2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Upgraded to 3rd generation front Disks ....real difference......

[hammersley]

first I had to put on 17" wheels, which allowed me to get the larger pads.....much better than before.......

 

[JMcCoy]

Any pictures or part numbers....

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Hammersly BOMBin' the ol 437,000 mile Cummins

That's an upgrade I'd love to do, but I have a '98.5! This is only doable on 2000 and up 2nd Gens since Dodge did significant suspension & axle changes that year.

If you ever wander through Tri Cities look me up

 

[Wayne M.]

I'm not into 2gen, but that sounds great! Pics please. I love the binders on mine!

 

[JMcCoy]

I'm not into 2gen

 

[Wayne M.]

Sorry. I'm into all CTD. Shoulda said I don't have a 2 gen, not familiar with the brake setups. I'm pretty sure the earlier 2 gen had crummy GM style fronts. Correct?

 

[JMcCoy]

LOL. Yes they are horribly crummy. Changing to ford front brakes made a huge difference. I would imagine 3rd gen brakes are even better.

 

[REDNKROG]

I am new to this forum:
I own a 98.5 Ram 3500 4x4 Dually
Upgrades Banks Get Kit, 54 gal tank underneath, 17 inch OEM wheels.
I am looking to upgrade the front and rear brakes.
What is the easiest rear disc conversion?
What is the best front brake upgrade?
I am a salesman at a large late model salvage yard. So I have pretty much anything available on the Gen 3 and newer trucks.
I would love to upgrade the both to the Gen3. Is this possible on the rear dually???
Has anyone ever used the Gen 3 to convert a 98 drum brake dually??

 

[JMcCoy]

No real upgrade for the 94-99 fronts, except the Ford hub, knuckle, brake conversion. Best to swap out the whole rear for a 00-02. 2nd gens have Dana axles, while 3rd gens have AAM. 3rd gen front brakes will only fit 00-02. I wouldn't waste my time with EGR "blue printed" brakes. They just sell spec'd stock calipers. Chevy 1 ton wheel cylinders helped a lot.

 

[Regcabguy]

I am new to this forum:
I own a 98.5 Ram 3500 4x4 Dually
Upgrades Banks Get Kit, 54 gal tank underneath, 17 inch OEM wheels.
I am looking to upgrade the front and rear brakes.
What is the easiest rear disc conversion?
What is the best front brake upgrade?
I am a salesman at a large late model salvage yard. So I have pretty much anything available on the Gen 3 and newer trucks.
I would love to upgrade the both to the Gen3. Is this possible on the rear dually???
Has anyone ever used the Gen 3 to convert a 98 drum brake dually??

And don't bother with the rear brake disc conversion. Yields marginal results,more pedal travel and a lousy parking brake.

 

[MLee]

D0 a search for up-grade on rear 2nd gen wheel cylinders to get the numbers. I did and found the 1 /3-16 bore cylinder, bigger than the one ton chevy. @ autozone.

 

[REDNKROG]

Thanks for the input. I have a complete 2002 rear end available. I really would like to upgrade to the Gen 3 diffs. I have those readily available in 3.73. Has anyone ever done a complete swap? I know the rear spring perch locations are different. I have a plasma cutter and mig. The front kind of scares me.

 

[JMcCoy]

You could always weld the rear perches ( I believe they are a pinch wider), and do a gear/brake swap in the front. If you really wanted a 3rd gen front, and have the ability to weld it, I would do coil-overs. Much easier. DOR has a kit. $$$ though. Could probably just get the brackets.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

And don't bother with the rear brake disc conversion. Yields marginal results,more pedal travel and a lousy parking brake.

That's interesting. When I put the Blackbird rear disk conversion on my '98.5 it had the opposite effect, made the brake pedal feel a lot better, firmer and very little travel.

 

[pgleavitt]

What does the blackbird conv. use for rear calipers? I have a TSM conv. that uses Large gm rear calipers with ebrake ready to install. I wish I would have done the 2001 rear dana 80 on my dually. Better ebrake and direct fit for about the same price. My only setback was I already had the rear end rebuilt with new clutches.

 

[CCahill]

So going back to the original post...I did mine also with 3rd gen parts. Bought the rotors and calipers from Summit....calipers came with the gen 3 brackets. Crazy cheap conversion, and likely the best thing I did on my Gen 2...17" wheels are all over CraigsList....now I see the 18/20's showing up.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Blackbird kit uses 1978 El Dorado calipers as I recall.

 

[Tinman]

So you are saying 00-02 knuckle will accept 3rd gen calipers and you just have to use the accompanying rotors and pads? I already have 17 inch wheels, if it isn't too expensive, this might be a good mod.

 

[pgleavitt]

You also need the caliper brackets for a 3G truck. I also got my calipers with brackets from summit. You may be able to save some money if you can find them local like Napa due to summits core charge and you pay to send them back. They don't seem to care or catch on that your sending back different brackets.
The calipers are the same but the pads seem to have more surface area. I went with the EGR rotors and pads
You could always go the cheap route and get the brackets from a bone yard,buy 3G rotors and use your calipers.