Replacing rear disc brakes

DISC brakes are found on the front axle of all coil sprung Land Rovers, and on the rear axle from around 1994 onwards. The calipers are hydraulically actuated – when you press the brake pedal with your foot, the brake master cylinder pressurises the fluid, which pushes the caliper pistons out to press the pads against the brake disc.

Disc brakes have superior performance over drum brakes and are generally considered to be easier to service and require less maintenance. However, they do need to be inspected as part of routine servicing to check for various issues that can arise with the system.

The brake discs can become damaged in several ways, including scarring, cracking, warping or excessive rusting. Scarring occurs when the brake pads are not changed before they reach the end of their service life and the pad’s steel backing plate meets the brake disc after the friction material has worn away. This metal-to-metal contact ruins the surface of the disc and is dangerous.

Cracking is mostly limited to drilled discs, which are