconds (can be done with a 555 timer or capacity arrangement).

I have the wiring for each caliper running up to a relay box in the rear of the vehicle, meaning if there is a controller failure I can simply remove the relay, apply 12v to release the handbrake. If the motor itself burns out, it is a bit more work as you have to remove the wheel to manually unwind the piston...

The other advantage is I am planning on running an inline Hydraulic handbrake in the standard lever position and/or a brake solenoid with a button release on the steering wheel for hill starts etc. From initial testing, a single Ebrake caliper provides far greater holding force than the combined factory setup of both drums.

And as mentioned, never having to worry about mud or river crossings from reducing effectiveness as it uses the standard disk rotor pads which also act further from the centre of the hub giving better leverage/mechanical advantage.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I'm interested.
I agree the 80s handbrake is a lost cause.

I'd suggest price out what you're costs are, and add a margin for yourself.
See if it's feasible from there

 

[alia176]

This is a sideways turn but why not install line brakes that drag racers use? Too much liability? Seems like an easy thing to do while some of us are doing ABS and LSPV elimination. Which can also classified as a liability to some. Step on the brakes, turn on the solenoid and done.

 

[ajordan1975]

This is a sideways turn but why not install line brakes that drag racers use? Too much liability? Seems like an easy thing to do while some of us are doing ABS and LSPV elimination. Which can also classified as a liability to some. Step on the brakes, turn on the solenoid and done.

this is my plan. Line lock for the win

 

[Feistl]

Couple of issues with a line lock…

Firstly, you can only switch them on for around 30 seconds at a time. The solenoids get hot so have a short duty cycle.

Secondly, they require constant power when active, which is fine for a few minutes but no ideal for parking…

Third, if the motor gets hot and current increases and blows a fuse, suddenly they will release pressure and the vehicle will roll.

And finally, here in Australia the rules and regulations state the handbrake must be mechanically activated and not rely on hydraulic pressure (so that rules out using a hydraulic hand brake with catch).

I have done a previous 80 series handbrake using a Subaru caliper with the handbrake built into the caliper itself. It works really really well, but requires welding a new bump stop bracket to the axle to protect the handbrake cable (which is a bit of a pain).

So now that the electric handbrake calipers are coming down in price it seems like a good option… well, they have their draw backs but I still consider it better than the 80 series drum design.

 

[peneumbra2]

Sort of off-track here, but large vehicles with AIR BRAKES have a really cool system. Pull the knob out, and SSSSSSSS - you're not going anywhere. If you should run out of air, the brakes lock up.
What's really strange to me is that the air brakes on a train are just the opposite: run out of air, and the brakes release. That's what caused the runaway train in Canada a few years ago - the one that incinerated an entire town.