70 C20 front drum to disc conversion

[Longhorn 70]

I have asked a few questions about front disc and rear drum stud size and that kind of thing. BTW thanks for the help to all that have replied to my questions.

I bought a drum to disc conversion kit from Tucker. The parts came in about 4 weeks. I have 71 spindles with after market 71 calipers. Heavy duty rotors that look like the C30 or HD C20 rotors. They included new tie rod ends and sleeves also.

CONS: The bearings say CHINA on them
wrong upper ball joints in the kit that look like C10 joints.
Some of the nuts included in the wrong ball joint kit were wrong thread pitch.
It appears the inner tie rod ends are also incorrect due to weird taper.

PROS: Nice finish on the spindles and calipers.
HD Rotors look nice and don't say China on them nor do the calipers
Banjo fitting on hoses look nice, don't know where hoses are made though.

Problems I experienced during the uninstall/reinstall were....
The lower ball joint didn't want to seperate. Not by banging the spindle or with the aid of a pickle fork. An hour of pounding proved fruitless. On to removing the backing plate.
ONE of the backing plate bolts were frozen in the old spindle. 2 hours later I had it out with a lot of air hammering, prayer, impact wrenching, more prayer, Kroil®, and prayers of thanks when I finally got that bolt out. I was going to take the old shoes off the backing plate and then I remembered if I wedge something in between the backing plate and spindle I'll have enough clearance to take the plate off. NOW bang that pickle fork in at a different angle and voile' the lower ball joint did what I wanted and the spindle was off.

I have one side done and the right side is next. I guess I'd forgotten how stubborn some old bolts can be. I wish the garage was bigger so I could work on it inside.

I'll post results when complete.

[Longhorn 70]

I called the vendor this morning and they were in on New Year's Eve. Great for me.

I spoke to someone there that told me he'd call on Wednesday to find out what happened on the ball joints and tie rod ends. He suspects, as I do, that I was sent some half ton upper ball joints and inner tie rod ends. He said he'd get back to me soon on it.

I made the choice to go to Auto Zone and get the proper upper ball joints so I could have the truck on the ground. If not the HOA here would have asked me to do so. fussin rassun guldern HOAs.

I'll update again when the proper parts are received.

[terry b]

Vince, looks like you got it under control. That sure will be nice to drive with all new front end parts . Can you even get made in america bearings any more?

[Longhorn 70]

I don't know Terry if you can get U.S.A. bearings any more. Phrases I try to stay away from are "global manufacturer" and "precision import". I guess I'm stuck in the 70s.

It will be nice to have the disc up there. I did the front end about 10 years ago and it hasn't seen too much action since. I did notice the idler arm had a little wobble in it when I was inspecting and taking things down. I'll teach them to say "lifetime guarantee" to me.

[Longhorn 70]

It has been almost another month since the parts arived and STILL wrong tie rod ends. This is kind of torquing me off.

I know that Tuckers didn't put the kit together but I now have bad feelings about their level of customer service.

[Longhorn 70]

AHHHH Everything is in place now except new master cylinder. Between work, bad weather (rain) and family time I can't believe it took 2 months to get to the right side. I can stop fast and fine, just a little mushy pedal. Disc master cylinder on the way. The distribution block will also be replaced with a proportioning valve.

I found a few interesting things while changing the right side over.

First the reason I probably wasn't stopping well was the Autozone Master Cylinder had an issue as I understand things. There was no residule pressure check valve in the front circuit. I pulled the brass seat out of the cylinder to not have residule pressure on the front disc. There wasn't one there. Could that be what caused me to have to pump the brakes to get the truck to stop???

I found one of the OLD tie rod ends had a problem. It had a loose spot in it. They had all been replaced about 10 years ago. The other 3 were still tight and smooth. When it was replaced with the new parts my steering tightened right up.

The front end seems to have dropped a couple of inches too. I ordered stock height spindles and not a drop kit. I don't know if 70's sat a bit higher than 72's. It does stop quicker so I am not kicking.

As far as Tucker's goes. All is taken care of. They directed Performance Online, the company that put the kit together, to call me. I was able to work out return of the upper ball joints. I also probably didn't read the directions well enough. Yeah probably. The tie rod ends they sent WERE the RIGHT ones.
I just didn't put the tie rods on backwards as instructed.

I have done a rough alignment on the truck with a tape measure and have 1/8" toe in. I will take it to a shop and get it aligned properly. Any suggestions on the alignment specs that will make it handle better? Caster, Toe, Camber?

Thanks in advance.

[Longhorn 70]

Finally got under the truck with a camera....

[Ed 72 Sierra Grande]

How many lugs up front now?? Out back??

[Andriod8]

Im doing the same to my 67' C30. I got some 3/4ton spindles, disc, and calipers for both sides off a 76' Chevy Van out of a junkyard. The new spindles look identical to the ones already on the 67'. I got a brake booster, new flex hose for the new brakes, and ive already redone the rear brakes.

[Longhorn 70]

Originally Posted by Ed 72 Sierra Grande

How many lugs up front now?? Out back??

Both ends have 8 lug on 6.5" but the studs in the front are 9/16 and the back 1/2 for now...........

Android when you take the drum backing plates off, Kroil the bolts first...It helped me on the second side. Good luck buddy.

[Andriod8]

What is Kroil?

[Longhorn 70]

Kroil is a penetrating oil...they call it the "Oil that creeps". Kroil penetrating oil info can be found here.