Club 80-90 Forums

What's a good upgrade to a standard 1990 T25 1.6Td JX....errr Calypso Green...Atlantic....hightop.... Advice and opinions please.

Is it also necessary to change the brake pipes? Will they cope with the new discs and drums or is that not how it works?

Cheers,

HV

PS: i'll have to remortgage Her Indoors if this carries on.
PPS: I will also Wiki this but sometimes it's nicer to talk to people than read books....sometimes

There's no need to upgrade the standard brakes on a 1.6TD.....they're not quick anyway.

A standard set up in very good condition is more than adequate for a 1.6TD.
A cheap and very effective upgrade to the standard set up though is a set of braided hoses from www.brickwerks.co.uk.
Fast road pads are also available from Brickwerks but they're not really going to be of any use on a 1.6TD.

Spend your money on good quality standard discs and pads and fit some braided hoses....job jobbed.

Hey Steve,

I sort of reached that conclusion over the weekend too. i'm going to run it in to Pfeiffer's (my local garage) to ask their opinion about the condition of the brakes today.

yer right though, it ain't quick but it doesn't decelerate quickly either. Could do with someone from this forum giving it a once over for me, just to point out the things which will be worth doing to improve what is already okay.

The braided hoses alone totally transform the brakes so mixed with new discs,pads and shoes you will find them more than adequate for your needs.

Just been looking at Jed the spread's blog....aren't they a lovely family

D'you know a place I can get good discs from? i'm going to check VW but i'm not sure they'll stock them and if they do they could be double expensive.

B'Works don't seem to have them on their site and I know Simon's right busy moving etc at the mo so I don't want to bug him with such things. Braided hoses look like a goodun.

My attention seems to be being drawn to the suspension and brakes at the mo...oh and some minor rust.....and sound proofing...and ..and...and...

Cheers,

HV

Simon doesn't move garages until the end of the month.

GSF sell Brembo discs for about 30 quid each.(Simon probably uses these?)
Eurocarparts sell Guttmann and ATE discs for about the same price as well.

All 3 brands are good.

Just been on the blower to GSF Worthing, all parts on the shelf.

Discs £28+vat
Pads £16.50+vat
Shoes £22+vat

Simon's got the hoses on his site.

Jobicus Dunicus

Will let you know what I break in the process of doing it...unless i simply get a mechanic to do it for me.....

HV

PS: While looking at Jed the Spread's Blog, I noticed he had fitted to his modded Caravelle a gear stick extension. I have the same one from JK but have put the bugger on differently....off to fix that now. Reverse is a bit of a bugger to find. Yet another 'little job'.

Don't forget new wheel bearings as well for the new front discs.

And dont get those from GSF apparently. Buy VW or BW's....

Ringo

be careful with that brake fluid , does nasty damage does that , has time will tell, and it will tell

update:

damn good news for me.

took the wheels off one by one, as I only have the wind-up jack the van came with and had a good look around. also took ages translating the complete service history from German (nightmare) to see when the discs were last changed. Interesting stuff. the discs were last changed in March last year and all work that has ever been done to the van was by a VW main dealer in Germany so that's one job i won't have to do for a while but I will upgrade to braided hoses and get the pads checked/ changed as you say Steve. Brickworks have the pipes...but fitting them will be another thing altogether. I hear ya about the fluid so maybe it's a job for someone who knows how to do it and that'll cost me.

The discs are slightly worn but the calipers.....look as if they have been at the bottom of the ocean for a hundred years. they are encrusted in rust. I'm going to figure out how to remove it and paint the calipers.

while i was down there, i washed, poked, wire brushed out all the mud and dust and (what's with all the plastic bottles under the wheel arches?) gave the whole area a damn good undersealing. No rust!! ...unless you count the hole in the step under the plastic step-cover thingy. I've got a can of waxoyl so i'll do the box sections someday soon.

all looking good so far.

Cheers folks,

HV

PS: Maybe i'll tackle the braided hose fitting myself.

Hypnovan wrote:(what's with all the plastic bottles under the wheel arches?)

They're the fuel tank breathers.

I'm sure there's method in their madness but VW could at least have made some sort of cowling for the inner arches to stop all that crud clogging up the furthest and most rust prone recesses. Vorsprung Durch Didn't think of that...now that's a good idea for someone who can make such things and market them.

you can get wheel arche inserts , someone on ebay was doing them

Thanks Mr. T', i'll have another ebay browse tonight. I guess once i've plastered the cavities around my wheels with underseal etc, it won't matter.

Hey guys,

what d'you reckon about the JK Td servicing manual for £12.70? I can't find a Haynes and i've seen some pretty scathing comments about Haynes on here anyways.

http://shop.justkampers.com/product_inf ... ts_id/9557