Rear disc brake conversion ?'s

[77K20]

How difficult is it to do the conversion? What is the process, and what parts are needed? I have been giving some thought to this, because I really don't like having to pull the axle and everything out when it comes time to do my rear brakes. Is this a DIY project, or are there some areas where a professional needs to participate in? If someone could give me a semi-detailed list of parts needed and of the process I would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for any and all info.

2-Knee

[C-10volvo]

ive seen kits for the rear disk conversion through www.P-s-t.com. but what ive seen from horsepower tv, it looks to be like a weekend project.

[RockHQ]

It depends mostly on what rear end you currently have, there are inherent design limitations with semi-floating rear ends that make disc brake conversions more difficult than with full-floating axles.
In general, you'll need 2 discs, 2 calipers, 2 caliper brackets, 2 new brake lines, 4 brake pads and some mounting hardware. This setup does away with the parking brake (unless you use calipers that have built-in levers for parking brake cable such as Saab 90/99/900 front ones).

The problem with GM semi-floating rear ends (eg. 10/12bolt) is that they are designed to have some amount of endplay in the axle shafts. That's due to a C-clip design used to hold the axle shaft in place. Mounting a brake disc on the axle flange means it'll wander in and out a bit constantly, making it difficult to center the caliper with the disc.

However the 14-bolt full-floater (do not confuse with the 14-bolt semi) does not rely on the axle shafts to actually mount the brake drum (nor carry the weight of the vehicle) and does away with the c-clip design. This rear end is very easy to convert to disc brakes, several companies make brackets for the calipers. One is

Shakerbuilt. I remember their design uses the front discs and calipers off of a 73-77(?) C-
20 pickup in the back, which is great because parts are abundant.

[Captkaos]

Caddillac Seville's used 12bolts with 5x5 bolt spacing and discs.

TSM makes a kit for 4x4's and there is someone that is having a Group Buy on rear disc setups for the 6 lug on http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums

[loweredd]

$739 from PST?!?! Wow! Capt, the link didnt work for me.

BellTech started to make kits, but that plan fell through. I hate to see if Baer has anything.

[mike reeh]

77K20 if you're going to do it to your 77K20, let me know.. I did it to my 77 K20 (okay, 77 K25) .. Id be more than happy to give you all the info you need. Its one of the best mods Ive done and Id do it again in a heartbeat. Its really inexpensive, too

mike

[N2TRUX]

Take a look at Stainless Steel Brakes They have a rear disc conversion for 695.00....

[ElGracho]

Originally posted by N2TRUX
Take a look at Stainless Steel Brakes They have a rear disc conversion for 695.00....

I have this kit on the back of my 84 K10. I was not too impressed. As you can see in the picture above, the kit is complete. For 1/2 ton 4wd applications, it uses 88-98 Chevy K10 FRONT rotors. These use larger 14mm wheel studs than the original 7/16" studs on these trucks. The spacers they include for the bracket 'ears' were not the right length and when I called they recommended using washers to space the caliper bracket. For $695, I would expect it to bolt on. They also don't include a way to support the end of the hard lines where the joint to the flexible line is. This will eventually cause the line to work harden and fail, not something I like.

I would be much more impressed with a kit that included a cast caliper bracket to get rid of the vibration I sometimes feel and one that doesn't have to have spacers that are easily lost on the lugs.

If I wanted to go their route again, I would figure out the calipers to use (I seriously doubt they are that special), buy them and the rotors at the auto parts store and fab the rest myself. I bet I could do it for under $300.

[77K20]

What is, and how do you tell the difference, between a semi and full floating Corp 14? I am referring to my 77 K20 in this post, and I have the Corp 14, but I don' know if it is semi or full floating, and I don't know how to tell the difference either. What is the difference between the two?

2-Knee

[N2TRUX]

Originally posted by ElGracho
I have this kit on the back of my 84 K10. I was not too impressed. As you can see in the picture above, the kit is complete......

I guess you never know. I put a set on my 82 Blazer and they went on just fine...

[N2TRUX]

I don't have any clear shots of just the kit, but here another view...

[N2TRUX]

You are correct about the lines. Now that I think about it, we just bent the new lines to match the old, cut them off, and re-flared them. Now the old bracket works just fine....

[Captkaos]

Originally posted by loweredd
$739 from PST?!?! Wow! Capt, the link didnt work for me.

BellTech started to make kits, but that plan fell through. I hate to see if Baer has anything.

Sorry, I put an 'S' on forums.. Here is a direct link:
http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/s...threadid=39345


Other places to look...
http://ecihotrodbrakes.com/rear_disc...nversions.html
http://www.tsmmfg.com/General_Motors...rear_axles.htm
ttp://www.binderbulletin.org/faq/1.htm#10
http://www.classicperform.com/tech_a...kes-trucks.htm

Normally people use 80-85 Caddy Seville rotors if you want a Parking brake (read EXPENSIVE without a core), and then anywhere from G-body to Pickup calipers. Disc can be the same Caddy if you are building brackets on your own, or 4x4 pickup front rotors (because they are "floating" (non integrated hub, ie they just slip over a hub)