Dogbones - upgraded handbrake spreader bars on e bay

[Chris]

Just came across these on E bay. OK you have to pay post from Oz etc but not bad overall. Since FNB stopped supplying them people have been welding them, chopping and hot gluing them back together and so on. But these are the dog's, errm dog's bones I suppose.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-L...hash=item41fe07cdb1:m:mn4y-DzpxV3a6CqPr3Lj8ig

 

[Julian T]

I bought a set from FNB, looked and felt really great, only thing is I could not get the brake disc hat over the hand brake shoes after doing a hand brake rebuild, for expediency I refitted the original dog bones and put these back in the spare parts to be used when needed box.

I still take them out and drool over them occasionally

 

[Chris]

Yes, they can be tight especially with new shoes and new discs too. I had the same issue. Couldn't get the disc on at all. Then I faffed around with the shoes, wiggled and jiggled here and there and suddenly the discs went on with room to spare. Basically the shoes have to be in precisely the right place to clear. They do work though.

 

[Charlie]

Any thoughts on this from Superior Engineering – “SUPERIOR HANDBRAKE UPGRADE KIT SUITABLE FOR TOYOTA LANDCRUISER HZJ-FZJ75/76/78/79/80 SERIES”

https://www.superiorengineering.com...andcruiser-80Series-1989-1997--WagonDiesel4.2

 

[Chris]

Worth a go I guess, but in my view pulling more cable isn't really the answer. It' like having poor brakes and a device that allows you to press your foot harder. It's not really the root of the problem. Correctly adjusted the OEM handbrake will lock your wheels. For some reason, when there's been big articulation, that adjustment goes off. In the first place there should have been two cables and a balancer not one cable slaved from the main one. This never seems to give an even pull. Thee are too many losses in the system. The other main fault is that the handbrake pivots at the bottom unlike say actual drum brakes that push out at the top and bottom evenly. It's genuinely just a poor design all around. Some 80s have rear drum brakes. What I don't know is what the handbrake is like on that model and if it uses the main brakes as a handbrake.

 

[Steve Wright]

Blimley About £24 for a couple of bits of metal, I would find a local engineering shop and I bet they will make a couple for about £5 and no waiting for them to come from Oz

 

[goodoldboy]

I bought Genuine Toyota for 90 series on Roughtrax for about a tenner each.Or build up the old ones with weld ?

 

[nick_the_fish]

Just in time Chris. I'm going to rebuild my rear brakes in the next few weeks. Presumably these upgrade the Land Cruiser hand brakes from Mega Shitty to just Shitty??

 

[Chris]

Well they do make a difference. But when all set up correctly, yours might actually work Nick. The enemy of these brakes other than the crap design, is years of people setting them wrongly and causing extra wear etc.

I appreciate that some people can weld and some people can find a local place, but not everyone can. I know there are members on here who don't even have a parking space and work on their Cruisers with their feet sticking out into London traffic. I posted them for those less fortunate than others.