Drum Brakes / Disc Brakes

[bbalbano]

Im about to drop about $400 to get all new drum brake components and a new master cylinder for my 71 fj40. I was on ebay and there is a kit for a disc brake conversion for aroud $500. Im not going to run larger than 33's and it will be mostly street driven with the once in a blue moon bunny slope offroad trip.

My question is should I go with the disc conversion or just keep it stock with the drums, also I dont have the capability to do any extensive fabricating so keep that in mind...

Thanks

 

[shelfboy1]

disc brakes are great there is a guy on here poser that probably can help you get it done cheaper also check the search section good luck

 

[Mauger]

I was wondering about the same. My rig is a 77' and someone said it had a small pattern knuckle. Would it be better to convert an older drum axle to discs?

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

Don't waste your money on drum brake parts!! The front disc brake swap is one of the best upgrades to be done on an older 40/45/55 Series Land Cruiser.

You have several options as to how to swap disc brakes onto the front of your FJ40. You have to decide how much effort you are willing to committ versus dollars spent. Search the MUD archieves - there is alot of info on this swap, mixing and matching various Toyota parts, etc.

Now, if you are speaking about the rear brakes on your FJ40, it is not so clear-cut. If the existing rear drum brakes are O.K. leave 'em be. If you need to overhaul the rear drum brakes I would recommend upgrading to rear discs. You can do this for about the same amount of money as new drum brake parts. Yes, "Poser" here on MUD sells adaptor brackets for the rear disc brake swap. Search the MUD archieves for more info.

Good luck with your rig!

Alan

 

[handcannon]

The rear disc upgrade with "Poser's" brackets is easy. You will need to put a flex line between the end of your hard line and the new disc caliper, add a proportioning valve on the rear brake circuit, and remove the residual valve from the rear brake circuit. Check the tech links for pics and more detailed info on the rear disc brake swap. I have better braking now than I have ever had since I started driving my 40.

 

[sonnydaze]

are you talking about the jto kit for front disc brakes

 

[teapot]

I was wondering about the same. My rig is a 77' and someone said it had a small pattern knuckle. Would it be better to convert an older drum axle to discs?

The knuckle can be left on but you will have to change the spindle and hubs , and you can keep your locking hubs. Although if you want to you can switch your knuckles to the bigger bolt pattern but it will cost more and you will also need a spacer for the rod ends. http://www.sor.com/sor/cat094.tam?xax=31894&page.ctx=cat094.tam the holes on the newer arms(big bolt pattern) are larger than yours (smaller bolt pattern). If you plan on not wheeling much I would just leave the knuckle, also get new wheel bearings for dick brakes. X3 on poser he will hook you up with the right stuff, it gets a little tricky.

 

[bbalbano]

are you talking about the jto kit for front disc brakes

I actually wanted to do front and rear.

After doing some more research Im definitly going to disks in the rear. Does anyone but JT sell the front mounting brackets, because I think they only sell them in the kit for $549. Im just going to buy the rear brackets and find the rest at a u pull it.

 

[1973Guppie]

don't buy any kits, period. All the info is on hand here at this site to do both the front and rear conversions easily. You will have to do some research and have a few basic tools but it could be done in a weekend's work (long weekend) or take it out of commish for a week and work on it.

Overall, drum brakes on the cruisers are a PIA. If only you were to switch to discs just for the ease of maintenance, reliability and self adjustment, this would be enough reason to do the conversion in itself. The front's you can do a minitruck conversion and the rears are so easy it's silly. I did a picture writeup about a month ago, in faq, and there are many other write ups as well.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=137225&highlight=front+disc+brake+dummies

also, you can do the front and rear with all standard parts from your local auto parts store. You of course will need to get the rear brackets and a junkyard minitruck front axle, but other than that you can get the rest of it from kurt at cruiseroutfitters.com and your local parts shack.

Noah

 

[Texx]

My recently sold 80 Fj40 had four wheel discs. No comparison between drum/disc, really. I know drum/disc runs fine, hell every 40 I've ever had started out or ended up that way, but I gotta say four wheel discs have unbelieveable stopping power. No more adjusting, no more problems, just makes sense, and it'll plaster your ass to the windshield if you're not wearing your belt!

 

[bbalbano]

I just got through reading your thread on the front disk brake conversion. I think I could do it but honestly Id rather buy the front bracket and go the monte carlo caliper route, seems like a lot less room for error. And I am the king of error!! Thanks for the advice, I will be doing front and rear disks as soon as I can figure out which route to go on the front, the rears seem easy enough.

Thanks

don't buy any kits, period. All the info is on hand here at this site to do both the front and rear conversions easily. You will have to do some research and have a few basic tools but it could be done in a weekend's work (long weekend) or take it out of commish for a week and work on it.

Overall, drum brakes on the cruisers are a PIA. If only you were to switch to discs just for the ease of maintenance, reliability and self adjustment, this would be enough reason to do the conversion in itself. The front's you can do a minitruck conversion and the rears are so easy it's silly. I did a picture writeup about a month ago, in faq, and there are many other write ups as well.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=137225&highlight=front+disc+brake+dummies

also, you can do the front and rear with all standard parts from your local auto parts store. You of course will need to get the rear brackets and a junkyard minitruck front axle, but other than that you can get the rest of it from kurt at cruiseroutfitters.com and your local parts shack.

Noah

 

[bbalbano]

My recently sold 80 Fj40 had four wheel discs. No comparison between drum/disc, really. I know drum/disc runs fine, hell every 40 I've ever had started out or ended up that way, but I gotta say four wheel discs have unbelieveable stopping power. No more adjusting, no more problems, just makes sense, and it'll plaster your ass to the windshield if you're not wearing your belt!

What about the master cylinder, Ive read that you can use one off a 92 V6 toyota pickup. Has anyone done this or do you recomend using the pressure regulator.

Thanks

 

[nspctr1]

I am about finished with the longest ever mini disc conversion. I'm on my 3rd month working some evenings and weekends. Time is scarce. I picked up a mini truck axle for a hundred bux, bought the vented discs and 4 runner calipers and put it together in a weekend. I took my time taking the mini axle apart, cleaning, finding what needed to be replaced, greasing everything and putting it back together. I was concerned about the grinding on the housing but it turned out to be one of the easiest conversions I've done. All totalled I spent close to 300 bux. Not too bad and you know what you have in your front end, how to take it apart and maintain it also. just my .02

 

[sonnydaze]

i just put jto disc brake brackets onthe front of my 67 it was not that bad,my big pain was my master cylinder and running new brake lines for corvette mastercylinder but you should not have to do