Minitruck Front Axle Disc Brake Conversion For Dummies (FAQ)

1973Guppie · 02-12-07, 11:49 PM

So after doing my front axle Minitruck conversion I decided that I would do a tech thread outlining the process. There are many on here but I felt none I found had enough pictures. So if you have dialup, youre screwed, cuz there are going to be a lot of pics here, hopefully the mods don't delete my membership cuz I crashed their server,

I don't plan on putting a lot of wording in this thread, I hope the pictures explain themselves enough. I would reccomend anyone to read up on every thread they can find as it helps with the overall picture.

I used this excellent thread to do a step by step of the process,

http://www.geocities.com/Baja/Dunes/6948/

I printed it out and followed it to put the axle back together, along with a printout of the pics I took of the breakdown of the axle, with these 2 things the conversion was fairly easy.

Parts List:

for axle seals, bearings, etc, just call Kurt at cruiser outfitters, he will tell you exactly what you need, will have it and has fair prices.
I found all my hard parts at Kragen, your local store will match the kragen online store's pricing, which many times can be half of what it is when you walk in! so shop around and save some serious $$. Also, if you look at the weekly specials online they usually have nice coupons for stuff like brake cleaner, towels, etc. part #'s are kragen #'s and can be seen at www.kragen.com

RC3190 - Loaded Caliper
9838RGS - Rotor

I guess that's it, hope this helps someone and please correct me when I am wrong or involve your input for everyone's benefit.

first part will be axle teardown, 2nd will be buildup

Noah

3rd pic - snap rings being removed, get some snap ring pliers at local sears!

1973Guppie · 02-12-07, 11:53 PM

pic 1 - get a brass drift, you will need it! hit around and on the studs to release the hub

pic 2 - hub off

pic 3 - outer nut off, use screwdrive to bend tabs back on the star lock washer, you will need hub socket as well

1973Guppie · 02-12-07, 11:57 PM

pic 1 - hub nuts off

pic 2 - caliper off, 2 bolts on back of knuckle

pic 3 - pull washer and outer bearing out

1973Guppie · 02-13-07, 12:00 AM

pic 1 - pull hub / rotor assembly off

pic 2 - unbolt disc brake shield

pic 3 - remove shield and seal

1973Guppie · 02-13-07, 12:02 AM

pic 1 - remove spindle

pic 2 - remove birf and inner axle

pic 3 - remove tie rod, need a pickle fork and a BFH!

1973Guppie · 02-13-07, 12:03 AM

pic 1 - take a brass drift and hit the wheel stud hard with a BFH, this will knock the cone washer loose

pic 2 - take off your shims underneath the steering arms carefully! mark them as noted for proper orientation back on the LC axle, I used this method which from my research others have had good success with and it turns out my knuckle preload turned out perfect using the fishscale method

pic 3 - remove backside wiper stuff

1973Guppie · 02-13-07, 12:08 AM

pic 1 - pull off knucle, should fall right off

pic 2 - step on knuckle and remove bottom plate

pic 3 - note placement and orientation of bottom shims as well.

1973Guppie · 02-13-07, 12:11 AM

pic 1 - pull out seal and bearing from rotor/hub assembly

pic 2 - pound out old races from hub assembly, use a brass drift, there are little spots inside of the hub that are meant to pound on, look for them. *caution, the surfaces inside of all these parts are sharp and can cut so pay attention. there may or may not be 2 nuts holding the rotor to the assembly, remove these and the rotor will come off.

pound out old lug studs with a BFH

1973Guppie · 02-13-07, 12:15 AM

pic 1 - here is what you are left with

pic 2 - the drivers side steering arm will need to be cut if you are going to use it, if going SOA go with a high steer setup, marlin sells a great kit and he is a great guy

pic 3 - finished product, you just need to basically chop it at the back of it and remove the bent part that won't be used.

OK, SO I AM TIRED, THIS IS THE END OF THE BREAKDOWN PART, WILL WORK ON THE BUILDUP TOMM, GOOD NIGHT,

jrfj40 · 02-13-07, 12:18 AM

WOW great job very infromative keep it up

Coolerman · 02-13-07, 01:28 AM

Marked for future reference! Glad to see more good folks taking the time to share their knowledge.

numtel · 02-13-07, 02:03 AM

Why would you bother pulling the bottom plate off the knuckles?

noc231073 · 02-13-07, 08:26 AM

great info waiting for the rest

1973Guppie · 02-13-07, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by numtel

Why would you bother pulling the bottom plate off the knuckles?

just the way I did it, you are correct, you could leave it on, I cleaned and painted everything though so thought it was a good idea. if you were to just swap everything dirty (which you could) then leave it.

noah

cruiseroutfit · 02-13-07, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by numtel

Why would you bother pulling the bottom plate off the knuckles?

I would always pull it off... not only so you can clean it & inspect the shims (possible re-shim depending on pre-load measurements), but also to make sure the studs are tight in the knuckle housing.

Wildman · 02-13-07, 10:08 AM

Can you give us the make/model on those part numbers? The min truck guys (being one myself) usualy use an IFS caliper with mid 80's FJ60 rotors this gives you a vented rotor with the 4piston calipers without using spacers, etc.

I am inthe progress of this swap myself and wonderd if all the stuff clears stearing componets, rims, etc.

heres the POR FAQ link: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459180

1973Guppie · 02-13-07, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wildman

Can you give us the make/model on those part numbers? The min truck guys (being one myself) usualy use an IFS caliper with mid 80's FJ60 rotors this gives you a vented rotor with the 4piston calipers without using spacers, etc.

I am inthe progress of this swap myself and wonderd if all the stuff clears stearing componets, rims, etc.

heres the POR FAQ link: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459180

search for the p # on kragen.com, it will give you all of the applications it fits, which I believe are land cruisers and some other toyotas.

I had to switch from stock drum brake rims to stock disc brake rims, fit just fine now. drum brake rims will not work though.

Noah

John Smith · 02-13-07, 01:55 PM

This is going to be a very helpful thread!

Once you are finished you should have all these types of comments removed and have it locked and put in the FAQ.

1973Guppie · 02-13-07, 02:01 PM

So the following is the step by step of the axle buildup. Some comments on the in between the breakdown and buildup. If I were to do this again, I would take all that greasy crap that came off of the minitruck axle and send it to a hot tank. By far the hardest part of this whole conversion was the cleaning of everything by hand and buckets of kerosene. Dirty, smelly, and probably not that healthy for you. Again, I really reccomend just taking all the knuckles and main parts to a shop with a hot tank. The bolts and such can be just left in a can of kerosene and will clean up just fine.

pic 1 - bolt rotor to hub assembly

pic 2 - tap in knuckle bearing races

pic 3 - press in wheel studs, I used the short side axle to do this, worked great. If you don't have a press, take to a shop and have them do this as a hammer did not work for me.

1973Guppie · 02-13-07, 02:04 PM

pic 1 - don't do this! I am a moron and didn't support the rotor correctly in the press, thing sounded like a shotgun going off! wish I was wearing some of those astronaut diapers when that happened, my wife came out to see WTF and looked at me like I was crazy.

pic 2 / 3 - tap in the new inner and outer bearing races.