89 Crew Cab resurrection.....

[wyattglock]

I got the brackets from www.DIY4X.com for my rear disc conversion on Friday. Gave them to a friend who does powdercoat on Saturday. Now I am getting the rest of the parts together before I do the swap. I will be sure to post pics as I go.
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[wyattglock]

Update on the brackets and disc conversion: I got the brackets back from my powdercoating friend on Friday. Bought the calipers, pads, and hoses today. Bought and received the prop valve for disc/disc brake systems last Thursday.
I will have to check the weather and my schedule since I am on 2nd shift now to see when I can get this done. But it will have to be done within two weeks since we will be camping over our spring break.
Here are some pics of the hardware I will be using on this project. It will be a good mix of Chevy parts from the generations. Calipers off an 85 C10, rotors off of a 2001 C3500 Dually, and the 89 Chevy they are going on. I will take pics as I go, havent seen to many Dana 70 disc conversions.

[wyattglock]

Bear with me on this one. I am at work and will have to post as I have time. I gt the brakes swapped out to disc this weekend. Went pretty smooth overall. I had to come up with some spacers for the brackets, to much offset in the brackets and the caliper would not line up. Also had to grind the edges of the calipers to clear the wheels. This was expected, so at least there weren't any major surprises.
Here is a pic of the finished product, when I get home I will put all the pics up of the teardown and reassembly.
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[Gordonr1973]

Looks cool! Nice pics of the dually & camper too!

[wyattglock]

Originally Posted by Gordonr1973

Looks cool! Nice pics of the dually & camper too!

Thanks! We are actually getting ready to hook the camper up and head out this coming weekend. Can't wait to get away from it all!!
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[Car'n'Guitars]

Very nice truck, wish I had a crew cab dually.

[wyattglock]

Originally Posted by Car'n'Guitars

Very nice truck, wish I had a crew cab dually.

Thanks! I ended up driving 6 hours north to Michigan to get this one. All the ones around my area were either totally restored and out of my price range, or so far gone I would need a shop to tear the body off immediately.

[wyattglock]

Ok, here is the rundown on my brake swap. I had been having brake problems with the drums that came from the factory. In the last year I have had to rebuild them 4 times due to wheel cylinders letting go. So I finally had enough and got disc. MUCH better!!!

I started with the brackets from www.DIY4x.com. Let me tell you, Kert Cohoon is a very stand-up guy! I had a little problem with to much offset in the brackets, and once I figured out the spacing I called him back to let him know that I had got it worked out. He then proceeded to offer a custom set of spacers made from 7ga steel to replace the washers I have. The best part, he isn't charging me!

My brakes on Friday started off as the drum:

The second pic is the drum and hub separated, make sure to use a brass drift to knock out the studs.

The third pic shows the drivers side drum brake assembly, yes there are springs missing. The adjuster spring and e-brake pieces were floating around the drum.

[wyattglock]

The therapeutic part is definitely bashing the crap out of the backing plate to break it free from the axle flange. 23 years of rust just doesn't give up without a fight! The first pic shows the backing plate assembly off the truck.

The second pic shows the axle flange and the bearing surface. I coated it liberally with grease before reassembly, I figure you cant lube the bearings to much. The four studs in the corners around the axle flange need to come out. Once again, I recommend a brass drift to knock these out. On the passenger side I knocked these out with the backing plate still on. That seemed to help loosen the whole thing a little better.

[wyattglock]

In the first pic on this set, my little helper! He is 4.5 years old and a bigger gearhead than most guys I know. Always good to have the extra "help".

The second pic shows the new rotor and hub assembled and ready to go back on. I didn't replace the bearings in the hub since they were less than 8 months old. However, I did pack as much grease in to them as possible while I could access them easily.

The third pic shows the bracket bolted to the flange. It has an 8 hole pattern that allows you to clock the caliper to just about any position necessary to make things work. I chose the rear to help protect the caliper and the lines by using the axle housing as a shield.

[wyattglock]

The first pic here shows the finished setup on the driver's side.

The second one is the passenger side.

Third is the area that needs ground for clearance from the inside wheel.

Fourth is my favorite brake bleeder saving me a lot of time and trouble.

I don't have pics of the hose routing yet. If I get time in the next couple of days I will post them. My biggest complaint with using the front hoses is that the ends of the lines are hardened steel. As a result, I am leery of trying to bend them and route them a little better. So I will probably replace them with some braided stainless lines in the near future. Then I can run the lines a little straighter and get them more covered by the axle housing.

[SCOTI]

I'm wanting to do this on my dually when I lower the rear (you know.... one of those 'while I'm in there' things ) so your update is encouraging.

What specifically required the 'spacing'? If I'm reading correctly, it sounds like the L/R positioning of the bracket vs where the rotor would be seated?
Did the inside-pad 'shims' provided w/the brackets need to be used as well?
Did you use the hoses spec'd for the calipers (mid 70's 4x4 front app)?
No parking brake worries?
Anything need to be done to the rotors (machining)?

[wyattglock]

The brackets have 3/4" to 1" offset to provide clearance for the caliper to the inside wheel. Unfortunately my brackets had the 1" which was about 3/16" to much. For now, I have a couple of hardened washers stacked up on each corner to provide spacing. Kert at DIY4x is making me some 8 hole spacers out of 7ga to have a more uniform spacing and support system for the bracket. Not that 3/8" mild steel with a 1/4" gusset needs a lot of bracing!
The inside pad shim does need to be used. The new rotors are a single life grind, meaning they are thinner than the single wheel swaps that use front rotors off of 73-87 trucks on the rear. The shims just ensure that the caliper piston does not over extend during normal wear on the pads.
I know you could use any of the 14+ years of our trucks to get a set of front calipers and hoses. I chose to go with a 1985 K20. This deleted my e-brake. Honestly, I don't think it had ever been used anyway. Since I am not in a state the requires inspections, it is out of here!! If you want or need an e-brake, I believe it is the 1978 Cadillac Eldorado rear calipers that have the same bolt pattern. They just include the e-brake.
As far as the rotors went, once I reset the lug studs through the rotor into the hub, they just slid right on. Plenty of clearance around the wheels for the rotor, it is significantly smaller diameter. I did have to grind the outside edge of the caliper down to give it a chamfered look. The way the steel rim is formed the bead around the center of the wheel hits the edge of the caliper. It doesnt affect the strength of the caliper, I just didn't get crazy with the old grinder. Easier to take more off than add back on!

If and when you dive into this on your truck, I think you will be thrilled at the difference. The more I drive my truck now, the more I seriously wonder if one or both of the drums were out of balance. The rear end of the truck doesn't shake and shimmy coming to a stop. It is also smooth as silk running down the road now. It is very nice being able to come to a stop without wondering if the truck is going to slide the last 15 feet or not. That was the scariest part of the drums for me.

[wyattglock]

Sorry Scoti, after re-reading your original question, it seems I answered everything but the first one. You are correct, I had to space the bracket off of the axle flange because the caliper centerline was about 1/4" to far toward the center of the truck. Once I added the washer/shim, it brought it back to the proper setting and I was able to install the outer pad without a problem.
All told, with the spacing problem and several breaks. This took me about 13 hours to complete. It was by no means a hard 13 hours. But then, I planned for 2 days and was actually able to make it happen.

[rs72z]

Did you get any paper work when you bought the brackets? I just got my brackets in and they didn't send any paper work that told what rotors calipers to use. I had a set of rotors off of a 05 dually rear, when i installed one the caliper is way to far to the inside. The calipers i have are off the front of a 78 s/4 ton. I don't have any idea if they are right or not.

[wyattglock]

Yes I got a receipt with the part number BR55075 written on it. I went to the Raybestos website and cross referenced the number to find all compatible part numbers.
To me, it sounds like you have the exact same problem I had. To much offset in the bracket. This is where I had to measure and then come up with a spacer. I would try 3/16" but no more than 1/4" behind the bracket on the axle flange. Then you should be able to get the outer pad in the caliper. Be sure to use the spacer behind the inside pad. The newer rotors aren't as thick as the old rotors, most are single life. So the spacer gives you less caliper piston movement.
If you have access to some 7 ga steel, that should be pretty close to the thickness needed to center the caliper over the rotor. I would also call Kert and let him know, if more people let him know about the offset issue, he will probably change it up or add some spacers to the kit.

BTW, I like your truck. Very nice color scheme.

[rs72z]

Thanks for ther info. Where did you get the proportioning valve from?

Thanks

[wyattglock]

I got the prop valve from Jegs. It is made by Right Stuff brake systems. It is the PV72 disc to disc. It is a direct fit for our factOry valve. I think it was $72 shipped, but I am not sure exactly.
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[rs72z]

Thanks

[wyattglock]

Originally Posted by rs72z

Thanks

Not a problem. I hope my info helps you out with getting your brake swap done. I think you will like the difference in how your truck stops, I know I still can't get enough of it.

[wyattglock]

Originally Posted by wyattglock

I got the prop valve from Jegs. It is made by Right Stuff brake systems. It is the PV72 disc to disc. It is a direct fit for our factOry valve. I think it was $72 shipped, but I am not sure exactly.
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BTW, I need to correct myself. It is Right Stuff Detailing that makes the valve. Not Right Stuff Brake Systems. Sorry for any confusion.

[rs72z]

Thanks for the info. I am looking foward to getting them on.

[rs72z]

How long did it take for them to get the spacers to you after you called? I called him this morning after mocking mine up to see how much of a spacer i was going to need.

[wyattglock]

I still haven't got my spacers yet. Honestly, I forgot all about them. I will have to touch base with Kert and get an eta on those.
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[owner 84]

Did you get the hand brake canceled or what?