Ultimate Stopping Power
Giving our 330,000 km Isuzu D-Max the Bendix Ultimate 4WD treatment
Where it all began. Our 2010 Isuzu D-Max photographed on the day we picked it up, at the beginning of a faultless 16-year journey that has now covered more than 330,000 kilometres.
With 330,000 kilometres behind it, our 2010 Isuzu D-Max has certainly earned the right to take things a little easier. Unfortunately, nobody appears to have explained retirement to the D-Max. Before it heads off on its next assignment, we are giving its braking system a comprehensive refresh with a Bendix Ultimate 4WD Brake Upgrade Kit.
Preventative maintenance has been one of the main reasons our D-Max has performed faultlessly for 16 years and 330,000 kilometres. Rather than waiting for worn components to complain, usually at the least convenient moment, we have always preferred to replace and service them as part of a planned maintenance program.
Some components may have been quietly doing their job since Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister, but there is no archaeological excavation or trail of unpleasant surprises here. This brake upgrade is a deliberate, scheduled investment in a vehicle that has earned its keep many times over and remains far too dependable to retire.
Reputation for Reliability
It is not particularly glamorous, it does not have a touch screen large enough to watch a feature film and, unlike modern dual-cab utes, it does not require a software update before allowing you to open the tailgate. It also wears a few scars from the kilometres travelled and the occasional misguided shopping trolley.
What it does have is an enviable reputation for reliability and a considerable amount of life left in it.
The D-Max still starts, works and travels with the dependable enthusiasm that made these early Isuzu utes so popular. But reliability should never be confused with immortality. At this mileage, it was time to look beyond simply fitting another set of brake pads and hoping the rest of the system remained on speaking terms.
That led us to the Bendix Ultimate 4WD Brake Upgrade Kit.
Finding the correct components for our 2010 D-Max was refreshingly straightforward. The Bendix online catalogue quickly identified the applicable 2007 to 2012 Isuzu D-Max 3.0-litre 4×4 model range.
Finding Brakes Without the Guesswork
As we recently reported on Gone Touring, Bendix has redesigned its Australian website and online catalogue to make identifying the correct brake components considerably easier.
That might sound like a fairly modest achievement until you have attempted to source parts for an older four-wheel drive.
Vehicle manufacturers have an entertaining habit of changing brake packages during a model run. Different build dates, driveline configurations, suspension heights and equipment levels can result in two apparently identical vehicles using different pads, rotors or hoses.
The wrong component will generally look almost correct right up until the moment you attempt to install it.
The new Bendix website allows users to begin with a registration number or search manually by vehicle make and model. Products can then be narrowed by category, including brake pads, rotors, upgrade kits and brake hose kits. Where required, the catalogue also provides technical dimensions and distinguishes between standard and raised suspension applications.
For the old D-Max, the process was refreshingly straightforward.
Rather than spending an afternoon comparing pad profiles and rotor measurements across several catalogues, I entered the vehicle details and worked through the relevant model listing. The catalogue identified the available Bendix components and allowed me to confirm that the parts were intended for the correct D-Max application.
For a vehicle that has been out of production for well over a decade, it was reassuring to find that the process did not involve guesswork, faded handwritten notes or somebody behind a parts counter saying, “There are two different types. Did you bring the old one with you?”
The catalogue presents the available brake-pad options, fitment position, dimensions and model-year notes in one place, making it easier to distinguish between standard, Heavy Duty, 4WD/SUV and Ultimate 4WD products.
Why Choose the Ultimate 4WD Kit?
The aim was not to transform the D-Max into a racing car.
With 330,000 kilometres on the clock, fitting enormous brakes, six-piston calipers and a rear wing would be rather like giving a retired Clydesdale a carbon-fibre saddle and entering it in the Melbourne Cup.
What we wanted was a sensible, matched upgrade that would improve braking response, heat management and pedal feel while retaining the basic factory braking arrangement.
The Bendix Ultimate 4WD Brake Upgrade Kit combines vehicle-specific brake pads, disc rotors and braided brake hoses, along with the fluids, cleaners and lubricants needed to complete the installation. The system is intended for four-wheel drives used in demanding conditions, including vehicles carrying additional weight, travelling off-road or towing.
That comprehensive approach was one of the main reasons we selected it.
Replacing brake components individually can work perfectly well, but it places the responsibility on the owner or workshop to ensure the different products are properly matched. With the Ultimate 4WD kit, the pads, rotors and hoses have been developed to work together as a system.
On an older, high-kilometre vehicle, that makes considerably more sense than concentrating on one worn component while ignoring everything attached to it.
Once the correct parts have been identified, the Bendix website can also locate nearby installers and retailers, removing another layer of guesswork from the process.
More Than a Set of Pads
At the heart of the package are Bendix Ultimate 4WD brake pads.
Bendix uses a ceramic friction formulation intended to provide increased stopping performance and control while maintaining low levels of noise and dust. The pads also incorporate the company’s Mechanical Retention System, or MRS, which improves the physical attachment between the friction material and the backing plate under demanding operating conditions.
This becomes important when a four-wheel drive is carrying equipment, negotiating steep country or repeatedly braking with additional weight on board. Under these conditions, brakes must convert considerably more energy into heat, and they need to continue working consistently rather than gradually developing the stopping qualities of two house bricks rubbed together.
The matching Ultimate 4WD rotors use high-carbon metallurgy for strength and thermal stability. Their braking surfaces incorporate slots and dimples designed to help clear heat, gas, dirt and water from the contact area. Bendix also uses an anti-corrosion coating that allows the rotors to be installed without first removing the oily protective film traditionally applied to many new brake discs.
For a touring or working ute, the self-cleaning characteristics are particularly relevant. Gravel, mud, water crossings and general road grime are not unusual events; they are simply part of the job description.
The D-Max brake refresh takes a complete-system approach, with Bendix front rotors and pads supported by new rear drums, brake shoes and associated components.
Restoring Pedal Feel
The inclusion of braided brake hoses was another major attraction.
Conventional rubber brake hoses can expand slightly under hydraulic pressure. As hoses age, their condition and flexibility also deserve careful inspection, particularly on a vehicle that has covered more than a third of a million kilometres.
The Bendix Ultimate 4WD hoses use a PTFE inner tube surrounded by woven stainless steel braid and an outer protective coating. Bendix says this construction limits hose expansion under pressure, helping to deliver a firmer and more responsive pedal feel while protecting the hose from dirt and grime.
The existing brake hoses on our D-Max are the original components. While age and mileage alone do not necessarily make them unserviceable, their condition will be carefully assessed during the fit-up.
When refreshing a 16-year-old braking system, however, replacing the flexible hoses and renewing the brake fluid is a logical part of the job. There is little point fitting high-quality pads and rotors without giving the hydraulic side of the system the same careful attention.
From remote assignments to long highway runs, the D-Max has spent much of its 330,000 kilometres working alongside Australia’s heavy transport industry.
A Complete-System Approach
The Ultimate 4WD kit was therefore selected for three straightforward reasons.
First, it gave us a collection of compatible components designed for the vehicle rather than a shopping trolley full of individually selected parts.
Second, its pads and rotors are intended to cope with the higher temperatures and contamination associated with touring, towing, load carrying and off-road use.
Most importantly, it allowed us to treat the braking system as a complete safety system rather than simply replacing whichever component happened to be making the most noise.
The D-Max may be old, but it is still capable of travelling at highway speeds while carrying people, equipment and luggage. From the driver’s seat, its age becomes irrelevant the moment something unexpected appears on the road ahead.
Stopping performance matters just as much at 330,000 kilometres as it did when the ute left the showroom.
Possibly more.
New Bendix rear drums and brake shoes will complement the Ultimate 4WD front brake package, giving the 330,000 km D-Max a balanced braking-system refresh.
Next: Out Come the Spanners
Choosing the kit and finding the correct parts through the Bendix website was the easy part.
The next stage will be the installation.
In the follow-up article, we will put the D-Max on the hoist, remove the existing components and see exactly what 330,000 kilometres of Australian roads have done to the braking system.
We will examine the condition of the pads, rotors, hoses and associated hardware, document the installation of the Bendix Ultimate 4WD components and look at any complications that arise when working on a 16-year-old vehicle whose bolts may have become emotionally attached to their current locations.
Once the system has been properly fitted, bled and bedded in, we will also report on the difference from behind the wheel, particularly the pedal feel, initial brake response and overall confidence.
The old D-Max has already demonstrated that it knows how to keep going.
Now we are going to make sure it remains equally good at stopping.
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