disc brake swap

[16vconversion]

Placed an order for a pair of Kore3 brackets today , rotors arrived this morning and since then I had em' both opened up to 9/16 . As soon as I score my brackets I'll post some pics !

[Pre-StrokerC150]

Has anyone done the swap on a Dually that they use for heavy towing?

There's no doubt disc brakes are better than drums, but the drums on this truck are pretty massive and I'd rather not spend the money for discs if I'm going the wrong way, you know?

I was thinking about it, and fuel trucks and other semi's still use drum brakes, so there has to be a reason, right?

[JZ57_CN]

Since I ran into the problem of installation due to my truck having 11-inch drum brake and large axle flange (GM Pro-Code Z56), I have to sale the brackets.

See the llink:

http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/...-pictures.html

[16vconversion]

Okay, Got the brackets this morning and I'm in the middle of deciding how to place the brackets , it looks like it'll be easier to bleed if I mount the caliper on the bottom of the rotor towards the rear bumper . is this how everyone else is mounting them ? does it matter where on the rotor the caliper clamps the pads at ? or as long as it's bolted to the axle it don't matter where you mount it at .

I'm using the 85 caddi calipers & kore3 brackets

[cordatta]

Pre-stroker...bigger trucks still use drums b/c they have more surface area to slow the vehicle down and dissipate heat much better than a disc brake would when used with consistent heavy towing.

[16vconversion]

finished the swap but I now have a Lower than normal pedal (who dosen't have alow pedal in their Chevy) stops nice n straight with no hint of fade , but it's lower than before I started .

I'm using 2500 series front calipers (larger piston Vs the 1500's) and 85 caddi rear calipers , I did some searching and came up with Gm PN# 18038499 for a 1-1/8 MC . Will this help with my low pedal issue ?

[91k4x4]

anybody know where i can get the ebrake brackets for the caddi calipers? i ordered brand new loaded rears and they didnt come w/ the bracket for the cable and i cant find it anywhere. autozone, advanced, even the junkyard didnt have them. ive tried ebay and google and i cant find them. i cant do my swap until i get these brackets and its driving me insane.

[N0DIH]

Check Doorman. If you need help, contact NavyLifer, Bill Harper, he is a absolute guru in this arena. Shoot him a email (might take a few times, I don't have his current email, but look for him on ImpalaSSforum.com)

Originally Posted by 91k4x4

anybody know where i can get the ebrake brackets for the caddi calipers? i ordered brand new loaded rears and they didnt come w/ the bracket for the cable and i cant find it anywhere. autozone, advanced, even the junkyard didnt have them. ive tried ebay and google and i cant find them. i cant do my swap until i get these brackets and its driving me insane.

[Pre-StrokerC150]

I got my kit for my 14b SF. Are the rotors supposed to slip over the lugs from the outside or are you supposed to pound out the studs and install the rotors from the inside?

[N0DIH]

Not sure if I follow, I have only seen rotors go on over the lugs. Can you post a pic of what you mean?

Originally Posted by Pre-StrokerC150

I got my kit for my 14b SF. Are the rotors supposed to slip over the lugs from the outside or are you supposed to pound out the studs and install the rotors from the inside?

[Pre-StrokerC150]

Well, I had to put it back together so I don't have pics. The rotor does not fit over the lugs in my application. I thought that maybe I have the wrong rotors, but everyone says the rotors from an '85 chevy should work. On these rotors, there are tabs that connect the mounting surface to the friction surface. These tabs hit the round part of the axles that the lugs go through. They don't just hit it a little either. Of course, after I put it back together, I realize that maybe the rotors were supposed to attach on the back of the axle, and the head of the studs would hold the rotor on. Am I making any sense?

[datboychevy]

it worked great on my '90 c1500. speedway brackets, '96 impala ss rotors drilled to 9/16" and '91 s10 calipers....

[91k4x4]

Originally Posted by N0DIH

Check Doorman. If you need help, contact NavyLifer, Bill Harper, he is a absolute guru in this arena. Shoot him a email (might take a few times, I don't have his current email, but look for him on ImpalaSSforum.com)

dorman didnt have anything. hopefully tomorrow i can call a few other junkyards and see if they can help me out.

[Pre-StrokerC150]

I pulled it apart again this morning to move the rotors to the inside of the axle flange. Still a no go, but for a different reason. To do this, you have to press out the studs from the axle. When I went to reassemble, the knurled part of the stud no longer reaches the axle, and the hole in the rotor is too large to hold them. This would make it impossible to bolt the wheels on because the studs fall through.

[16vconversion]

the rotor should slip over the axles like the wheels do .

if you used 94-96 impalla rotors you'll have to clearance the I/D of the rotors to account for a small Lip on the axle flange .

[Pre-StrokerC150]

I think we're working with different rearends. I don't think they ever put a 14bolt SF in an Impala. That's my problem, it doesn't look like anyone here has done this swap to a 14b SF; just smaller rearends and 14b full-floating.

[16vconversion]

Yeah .... Your on yer own Dude. Good luck tho..

[Pre-StrokerC150]

I think I got it figured out but the true test will be this weekend when I can tackle it again. Rotor on the inside of the axle and I bought longer studs. The studs are a full inch longer than stock, which is fine because I don't like that the stock ones in the rear don't have as many threads as the front studs. Unfortunately I'll have to use some spacers though because the studs aren't threaded down quite enough and my lug nuts bottom out.

I sure hope this swap is worth it! What a headache!

[Pre-StrokerC150]

I got the swap done and I am not impressed. The brakes don't stop any better than they did before with the drums on it. I don't know what the deal is, so maybe I have a problem elsewhere. The entire reason I did this swap was because the truck does not want to stop. I've already upgraded to stainless lines, new calipers (one was sticking), performance brake pads, new rotors, and now the new rear disc conversion. The truck is a 4x4 with 35's, but it should still be able to stop better than it does now.

[N0DIH]

You might need some brake bias tweaking. But the big reason I am not the rush to do discs in back is the fronts do most of the work on a hard stop, so with the puny 11" in front on the 1500's, smaller on some, add some larger front discs and it will have a phenomenal braking improvement combined with those rears.

My plans are to always upgrade fronts first, rears second. But not always able to on a lot of rides either.

Originally Posted by Pre-StrokerC150

I got the swap done and I am not impressed. The brakes don't stop any better than they did before with the drums on it. I don't know what the deal is, so maybe I have a problem elsewhere. The entire reason I did this swap was because the truck does not want to stop. I've already upgraded to stainless lines, new calipers (one was sticking), performance brake pads, new rotors, and now the new rear disc conversion. The truck is a 4x4 with 35's, but it should still be able to stop better than it does now.