3rd gen Front Brakes

[Cummins12V98]

Just want to confirm I can change my caliper mounts, calipers, brake pads and rotors to let's say 2003 spec as long as I have 17" or larger wheels???

 

[Wayne M.]

I’ve never heard about this, and knowing about the different axle manufacturers between 2&3 gens, I wouldn’t think it was possible.

 

[KATOOM]

Yes, on 2000 - 2002 2nd gen trucks you can install 3rd gen front rotors, but you need to change out the caliper brackets and obviously you need larger rims. There are kits available for this conversion.
But if your truck is a 2000 then I'd make sure of the build date and whether or not it came with actual 2000 brakes, or did it come with 1999 brakes. Sometimes the build date and component dates overlap.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Thanks!

Sorry I did not mention it's a 2001.

My Son did this on my old 98 with a 2001 front axle. He couldn't remember if he used 3rd gen calipers and pads or 2nd gen.

I have 16" rims now but plan to go to 18's. My Son said the rotors off his 15 3500 would work but with shipping and turning i am going new.

I think I am going to use PowerStop powder coated calipers, Cardone caliper brackets and EBC pads and rotors, all 3rd gen. Same but stock for the rear.

Thoughts???

 

[Cummins12V98]

What a difference!!! Powerstop Calipers and cradles, EBC Orange pads and EBC rotors. Rotors are MUCH larger than the OE. Changed to 18" XD wheels and NITTO Ridge Grapplers. Left center caps off til I re torque.

Tires are smoother and quieter than the Toyo M/T's.

 

[KATOOM]

Looks good. Make sure you get those rear drums adjusted properly and the star adjusters clean and working smooth too. Thats important...!

 

[NIsaacs]

Looks good. Make sure you get those rear drums adjusted properly and the star adjusters clean and working smooth too. Thats important...!

It looks like in post 4 he went disk on the rear too.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Looks good. Make sure you get those rear drums adjusted properly and the star adjusters clean and working smooth too. Thats important...!

Thanks!

A GOOD friend did that part for me! Now the EB holds well.

To clarify the rear brakes are disks but the emergency brakes are drums.

 

[KATOOM]

Thanks!

A GOOD friend did that part for me! Now the EB holds well.

To clarify the rear brakes are disks but the emergency brakes are drums.

A good way to make sure the star adjuster moves to keep the drums properly adjusted is to use the e-brake when the truck is slowly rolling backwards. This forces the adjuster to move if there's room to move. I do it every now and again with the engine off just so I can hear the faint "click" it makes when it moves.
Another good way to know if the drums are out of adjustment is to partially engage the e-brake (not much) and then apply the brakes while driving. If the overall braking power increases substantially then you know that the shoes are out of adjustment. Just dont drive around like this because you'll burn up the shoes.
Lastly, if you ever replace the shoes (which is not needed very often since they last forever), then its critical to sand down the shoes to match the surface of the drums otherwise they dont push out and touch evenly and the braking power is horrible and squishy.

 

[Timd32]

So pre-2000, what's the options if any without swapping axles?

I need to do something maybe over the winter, my fronts squeak at like 15-25mph going thru town, figure sliders are in need of some cleaning and lube, worse case calipers need to be rebuilt or replaced.

But if there is a upgrade that can use the stock master cylinder might be interesting to look into.

 

[Cummins12V98]

KATOOM thanks for the info!

My son replaced the front axle on my 98 12V I sold him with a 2000-2002 front axle then did the same 3rd gen upgrade.

When I owned the truck I added the EGR rear disk brake kit upgrade. To do it over I would simply throw on a rear disk 01-02 rear axle and be done with it.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Only 100 miles or so and pads not fully broken in this upgrade puts the stock setup to shame!!!

 

[JR]

So pre-2000, what's the options if any without swapping axles?

I need to do something maybe over the winter, my fronts squeak at like 15-25mph going thru town, figure sliders are in need of some cleaning and lube, worse case calipers need to be rebuilt or replaced.

But if there is a upgrade that can use the stock master cylinder might be interesting to look into.

If I was to do a conversion it would be using 78- early 90's Ford D60 stub axles. This nets manual locking hubs, slightly larger slip on rotors (not pressed on!!) And dual piston calipers. Depending on what you have for wrecking yards around you the major hard parts can be sourced for relatively cheap. There are some decent write-ups online if you do some searching. Biggest draw back I recall is not being able to use the OEM hub caps due to the manual hubs. A different set of wheels would be required to make it look "right" I also remember something about the front end width being slightly different but details are fuzzy.
I had considered this conversion for the manual hubs and to get away from the stupid pressed on rotors and would have gone this route if I ever had a requirement for front end replacement parts, which I didn't. It wasn't worthhile for me just on brake performance alone. Soft pads up front, GM wheel cylinders in the rear, keep properly adjusted, and get rid of the load sensing proportioning valve and the brakes were satisfactory for me.

 

[Michaelsloft]

So pre-2000, what's the options if any without swapping axles?

I need to do something maybe over the winter, my fronts squeak at like 15-25mph going thru town, figure sliders are in need of some cleaning and lube, worse case calipers need to be rebuilt or replaced.

But if there is a upgrade that can use the stock master cylinder might be interesting to look into.

Which front brake calipers do you have on your 1996?

 

[Timd32]

Which front brake calipers do you have on your 1996?

No clue actually would have to pull a wheel at some point. Based on everything else on the truck it should be all original. Pads and rotors were installed by previous owner. Can dig up the records and see if he did calipers and if there is a PN on the sheet.

 

[Michaelsloft]

No clue actually would have to pull a wheel at some point. Based on everything else on the truck it should be all original. Pads and rotors were installed by previous owner. Can dig up the records and see if he did calipers and if there is a PN on the sheet.

Is your truck 7500 GVWR or 8800GVWR?

 

[Timd32]

8800

 

[Michaelsloft]

8800

Good news!

 

[Timd32]

I will service what I have do a fluid flush and lube up the slides and the sort.

Looks like I have some sort of rebuilt caliper. The pricing is the shops cost not the customer cost, they get pretty good pricing. My truck was the shop owners personal truck have like 90% of the parts used when he rebuilt it in 2012-2013 does not have a ton of miles since the rebuild less then 10k. But was a few years ago already.

 

[Michaelsloft]

I will service what I have do a fluid flush and lube up the slides and the sort.

Looks like I have some sort of rebuilt caliper. The pricing is the shops cost not the customer cost, they get pretty good pricing. My truck was the shop owners personal truck have like 90% of the parts used when he rebuilt it in 2012-2013 does not have a ton of miles since the rebuild less then 10k. But was a few years ago already.

View attachment 115435

Looks like what you have will serve well. New Parking Brake Cables are a good to have. The brake system on the truck in my signature is all original except for a recent main rear brake line repair and new front pads @ 152k miles. With 265k miles currently, a brake flush along with lube and slide clean etc has always kept the brakes performing well over the years.