2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Dodge 2500 to Chevy 3500 Wheel Cylinders Conversion= Night and Day!

[biggy238]

Is this number ( NAPA 4637337,) dodge 3500 or chevy 3500?



I'm gonna go chevy.

 

[WDixon27]

that kinda what i was thinking, now is that a good thing?! maybe with a load but how about empty? i hate when the rear end wants it's turn at steering

By switching from a 15/16" cylinder to a 1 3/16" cylinder you've added 60% more braking power to your rear brakes.



-Scott

 

[JSienkowski]

The NAPA part number is fer da Cheby

 

[SRadke]

that kinda what i was thinking, now is that a good thing?! maybe with a load but how about empty? i hate when the rear end wants it's turn at steering

The rear end should remain behind you, that's no doubt.



One more thing that bothers me is that now you've added 60% more braking power but it also requires 60% more fluid to move the cylinder the same distance. You're master cylinder wasn't designed for this. It is entirely posible that in one pedal stroke your front brakes will come up tight and begin to slow you down before the piston in the rear brakes ever get's out far enough to start pushing. That wouldn't be a good thing.

 

[rubberneck]

The rear end should remain behind you, that's no doubt.



One more thing that bothers me is that now you've added 60% more braking power but it also requires 60% more fluid to move the cylinder the same distance. You're master cylinder wasn't designed for this. It is entirely posible that in one pedal stroke your front brakes will come up tight and begin to slow you down before the piston in the rear brakes ever get's out far enough to start pushing. That wouldn't be a good thing.

I can only tell you my experience, and that is the chevy cylinders worked great on my 98 2500 and my dads 92 d250. the 98 has 4 wheel antilock and the 92 has rear wheel abs. The increase in pedal travel was more noticeable on the 92, but the truck stopped very well. FWIW, very shortly after we put the cylinders in the 92, we ended up putting a hydroboost on the truck from www.hydroboost.com and that was by far the best mod ever on that truck. Any of you guys with vacuum assist brakes should check this out. The 92 will way outstop my 2001 with 4 wheel discs now. They have kits for both first and 2nd gen trucks. I keep hearing of guys wanting to convert to rear discs. for less money you can do the hydroboost conversion, and the results will be better i promise you. They were also great to deal with. Phil

 

[EBottema]

Yes, it seems after the conversion my rears start working much sooner than they did before, however the pedel does go slightly lower than before. Nothing drastic though. I wonder how it would be to use a Dodge 3500 Master cylinder to make up for the difference or even the Chevy 3500 one. Any ideas if that would fit or if the dodge 3500 is even a larger bore?



I am very happy with the conversion and would recommend it to anyone.



Hydroboost sounds good but I do have one issue with it. It uses power steering to operate it. If your PS goes out, your brakes wont work that good either. It is another possible leak and puts more wear on the PS pump. It is also a fairly expensive system to fix or replace.



Erik

 

[rubberneck]

Hydroboost sounds good but I do have one issue with it. It uses power steering to operate it. If your PS goes out, your brakes wont work that good either. It is another possible leak and puts more wear on the PS pump. It is also a fairly expensive system to fix or replace.



Erik

You have some points here, but i really dont see them as being an issue. Yes you are correct, if your powersteering pump goes out, your brakes will too, but seriously how often do you hear about them "suddenly" going out. They might start leaking or making noise, but sudden failure? I mean it could happen, but could just as easily with a vacuum assist unit. (We blew a diaphragm in the original vacuum unit, which prompted us to look for something better) Almost all vehicles, certainly pickups, are going this route now. if it were truly a big problem, i dont think we would be seeing the changeover. As far as leaks, we paid the extra 60 bucks and bought stainless braided teflon lined hoses. They will probably outlive the truck. Also, as far as the cost, the whole conversion was only about 650. 00. The quality of the unit leads me to believe it will live a long happy life. Anybody that was to drive our first gen would not believe the brakes. It stops better than any dodge, any generation, i have ever driven period. Brakes feel better than my uncles 2005. Minimal pedal effort, and great feel. I was jealous after driving it for just a short distance. i am going to contact them to see if they can tweek the stock unit on my 2001

 

[DieselLady]

What a great thread. I have gone through 3 sets of front pads and 1 set of rotors and still have plenty of original rear shoes. My 99 has 87000 miles on it and always been sluggish to stop. I will be doing this mod. Can't wait. Thanks for all the info.

 

[klaybus]

One more thing

Another thing to look at is at least on the 99's is the height sensing proportioning valve that meters how much fluid pressure is actually applied to the wheel cylinders by how much weight is over the rear axles. Theres a TSB in regards to it where DC will remove the proportioning valve & just put in a longer brake line if the vehicle is at 75% of the GVWR and the rear suspension has been altered. I believe most of our diesel trucks are at 75% GVWR (8800) ... . I personally lengthened the rod on the valve mechanism which changes the position of the linkage thus allowing more fluid pressure to the wheel cylinders. I made mine adjustable but now the rears are actually doing something.

The TSB can be found here. http://dodgeram.info/tsb/1998/05-04-98.htm



DO THIS AT YOUR RISK! IF IT'S ADJUSTED TOO MUCH OR THE VALVE REMOVED & REPLACED WITH A LONGER LINE YOUR REAR-END COULD PASS THE FRONT END ON WET OR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND THAT WOULD BE NO GOOD!



I didn't want to completely replace the sensing unit so I modified the linkage & found a happy medium. It took a couple of tries. Upon heavy braking my rears are right on the edge of lockup but DO NOT LOCK UP.



Works for me. Just something else to look into... For whatever it's worth.



Clay :-laf

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I thought about doing the Chevy 3500 slave swap, and I have a set in the garage waiting to put in. But besides the ABS I was also concerned about:



1) Having to adjust the rear brakes frequently due to more wear on the pads

2) Fade during hard braking with a heavy trailer in tow without an exhaust brake. More braking power to the rear = more heat buildup & fade, and the drums don't dissipate it as readily as the front disks, so then you're relying mostly on the front pads for serious braking.



Vaughn

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

An exhaust brake is without a doubt the best mod I've put on my trucks. Jakes on the 02 and 04. And a BD on the 97. The BD ran me $300 from a TDR member. Can't imagine descending Teton Pass (10%) without one - third gear/ebrake and don't even have to touch the brakes.

 

[JSienkowski]

I think you'd experience brake fade weither or not you've done the conversion, not being overly familiar with the west coast and the hills involved, you might experience it more often, but then if you're familiar with the area you're traveling you would know where you would overheat your brakes and plan your load/trip accordingly, a full truck and 13,000 on a trailer going down a decent grade ain't gonna stop from 60 on anyone's dime!!

 

[hcpBILL]

This sounds like a great upgrade and it is on my list. Does anyone have any recommendations for improvements for the front? Mine is an '00 3500 with 2wd.

I pull a 13,000# trailer and the fronts are due for new linings. Is a good rotor available for this model?

Thanks

Bill

 

[fortunate1]

EB said: "Hey guys-

You will need these parts:

(2) Rear Wheel Cylinders for a 1996 Chevy 3500 Truck (both sides same number)

(1) New Hardware kits for your model year dodge. . "



I've got the new cylinders from NAPA, but what is a "New Hardware kit"?

 

[JSienkowski]

It's got all of the necessary hardware (Springs,pins,clips) that you can replace when doing rear shoes, they come in handy when you ends up cutting,bending or otherwise modifying parts to remove them.

 

[Nate]

Just a little more info:



The Napa part # is UP 37337 for the wheel cylinder which is a cylinder for a dually Chev K3500.





I did my brakes about a year ago, and put new Dodge cylinders not knowing about the Chev ones. I think I'm going to buy these Chev ones and install them.



I have the proportioning valve all the way to "full flow", yet I feel like I have to stand on the pedal to get the truck to stop. It actually stops ALOT better when I'm pulling my trailer, since the trailer brakes slow the truck down :-laf

 

[SFrey]

has anyone tried the chevy master cylinder swap ? glen @ EGR brakes told me about it. direct swap,and he said it makes a hugh difference. raybestos part # mc39435



scot

 

[StevenWalker]

If you do this modification, you'll need to make sure your master cylinder can push enough brake fluid to fill the larger volume of the chevy wheel cylinders (15/16 vs 1 3/16). It will take more fluid to expand the brake shoes with the chevy wheel cylinders. If the master cylinder doesn't deliver enough fluid volume in its stroke, the cylinders will only partially expand. Most master cylinders are matched to certain size wheel cylinders.

 

[Regcabguy]

EGR rear disc conversion.

I tried everything in order to stop my '99 w/1800# camper. Everything mentioned in this thread failed until I did the EGR rear disc conversion. Parking brake is sub-par and pedal is softer than I'd like do to master cylinder fluid flow limitations,but the vehicle does stop! Pacbrake made a huge improvement too. D/C should have been sued for the bunk brakes on 94-2001's. I don't know how the engineers sleep at night being aware of this problem. I drove an '07 and it stops better than my '05 Honda Pilot.

 

[DieselLady]

I did this right after this post first started and it worked great. As a matter of fact, I have to be careful be sometimes the rear brakes will lock up now. Works great. Oo.