See fitting instructions

X-Eng are pleased to announce the introduction of our Mk2 Disk Handbrake conversion.

What's new about the Mk2 X-Brake?

From the outset, the X-Brake was designed to be flexible. In extreme conditions, it is designed to absorb the energy of shock loadings in order to protect your transfer box. After all, a bent X-Brake, though inconvenient, is a lot better than ripping the back off your transfer box! We have re-designed the back plate to make it more springy and less likely to bend permanently. It still protects your transfer box, but is less likely to be damaged itself in extreme circumstances. We have also sourced new, ultra flat, ultra smooth disks. These allow the adjustment of the X-Brake to be tighter giving a tighter, more positive lever feel without the pads rubbing or overheating. The noise level as the pads brush the disk surface is also greatly reduced.

If you drive off-road, you know how useless the standard Land Rover transmission brake can be. The brake itself is fine, its just that it traps muddy water inside which rapidly grinds down the shoes and bungs up the mechanism.
Our Disk Transmission Brake uses a state of the art monster size mechanical caliper designed for agricultural vehicles and earth moving equipment - so use on a Land Rover is a walk in the park for it!
The mechanism is sealed so it will not seize up due to ingress of mud or water and it uses special 'sintered' pads which are resistant to abrasion from mud as well as providing greater friction against the disk than a standard pad. Replacement pads are readily available from us. We doubt however that you will need any for many years.
The disk has been specially designed for Land Rovers. It is made from tough 10mm thick steel. It has a smaller diameter than a standard drum and does not dangle below the transfer box to help protect it from whatever you are driving over. The caliper mechanism sits in a well protected area at the top, away from most of the mud and water.
The new Discovery & Range Rover version differs from the defender version in two ways. Firstly, as you can see from the photogtaphs above, it uses a different version of the caliper with the operating lever rotated 90 degrees clockwise and secondly the back plate which bolts to your transfer box is rotated 90 degrees anti-clockwise.
The operating cable passes between the exhaust heat-shield and the floor above. Fitting is a bit tight, and it may be necessary to bend the corner of the heat shield out of the way a little. If your vehicle is not fitted with the exhaust heat-shield - you MUST fit one otherwise the heat from the exhaust will melt the cable! Be warned! Do you have a push-rod operated drum brake? Some Range Rovers had a drum brake operated by push rods from a handbrake lever mounted on top of the transfer box. We have designed a simple adaptor bracket which can be attached to the two bolts circled. This will convert to a standard 200tdi cable. Click Here to download a pdf of the drawing of the part you will need to make.

Do I need to change the existing cable?
If your handbrake cable goes straight into the drum brake housing, or the end does not look like the one shown (Right) you will need to replace the cable with the earlier type. This applies to 300Tdi and Td5 models. However, we would recommend you change the cable while you have it in pieces - it's probably bunged up with mud too.

Parts are supplied coated with a tough corrosion resistant coating of gold Zinc Passivate to ensure a long life. The Disk is not coated as the brake pads are most efficient gripping on plain steel. The light rubbing action of the pads quickly polishes the surface.

Fitting is easy requiring only simple tools. Full fitting instructions are included as well as advice on adjustment and use.

We would like to thank Matt Horn & James Trembath - who helped in the prototyping of this version.

Note1. If you have a 4 speed manual Range Rover with an LT95 gearbox, the speedo housing is slightly different to other models. If you can source one of the speedo housings with output shaft from a 110 originally fitted with an LT95, this will bolt straight on to your gearbox and allow you to fit an X-Brake. Other customers have managed to source used items for as little as £5!