drum to disc conversion... and a drop

[redneckdds]

I am now getting ready to do the conversion... I have scanned pages and pages of threads but am still a little uncertain about which way to go from here. I want to do the disc conversion and drop it at the same time, probably a 4/6... and decide 5 lug vs 6. does $1300 sound about right for this? thats ECE's price. They also said they only do backend bags, although I have noticed several of you have a full front and rear bagged trucks. Should I shell out the bones now for the rear bags instead of paying for the rear coils and baggin it later? I do appreciate all of the help I have been recieving. thanks again

[see ten]

Also don't forget to take into consideration all of the extras. If your front end needs anything else now is the time to install it. Also you will more than likely want to redo your exhaust (probably won't clear the rear axle). ECE also recomends going to a one piece driveshaft if you don't already have one. I just spent $1800 on a 3.5"/6" drop. I also used the extreme drop crossmember and had a driveshaft built. My upper control arm bushings also had to be replaced.

[redneckdds]

thanks for the heads up... so what else should I go ahead and get now? they said use the original A-arms, which look like they were made back in the 1800's, get bushings? or do they include those? I would rather get everything I need instead of getting into it for an afternoon and not have a piece of something... so shoot away, is there anything else I am overlooking? I am gonna put 18's and 20's on it.

[ChevLoRay]

When I did mine, we rebuilt the front end....tie rod ends; upper/lower control arm shafts and bushings; upper/lower ball joints, etc. When the conversion was done, and the truck was on the alignment rack, the mechanic (a buddy) said it needed an idler arm and a pitman arm. So, those were replaced, too.

But, with the 2.5-inch dropped 6-lug spindles on the front, and the 4-inch lower coils on the back (with new stock height coils up front) and the adjustable track bar.....and all of the other parts and labor (done for $300 by my cousin)...I ended up with about $2200 in my suspension. All four shocks were replaced, too.

All of the stuff I needed to do the conversion to discs and the lowering, came from ECE. They're great guys who will gladly offer you any tech assistance that you may need.

One thing to remember: when converting the drums to discs up front....the front track will increase in width. I had 8-inch wide wheels all the way around, and had to go to a 7-inch wide wheel on the front, to keep the wheels from protruding past the edges of the fenders and rubbing on the fenders in turns/dips in the streets. A deeper backspace may have also worked, but I had the other wheels on another truck, so swapping them was the easy/cheap thing to do. Still got 'em on there, after 4 and a half years.

It seems that my tab at ECE was also in the $1300 range, but like I said above, the other things that were done added to the total price. This is something you should be aware of and not assume that it is not gonna cost any more than that.

[1978steven]

It might be a bit cheaper to stay six lug and go with a six lug front disk brake setup? You wouldn't have to change the rear or get wheels?

see ten- Do you have to go to a one piece drive shaft on both short and long bed trucks?

[ChevLoRay]

I think you need to go with the extreme drop crossmember if you go the 6-inch route on the rear and also have a one-piece driveshaft.

On my truck, I still have the two-piece driveshaft on the SWB and a 4-inch drop in back. Never have I had any problems with the suspension bottoming out, with this setup.

As for the wheels, I stayed with the 6-lug pattern, because I already had some aluminum wheels. If I was gonna go with larger diameter wheels, I would stay with the 6-lug, because there's a lot of variety in the 6-lug patterns, today. The 5-lug wheels still look good, but saving the cost of changing the rear end and having the variety of 6-lug wheels that exists....well, I'd stay with 'em. But, that's me. Others should do what they want with their trucks.

[1978steven]

ChevLoRay- Going with the one piece driveshaft has more to do with the amount of drop than the bed length?

Sorry Redneckdds- Not tring to jump all over your thread!!!!

[redneckdds]

dont worry about that 78... I am learning a few more things here... so should I get the extreme drop crossmember? what about this stuff..."tie rod ends; upper/lower control arm shafts and bushings; upper/lower ball joints, etc..." should I get this stuff or will some/all of it come in the kit?

[powell72]

You don't need to do the extreme drop crossmember with a 6'' drop. I agree with doing a six lug disc brake front to keep the cost down unless your bent on getting five spoke wheels.

[redneckdds]

ok... 1 down... 6 lug it is...

[powell72]

If the front of your truck is original or worn now is the time to replace all the stuff. The 4/6 drop with disc conversion is $1350, plus about $500 for a frontend rebuilt kit from them. That's a chunk of change, you could probably do some hunting around for a better price on the front end stuff, but at least you know ECE has good quality stuff if you go that route.

[redneckdds]

do you have anyone else in mind? how much are we talking about in savings... after I pay for shipping and stuff from various shops? just a question, but would it be worth it to stay with ECE for a little bit more so I dont get confused?

[powell72]

Getting everything from them is nice, one order and everything shows up in one trip. You can get all of the front end stuff from auto parts stores also with the exception of the control arm cross shafts. If someone accually greased them at times then they should be fine.

[cheyenne10]

Does anyone know if 6 lug rallys cause tire problems on 6 lug ECE disc conversion? Pretty sure stock they did not make a 7" 6 lug ralley.

[5150]

I think I did the cheapest 4/6 drop possible.

Somebody had already changed over my truck to disc(late 70's model). Cut one coil off and you'll get a 2 inch drop. Buy a set of drop spindles and then get your front end parts from a local auto parts store.

In the rear I bought the 6 inch coils, adjustable panhard bar, and shock relocator kit from ECE. I got 4 shocks from O'Reilly's. The guys here on the board helped me find stock shocks from other vehicles that were the same length as the expensive "drop" shocks. I can get the numbers if you want them.

[redneckdds]

please!!! you can PM them to me...

[5150]

They are Monroe Shocks

Front-33033

Rear-32207?

[see ten]

Originally Posted by 1978steven

It might be a bit cheaper to stay six lug and go with a six lug front disk brake setup? You wouldn't have to change the rear or get wheels?

see ten- Do you have to go to a one piece drive shaft on both short and long bed trucks?

I don't know about a long bed truck but I know on a short bed they recomend the one piece shaft. They also recomend the extreme drop crossmember with a 6" drop. But we all know there are tons of people on this board who have 6" drop in the rear and don't use the Xmember or have a one piece shaft. I just felt I wanted to get into this one time and be done with it, so I dropped the coin and bought the Xmember and the one piece shaft.