How to: Supra MA70 rear discs to Hilux

[infotechplus]

Allan's Photos

These are the photos "pure_in_sanity" referred to; they are from Allan. So, Allan if you are still on here it would be great if you could contribute to this thread for all of us doing this conversion. Also give +rep to GT for his work with the brackets.

The quality of the photos is a bit grainy but I've fiddled with them in Photochop as best as I could ...

















Cheers,

Peter

[infotechplus]

I went out to Pick 'n' Payless again this afternoon. (I now have Life Membership )

I checked out the Hiace vans - there were two there now. Both had very different handbrake cable systems on them that would not be adaptable to the 'Lux including one system that was a complete loop from side to side.

I also checked out more KE70s in case i picked a wrong year but they (and the KE70E) were all the same. Had a look at Coronas, Camrys, Cressidas, Crowns and more Corollas. Even checked out the Supra that I originally got the brakes from. All NO GO.

I then went back to the ute section and had a look at other manufacturers but no luck.

Then I went to the Liteace section, and guess what, found that the passenger side handbrake cable on a 1990 model was very close with a quick stretch of the tape measure. So I pulled it and it is slightly longer than the 'Lux but it had all the right fittings. The driver's side cable is very short due to how the Liteace is set up. The driver's side is a ba$7ard to get as you have to remove the fuel tank to get to the last retaining clamp. The passenger side is easy.

So I thought to myself "That's good, I'll just grab another passenger side cable."

Early model Liteace's are no good. They use a different system. Later model, from about 1988/89 should be okay. As I said I got mine from a 1990 but all the other 90 models had had their handbrake cables chopped when someone was removing the brakes and/or axles.

Looking under the Hilux I see that there is some adjustment in the cables so hopefully this will be enough to make the Liteace cable work. At any rate, the system on the 'Lux is so simple that it can be modified by shortening the rod that holds the adjustment bracket tight.



The good thing is that P'n'P let me take the Liteace cable without charge.

Cheers,

Peter

[gianttomato]

Oops re KE70.

They definately work but obviously for a shorter car. I probably should have mentioned that they are a different length and you have to check them to make sure they work in your app. I used the Corona MkII handbrake cable in my Corona MkII - it was perfect. For my Crown I had to use two different halves and welded some brackets to the chassis.

As for using the LiteAce ones, 2cm is a bit of extra length but you should have enough adjustment at the handbrake end.

Hiace studs are right - check with your Hilux ones and you'll see how much longer they are.

[Pube]

Is there any reason the hiace retaining studs are longer? Is there another plate in there for the studs to go through or something? Also, do ALL hiace diffs have longer retaining studs?

[gianttomato]

Is there any reason the hiace retaining studs are longer? Is there another plate in there for the studs to go through or something? Also, do ALL hiace diffs have longer retaining studs?

It was a serendipitous discovery - they were longer and that was all that mattered. As for whether all Hiaces right back to the RH20 have longer studs, no idea. I suggest that you take a Hilux one along, pull one out of a Hiace (there's usually eighteen million of the things at my local wrecker) and compare.

[infotechplus]

Is there any reason the hiace retaining studs are longer? Is there another plate in there for the studs to go through or something? Also, do ALL hiace diffs have longer retaining studs?

Not sure on all Hiaces but I did look at the Liteace studs and they were shorter on the set I punched out. I think I measured them at about 35mm. I'll have a quick look next time I'm out at the wreckers but there were only two Hiaces there, an 85 and a 90 year model.

Peter

[Pure_In_Sanity]

Also FWIW Mitsubushi Express van studs will work if theres no Hiaces in sight. However the splines on the base of the stud are a little chunky and require a some opening up of the holes in the bearing carrier.

[gianttomato]

You can actually buy them new - someone posted the url for an online catalogue which actually had them in all sorts of lengths.

But free studs from pick a part FTW.

[infotechplus]

But free studs from pick a part FTW.

Absolutely!

Peter

[Herus]

I went into my local u-pull-it today, after a few bits and pieces that might be harder to come by later on when i actually need them.

I grabbed my 8 Hiace axle studs while i was there, and just got home ready to clean them up, and thought id give them a measurement while i was at it to make sure i had the right ones.

Turns out 4 of them are 41mm, the other 4 are about 35mm. (i dont have anything fancy to measure with other then a tape measure.)

Now, they seem to have 2 of each length on each side, which might cause issues. Looking at your pictures on the previous page Peter, you seem to have 2 different lengths there as well.

Let me know how you go, and if this is going to cause a problem.

Thanks

Andrew

[infotechplus]

Turns out 4 of them are 41mm, the other 4 are about 35mm. (i dont have anything fancy to measure with other then a tape measure.)

Now, they seem to have 2 of each length on each side, which might cause issues. Looking at your pictures on the previous page Peter, you seem to have 2 different lengths there as well.

Andrew

Yep. Two pairs of 41mm, two pairs of 36.5. Probably used on opposing sides.

Peter

[infotechplus]

Update

This afternoon I took my MA70 brakes to my good friends at Western Brake & Steering and handed over the rotors to be machined and have the centre hole enlarge to 67mm.

Before doing that though I sandblasted them of all their rust, as well as the calipers and backing plates, which had a few rust spots here and there.

I disassembled the calipers and popped the pistons out and the brake pad clips. I washed them liberally in brake cleaner before going to do the sandblasting as the oil, brake fluid and grime clogs the sand.

Caliper





It took me about 90 mins to do both sets of rotors, plates and calipers.

Backing Plates

The backing plates were also time consuming and I didn't try to remove all the factory paint. They came up well enough for painting later.



cheers,

Peter

[infotechplus]

So far I've cleaned and painted the backing plates with gloss black, and they came up looking quite good. Yesterday afternoon I put two coats of Septone Brake and Caliper Paint on the calipers and let them dry overnight. I gave them another heavy coat this morning and then re-assembled them after lunch.



The pistons were quite mucky and dirty but showed no signs of scoring or pitting so I cleaned them up with some 1200 W/D and put a small amount of NEO brake fluid on them ready to re-insert.



To put the calipers back together I enlisted the help of some PBR Rubber Grease for the rubber boots and caliper seal, Dynatex Anti Sieze compound on the bolts and bleed valve, and NEO Hi Performance Grease for the shafts that join the outer bracket to the main body of the caliper.



I also put a little NEO Brake Fluid in the chamber to make it easier to slide the piston back in. The NEO brake fluid is good stuff, and well worth the extra cost. I use it mainly in motorsport applications.



Here's the calipers reassembled with the brake pad clips:



Here's a close up of one of the calipers:



Cheers,

Peter

[Robbos_Toyotas]

thankyou to who posted the thing re the liteace cables, i now have them installed on my lux and my conversion is finished, very happy

[infotechplus]

thankyou to who posted the thing re the liteace cables, i now have them installed on my lux and my conversion is finished, very happy

Just send large amounts of cash!

Peter

[Robbos_Toyotas]

the only problem on the hilux tho is, as ive discovered with using an ma70 master and booster is that the existing brake lines cant be usred in their original configuration.

with the drum brakes, the brakes are balanced accross the car, ie one part of the MC controls the front right and rear left brakes. With disc brakes however, one side of the MC controls the front, one controls the rear. In a nutshell, the hilux lines need to be re-configured and ill let you know if they need to be replaced.

ill keep you all posted.

Blake

[infotechplus]

the only problem on the hilux tho is, as ive discovered with using an ma70 master and booster is that the existing brake lines cant be usred in their original configuration.

with the drum brakes, the brakes are balanced accross the car, ie one part of the MC controls the front right and rear left brakes. With disc brakes however, one side of the MC controls the front, one controls the rear. In a nutshell, the hilux lines need to be re-configured and ill let you know if they need to be replaced.

ill keep you all posted.

Blake

Any reason why you didn't just keep your Hilux MC and booster? Are you referring to the MA70 master and booster in the second paragraph or the Hilux setup?

Keep us informed. I've still got to source another Liteace h/brake cable. There are no more usable Liteaces at Pick 'n' Payless.

PS. Good to hear that you finished your conversion Robbo.

Cheers,

Peter

[Robbos_Toyotas]

Any reason why you didn't just keep your Hilux MC and booster? Are you referring to the MA70 master and booster in the second paragraph or the Hilux setup?

Keep us informed. I've still got to source another Liteace h/brake cable. There are no more usable Liteaces at Pick 'n' Payless.

PS. Good to hear that you finished your conversion Robbo.

Cheers,

Peter

you cant use a drum brake MC with disc brakes...with the drums, they are balanced weirdly - toyota obviously did this for some reason...theres one line from the MC that controls one rear and one front. with discs, you need the lines for the front and rear seperate. well this is what ive found with the 5 4 wheel disc cars we have at home anyway, so i think its fair to say its common practice. A friend of mine did vice versa and his rears kept locking up..Not to mention the hilux booster is that fugly gold colour - ma70 is black and an all alloy mc which is easy to use/ bleed. the hilux one has that terrible little elbow where the fluid goes for the fronts, and it gets air bubbles in it when left dry, which are a PITA to get out. The ma70 booster fits with a little persuasion too

[Robbos_Toyotas]

i was referring to both - ie the hilux controls the balanced brakes, the supra controls front vs rear seperately.

[o_man_ra23]

Celica with drums controls F and R separately

Good to hear all these things coming outta the woodwork, gonna make the Hilux/MA70 Disc LSD conversion on my RA23 a bit easiers. +Rep to those contributing. GT... wheres me calliper mounts mate??

Cheers, Owen