Rear Disc Brakes... (1 Viewer)

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Oh...Durka Durka Durka.
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Nail Bender Jerry decided that he had wasted enough time and money trying to keep the rear drums functioning on his 09/75-40 series, and dropped it off for a rear disc brake conversion.


I drained the rear diff gear lube and removed the rear cover so that I could get the axle shafts out to remove the backing plates without having to torch them off. I also wanted to inspect the Valu-lok (lockrite) in the rear and make sure that there was not any drama cooking in there, as it has been in service for a few years now behind a V8.


After not finding anything out of place there and no drama with the wheel bearings or wear surface on the axle shafts, I installed new axle seals, slid the axle shafts back into the housing and put everything in the rear differential housing back together, and filled with oil. I then bolted the caliper brackets onto the axle and slid the rotors onto the end of the axle shafts and retained them with a couple lug nuts for the time being.
RDB01.jpg
RDB02.jpg
 
I like putting the caliper on the front side of the axle housing, so that the bleeder is at the top, and the hose can route above the leaf spring, using it for a little protection, in a spring under application.

One thing that needs to be addressed however is the casting ridge around the area where the brake hose attaches to the caliper. I did not want to route the hose rearward and create a loop, so I had to remove a little bit of the casting so that the hose could be attached 90 degrees to the caliper.

You can see the area marked in pink paint pen that is in the way and was removed from both calipers, permitting the hose routing that I was looking for.
RDB04.jpg
RDB05.jpg
 
Nothing that the belt sander could not handle... ;)
RDB06.jpg
RDB07.jpg
 
Hi All:

Sweet! Looks good good Steve! this the way the MonteCarlo RDB swap should be done!

But, BTW, shouldn't Jerry seperate those rear leaf spring packs - they appear to be fused together with rust in the photos!?! :eek:

Regards,

Alan
 
So next I figured out where the hoses needed to be secured and welded a couple little tombstone tabs onto the housing....
Tab01.jpg
tab02.jpg
tab03.jpg
 
I then made up new lines to run from the splitter on the axle housing where the frame drop attaches, to the tabs where the hoses attach....
RSBH01.jpg
RSBH02.jpg
LSBH01.jpg
 
Neat work. Maybe I am mistaken, but I thought that you said you are going to put discs on a full floater.
That was a month or 2 ago. Are you still going to. Please post them if you could.
Also I want to ask if these caliper can be changed left and right, and bolted behind the wheels and still leave the bleader on top.
Also how do you cure the run out if it is too much, trun the axle shaft flange or new wheel bearings?.
I am helping a friend putting discs on his SF and thought I would ask. He can also go with discs on a FF . He has both options, but he would rather the SF for his offroad and huge tires use.
Thank you Steve..
 
Nice work Steve.
 
Thanks Steve,

Nice and timely for a few of us. Great pics!

Is that a raybestos hose, 90 degree fitting, # BH38149?

As you notice from my Caddy thread, I'm still wrestling with which caliper to go with. Am closely watchin" DOMSMITH's run at the ebrake dilemma for the H55F.
 
Maybe I am mistaken, but I thought that you said you are going to put discs on a full floater. That was a month or 2 ago. Are you still going to. Please post them if you could.

That project, along with about fifteen others, excluding anything of my own, are being worked on currently. I have made some progress with it, but I just received the caliper brackets from my laser cutter the other day, and when I get them mounted, I will post up pictures. :beer:




Also I want to ask if these caliper can be changed left and right, and bolted behind the wheels and still leave the bleader on top. Also how do you cure the run out if it is too much, trun the axle shaft flange or new wheel bearings?

Yes the calipers can be mounted on the rear of the axle, and keep the bleeder screw on top. Again, the reason why I did it this way was to route the brake hose from the caliper to the axle above the spring, using the leaf spring as a shield for the hose. This is in a spring under application.

Run out-
I have not found a semi-float axle shaft that the flange was distorted in such a way to create any run out issues.
 
Rear disc for fj40

I purchased a set of disc brake brackets off of Ebay, What year and size chevy truck rotors do I use. I believe the calipers to use are Monte carlo 73-78? thanks
 
Looks very nice. But one question I have about the RDB conversion.....why does everyone use the Monte Carlo set up? Wouldnt it make more sense to use 60 series parts that are the same as the front brake set ups? Same parts, less parts to stock for spares etc etc etc.
 
Nice post! Im about to put mine together, I already noticed 2 things I was going to do less effectively...

Thanks
 
Steve, you do very nice work and I like the design of your mounting plates. There is more than one way to have the bleeders up. I prefer my brake lines on the back side of the axle as I feel the lines have more protection from rocks.
U-Bolt Flip 04.jpg
U-Bolt Flip 07.jpg
Brake Tee 01.jpg
 
Looks very nice. But one question I have about the RDB conversion.....why does everyone use the Monte Carlo set up? Wouldnt it make more sense to use 60 series parts that are the same as the front brake set ups? Same parts, less parts to stock for spares etc etc etc.

Because the monte carlo calipers are $25 and very simple to set up. Also the braking force required on the back is alot less and 60 ones would be overkill.
 
Great write up Steve, a lot of usefull info, this would make an excellent addition to the Tech page or a sticky.
 
Nice, do those caliper brackets need to be welded onto the axle after being bolted on?
 

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