Rear Disk Conversion

[jcomp]

I recently converted my rear drums to disks on my 14bolt FF. I bought the brackets off e-bay and most of the rest of the parts I got new from the local carquest. Total cost so far has been around $200. I haven't driven it much since the conversion so I don't know yet if I'm going to need a new proportioning valve. I also still need shorten the hard brake lines and make some new brackets to secure them. I was able to move my old front rubber brake lines to the rear calipers, they were for the same application as the rest of the brake hardware: the front of a 77 3/4 ton chevy 4x4.

I don't know if anyone is interested in this or not, but here's a pic anyway. I think its pretty cool. :D

http://jcomp.home.bresnan.net/P8280001a.jpg

[dieselcrawler]

Cool... nice pic. Keep us posted on how it works... I"m looking to do the same thing on my K-5. Rotors, calipers and all, are '77 chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 huh? Did you have to get new wheel studs? What size did you use? What did you do about a parking brake?

Greg

[dieselcrawler]

LOL... nice pic of the hubs, what's the rest of the truck look like? *grin*

Greg

[NH2112]

How did everything fit on assembly? Were the brackets of good quality and precision machined? Who did you get them from? I see literally dozens of kits on eBay and there's no real way to tell which are good except through firsthand reports. I have 2 14-bolts and 1 of them will be going under the rear of my C1500 before too long, and I'd spend over $200 just for drums alone so the rear discs look like a nice idea. Cuts down on unsprung weight as well, and provides better stopping power. I'll have to go with the Caddy calipers that have integral parking brakes, and most likely an adjustable proportioning valve...maybe a master cylinder from a newer 3500 with 4-wheel discs as well, since discs use more fluid and the drum reservoir might not hold enough. There have been reports of the Caddy parking brakes not being enough to hold a truck on an incline, but if that's the case then I'll just use a driveshaft brake.

[jcomp]

Yep, everything was 77 chevy 3/4 ton 4x4. I reused the old wheel studs and they still have plenty of length. I decided against the eldorado calipers due to their cost and I've also read that their parking brake holding power isn't that great. So I have no parking brake now, which is no different than before. The parking brake on this truck has never worked, I carry wheel chocks.

These are the brackets I used: e-bay brackets (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33728&item=7924395689&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW)
Everything fits fine and seems strong but honestly I would prefer some brackets that weld on. Maybe I'll get these welded on. The first side took me about 2 hours, the second side took me about 45 minutes.

Oh, and here's the rest of the truck:
http://jcomp.home.bresnan.net/P82940001a.jpg

It's not exactly pretty, but I like it that way. :cool:

[dieselcrawler]

I'm a big fan of the 'well used, will make it thru hell and high water' look... nice truck!

Greg

[jcomp]

Thanks, 'well used' is definately appropriate for my Blazer.

I've been able to put some miles on the new brake setup and I like it. The rears lock up before front but not too soon and only when I hit the brakes (very) hard. Also, they don't drag due to residual pressure.

Overall the brakes feel much better, but that is not entirely due to the rear disks. I also installed a D60 front and it contributed to the braking improvement. I still suspect that I don't have all the air completely bled out of the system yet, though.

More updates to come.

[G. Gearloose]

My K5 really resembles yours, cept for the D60 (jealous)

I'm moving my components to a better M1009 doner.
I'm seriously considering the zero-rate leaf to push the front axle forward an inch beacuse the 6.2 K5 is so front heavy, even before i put the 8' fisher on it. Perhaps a set would help you weight bias and braking and handling; check into it

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/Zero%20Rates.htm

[jcomp]

Time for an update... I love the brakes. I recently pulled my trailer, ~2500 lbs, over the mountains to Denver and back (about 500 miles). I was able to stop better pulling the trailer than I could previously stop the truck by itself. There was no fade going down the passes. In fact, if I hadn't upgraded the brakes I probably would have hit the deer that materialized out of the gloom on my way home... :eek:

So far I haven't had any problems with my stock master cylinder. The brakes don't drag due to residual pressure (the disks don't get hot after a long drive) and it apparently can move enough volume for the calipers.