Zolle Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 Hi AllI am in the process of doing a brakes overhaul on my vans 12x2 Dexter brakes at about 50k with about 20k off the bitumen.It appears that Dexter brakes parts are not stocked in WA but I have been offered what is said to be a direct replacement by AL-KO.The AL-KO brakes are available with either standard magnets or off-road at significantly lower prices than VC supplied Dexter assemblies.After a lot of web searching there is not a big difference in the prices of backplate assemblies compared to shoes and magnets.Has anyone tried the AL-KO brakes on any van?Do off-road magnets really give any extended life or other benefits.CheersJohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John and Jo Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 Hi John have not had any thing to do with AL-KO, however we had our brakes redone here in Albany by "Albany Brake Service "who did a top job made the shoes themselves for a reasonable price. Please note I am not in any way connected to this company.John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jherron Posted March 6, 2013 Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 Hi John have not had any thing to do with AL-KO, however we had our brakes redone here in Albany by "Albany Brake Service "who did a top job made the shoes themselves for a reasonable price. Please note I am not in any way connected to this company.JohnHi John, When you say they made the brakes themselves do you mean they bonded new linings onto your shoes? That is all I have ever had done in the past @ Brakemart or Betterbrakes in QLD.Took the shoes in,they did the relining and assembled myself.If you were not sure about getting all wheels adjusted evenly maybe let them do the job.There is nothing too complicated about drum brakes,they have been around since day dot, almost.Regards John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John and Jo Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Not sure what they did. Told me they had to make them here in Albany WA you are right been around since dot ,Sorry to highjack the origional thead John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jherron Posted March 7, 2013 Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 Hi again to both John's.It appears from the original question that you would be replacing the whole backing plate assembly.If this is correct,unless there was a problem or damage to the backing plate I couldn't understand why.The point I was making was that the shoes would only need relining and could be done at any business specialising in brakes and should not cost the proverbial arm & leg.If it is not too rude what have you been quoted? Cheers John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zolle Posted March 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Hi again to both John's.It appears from the original question that you would be replacing the whole backing plate assembly.If this is correct,unless there was a problem or damage to the backing plate I couldn't understand why.The point I was making was that the shoes would only need relining and could be done at any business specialising in brakes and should not cost the proverbial arm & leg.If it is not too rude what have you been quoted? Cheers JohnThere's a lot of Johns on this topic!Since starting this topic I have now found a reliner in Perth quoting $66 per 4 shoes and with Magnets from an online supplier at $37 it makes the job quite reasonable compared to the best price in Australia I found for back plate assemblies at $319 per pair from Melbourne which is still a lot better than from VC in QLD. There is a direct replacement from Alko at similar prices to Dexter backplate assemblies.However I did find some suppliers in the USA at less than 50% of Aussie prices but they will not supply to Australia because of so called none delivery problems!CheersJohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John and Ann Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 That's interesting, I'll be sure to keep it in mind.Also, just couldn't resist adding to the John's posting on the thread RegardsJohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod and Mavis Posted March 8, 2013 Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 John,John,John,John,John & John I think Have you blokes looked at upgrading to elec/Hydraulic discs. If you are going to keep your vans for a while might be an option. We have had them on our baby for the last 45,000kms, (for 20 months) They work superbly and the pads are still around 50% good and can be seen at a glance without big time disassembly. The only on going maintenance for us is adjusting the hand brake (which by the way works superbly)hydraulic fluid change (at car intervals) on occasions and looking at the pads. I did have to change the old P2 Tekonsha as it was said to not be compatible with the Elec hydraulics. The new P2 and the P3's are compatible. These are seriously good brakes with low on going maintenance costs and proven design performance."Disclaimer" I/we have no affiliation with suppliers or manufacturers of these brakes. Cheers from the Kyd's.P.S. You have to be careful with wheel size. We have a 100 series tug and to match up the wheels we had to go with 17" rims to fit over the callipers. This was no drama as we fitted 265/70/17" tyres on the rims which gave us the same circumference as our tugs 265/75/16" tyres on the tug. Unfortunately the off set was 35mm different which required a 5mm spacer to be fitted to the van to mount the tugs wheels. We can live with that for emergencies to have the great brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zolle Posted March 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2013 Have you blokes looked at upgrading to elec/Hydraulic discs.No, $$$$$$$$$$$$$. A $280 overhaul at 50k suits me can be seen at a glance without big time disassembly. I agree the 1 piece drums are a pain which is something Bushtracker overcame with 2 piece drums. These are seriously good brakes with low on going maintenance costs and proven design performance.My brakes have been reliable, just an adjustment check every year at the same time as bearings & wheels Cheers from the Kyd's.P.S. You have to be careful with wheel size. Thanks for the reminder, I'd better check the Patrols 17" alloy wheels fitment against the 16" steels on the van CheersJohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacky Jacky Posted March 9, 2013 Report Share Posted March 9, 2013 We have an ATV 2 built Jan 2012 and recently a spring in the brake assembly broke. The caravan repairer, who also owns a caravan, said to buy the 'off road' type because they were built for heavier van/ weight. Hope this makes sense.A suggestion would be to have one of these long springs, available from Vehicle Components as a spare as they are not readily available elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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