Alcon HD Truck Kit installation instructions

Installation Instructions for AlconKits HD Truck Brakes

Important: Read these instructions carefully before fitment.

For servicing and maintenance schedule of Alcon HD truck brakes, see this guide.

Alcon has engineered the brake kit to replace the original brake calipers and discs. Where there is doubt about the suitability of the product (on armoured applications for example), Alcon can run individual brake system calculations.

Caution:- This brake kit must be installed by a competent and suitably qualified person. It is the installer’s responsibility to ensure that any brake products fitted to a vehicle are suitable for application.

Installation and clearance

These parts have been designed using information available at the time of design. There may be fitment issues on specific issues due to:-

• •        Model year change over.
• •        Regional vehicle specification variations.
• •        Non-standard wheel profiles.

Alcon brake kits have been test installed on vehicles with a variety of specific wheels fitted. Alcon is unable to test install with every available wheel. The customer is responsible for ensuring sufficient wheel clearance. 1:1 radial profile templates are available at the end of this document to assess if sufficient clearance to the wheel is available. Templates come with full instructions on how to use them. It is very important that templates are printed accurately to scale. Due to differences in profile, it cannot be assumed that a larger diameter wheel will fit where a smaller one may not. Vehicle production tolerances may exceed those that the kit will accommodate, and the points in this document must be carefully observed during installation to ensure that the correct clearances are maintained.

Wheel Spacers

The use of wheel spacers will widen the track width of the vehicle. This should be kept to a minimum. It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that this falls within the requirements for air transportation where applicable. Alcon accepts no liability whatsoever for any issues of any sort arising through the fitting of wheel spacers.

Pad and disc life

Alcon brake kits are designed to give increased pad area and disc thermal capacity. This will give improved disc and pad life when compared to the original brake system if used at the armoured weight. Depending upon the environment and use, brake pad and disc wear can vary considerably from one vehicle to another. Potential reasons for accelerated wear are as follows:-

1, Environment: Some driving environments generate an aggressive paste between disc and pad that continually grinds the pad and disc when the brakes are not being applied. Typical environments where this may occur include quarries and desert conditions.

2, Driving style: Brake pad life is not directly related to distance travelled. The number of brake applications and their severity vary significantly. If a driver is continually making heavy braking events then they are not only wearing the pads by the number of applications but accelerating the wear by running the brakes at a higher temperature. Brake pads wear more quickly at higher temperatures.

3, Brake drag: If, for any reason, the pad is continually in contact with the disc the pad and disc will wear more quickly due to friction and temperature. This could be from some sort of locked pressure, seized piston, seized pad, etc. Alcon accepts no liability whatsoever for accelerated rate of pad or disc wear howsoever caused.

4. Brake noise: Alcon have made every effort to ensure a quiet brake. Brake noise is generated by vibrations in the whole vehicle corner. A brake kit may be quiet on one vehicle make and have noise present on another. To maintain good performance on higher performance vehicles, Alcon use higher than normal friction pad materials. These materials can be more prone to brake squeal. Alcon accepts no liability whatsoever for any brake noise howsoever caused.

5. Vibration: Alcon brake discs are manufactured by a methods that keep run-out and thickness variation to a minimum. They are also balanced to strict tolerances. Where a two-piece disc is supplied, the disc is finish-machined and balanced as a full assembly. Vibration can become present should pads and discs:-

• •        Not be installed correctly
• •        Not be correctly bedded-in
• •        Be subject to extreme abuse

Alcon accepts no liability whatsoever for vibrations caused by incorrect installation, improper bedding –in or extreme use.

For more information on the causes of noise and vibration please read this article.  

6. Paint damage:  Brake fluid will damage most painted surfaces. Always try to contain or catch brake fluid during removal or fitting of brake components. Immediately clean any brake fluid spilled onto any painted surface with clean water. Alcon accepts no liability whatsoever for any damage to paintwork resulting from spilled brake fluid.

7. Heat Soak: After heavy use, do not rest your foot on the brake pedal while the vehicle is stationary. This practice will cause heat to ‘soak’ from the disc to the caliper and so to the brake fluid. In extreme cases the fluid may boil, leading to very poor braking performance. In addition, maintaining contact between pads and discs when stationary can cause pad material to adhere to the disc face and give rise to vibration.

It is good practice to always use the handbrake rather than the footbrake when the vehicle is stationary.

General modifications

Do not make any modifications to the parts supplied in the brake kit. Alcon accepts no liability whatsoever for the consequences of using brake products that have been modified without its express written approval.

Keep this document with your Owners Handbook for reference.

Every effort has been made during the preparation of this literature to ensure that the information provided is correct. However, Alcon reserves the right to change information without notice.

Caliper Assembly

Important: The caliper housing must not be split by removing and refitting the bridge bolts. Doing so may effect the strength and safety of the caliper. Alcon accepts no liability whatsoever for brake components that have been de-assembled.

Front Bracket Kit : Brackets supplied are for adapting the caliper to your vehicle.

Front Brake Discs

DIRECTION OF ROTATION.  NOTE THAT SOME KITS ARE PROVIDED WITH IDENTICAL ROTORS LEFT AND RIGHT.  THIS IS NORMAL

Installation instructions

If applicable, apply the parking brake.

Raise the vehicle on suitable lift or axle stands. Caution:- If using a jack - ensure the vehicle is standing on a hard, level and clean surface. Do not leave the vehicle supported using only the jack. Always use axle stands.

Fit the new front bracket kit

Position the bracket to the correct mounting face on the vehicle hub Note- that the face of the bracket marked ‘DISC’ should be towards the disc. Secure using the supplied bracket mounting bolts to the spindle.   Torque the bracket to spindle bolts to the manufacturer’s recommended setting for the stock calipers.

Fit the new front and rear discs

Ensure that the hub flange is completely flat and clean. Note that any ‘bruising’ or out of flatness will cause brake vibration. If necessary, prepare the hub face to remove any high spots prior to fitting the brake disc. The brake discs are handed by the direction of the grooves cut into the disc friction surfaces. They must be fitted to the correct side of the vehicle. Direction of rotation is marked on the outside diameter of the disc. Required direction is also shown in the image (above).  NOTE: Some kits come with the same directional rotor fitted left to right.  This is intended and does not affect performance of the vehicle.  This is for ease of maintenance and replacement in the field.

 Fit the disc to the hub.

 With the disc assembled to the hub, check that there is a minimum of 5mm clearance between the disc inner face and the lower suspension/steering joint.  Discs should always be changed in axle sets.

Fit the new front caliper

Ensure that the brake pads, pad retaining pins and anti-rattle spring are fitted to the caliper.  Position the caliper over the disc and secure to the bracket using the supplied caliper to bracket mounting bolts 2 x  (Cap heads).

Ensure washers are fitted and do not fully torque the bolts at this stage. The caliper has been designed specifically for the application and clearances have been checked so the caliper should fit without clearance issues. In case there are any variations in vehicle specification – please check the following:

To prevent overheating, radial clearance between the disc and caliper will not be less than 2mm in all directions. When the pads are fitted, the top edge of the pads will be around 0.8mm below the disc outside diameter.

The disc must be central in the caliper within +/- 0.5mm.   Shims are provided with brake kits to adjust left/right clearance where there is variation in manufacturer dimensions.  Check that the clearance between the outer diameter of the bell and the inner radius of the pad back-plate is at least 1.5mm. Use the 0.5mm shims if provided to lift the caliper on the bracket or to adjust the bracket position until the caliper is correctly positioned. Fit an equal quantity of shims to each end of the bracket as required.

Fit the road wheel to check there is a minimum of 2.5mm clearance between the wheel and caliper in all directions.

Remove the road wheel.

Torque the caliper to mounting bracket bolts (x2) to 108 Nm.

Check that new pads move freely in the caliper.

Fit the supplied new brake hoses

Connect the hose to the caliper. Ensure copper gaskets are fitted either side of the banjo (between banjo and caliper housing; between banjo bolt head and banjo).

Torque the banjo bolt to the manufacturer’s recommended setting.  For Goodridge and similar the recommended Banjo torque is 12-16 ft/lbs.

Ensuring hose is not twisted, re-connect it to the vehicle, including the original fastenings to the original manufacturer's recommended torque settings.  Foor Goodridge lines the recommended torque is 8-10 ft/lbs

Check that the brake hose length allows for all combinations of steering lock and suspension movement and that the hose does not come into contact with any suspension component, the wheel or the tyre in any position.

Do not apply any twist into the brake hose.

Bleed the brakes

Bleed the brakes in accordance with the vehicle manufacturer’s instructions.

Only use DOT 4 brake fluid.

The caliper bleed screws must be tightened to 18Nm (cold).

To prevent damage to any painted surface, remove any spilled brake fluid immediately with clean cold water.

Remove any fluid in the area around the bleed screw thread and in the end of each bleed screw.

Check the complete hydraulic system for leaks before driving the vehicle.

Re-fit the road wheels

When the brake system has been sufficiently bled and a firm brake pedal has been achieved, replace the road wheels.

Torque the wheel nuts to the original manufacturer’s specification.

The brakes should now be checked for correct operation by driving the vehicle, making a few light brake applications from low speed in a safe location. Stopping performance of a newly fitted brake kit will be low initially, as all friction materials require a period of bedding in before optimum performance is achieved.

Bedding new pads and discs

Purpose: The two main reasons for bedding discs and pads in Alcon high performance brake kits are:-

To thermally condition the discs by raising the temperature gradually, thus reducing thermal shock and preventing pad material from depositing unevenly on the disc surface.

To wear material from the pad surfaces until there is full-face contact with the disc. This may take longer to achieve than the duration of the bedding procedure but pad area contact will increase during normal driving.

Procedure:

Drive the vehicle to a road that allows the following procedure to be carried out safely and within the law.

From any speed between 40 and 60 mph ( 60-100 km/h ), apply light to moderate pedal effort to reduce speed by about 30 mph ( 50 km/h ). Avoid coming to a complete stop if possible and accelerate back to speed.

After approximately ten applications, allow the brakes to cool by driving without further brake applications. It will take approximately 125 miles ( 200 km ) of urban driving to complete bed-in of the pads.

Servicing and maintenance instructions

• Pads should be examined regularly for wear and condition.
• Replace pads when less than 2mm of friction material remains anywhere over the surface.
• When fitting new pads, thoroughly clean the pad location faces in the caliper, removing any debris and brake dust with brake cleaner and a stiff brush.
• The protruding pistons must be wiped clean before they are pushed back into the bores.
• Discs must be replaced when the total thickness has worn below the minimum indicated on the disc or when any of the face grooves across either inner or outer face have worn away. If a disc shows any sign of cracking, which may occur after heavy usage, it must be replaced.
• Remember to bed-in new pads and discs as described on the previous page.