Rear Disc Brakes

[Mtngoat]

Has anybody swapped out their rear drum brakes for discs (on a dually), and what were the results? Does it work THAT much better to justify the cost?

Thanks. .



Robin

 

[Jamie Attridge]

Mine has em factory and over my 99 the rear disks on the 02 are amazing compared to the drums haven't done the converstion someone on the DTR had a kit a while back maybe do a search and find something.

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

I heard about the OEM conversion on a 99 Ram 3500, but it was a major job. He had to weld plates to the dana 80 to accept the OEM Disk brake backing plates and you will also have to change the master cyc. reservoir and proportioning valves too.

Can someone confirm that in 2000 to 2002 Dodge changed the dana 80 to use a hub centric wheel instead of a lug centric wheel (I am looking to buy some Alcoa wheels soon)? I know that the hub caps, wheel bearings, all the rear brake hardware and shoes(drum) are different than the 94 to 99 Ram 3500s .

The point to all of this is when I checked the part number for the axle housing for my 2001 (build date Jan. 2000) it was the same as a disk brake axle on a 2002 so it should not be too bad to convert the 2000 and early 2001 trucks to rear disk brakes, but at this point this is all speculation on my part and not application.

 

[MLee]

disk brake conversion

mtgoat;

do a search here, this conversion was discussed at lenghth, both after market, and from the dealer. one cost close to 2k, the other was 1k from the dealer. part numbers was also listed. no welding was done on the installs. just took time.

just my penny's worth.



Marv.

 

[OnlyCummins]

Re: disk brake conversion

Originally posted by MLee

mtgoat;

... snip... one cost close to 2m, the other was 1m from the dealer. ... snip...



Marv.

Holy smokes Batman, that's one expensive upgrade at $2 million or $1 million !



Sorry, but couldn't resist. Plz don't take offense but 'm' is usually shorthand for meter & M for meg or million. K would've worked as it's shorthand for 1 thousand.

 

[MLee]

re: disk brakes

check out #2DSL dated 9/27/2002 post, this is where all the dealer related part numbers are listed, maybe it will, and maybe it won't work on your application. the costs were between $900 to $1200. Ericbu12 done the EGR convertion.



ONLYCUMMINS,

i made the correction on my last post, to bad i'm not perfect yet, but some day i will be. when you point a finger at person, remember, that you have three pointing back at you.



Marv.

 

[OnlyCummins]

Re: re: disk brakes

Originally posted by MLee

... snip...

ONLYCUMMINS,

i made the correction on my last post, to bad i'm not perfect yet, but some day i will be. when you point a finger at person, remember, that you have three pointing back at you.



Marv.

Despite my sincerest efforts it appear that I've offended anyway. Perhaps one of these days I'll master the art of conveying info without offending. Then I'd be perfect! NOT!



I don't mind having fingers pointed at me. Makes me feel important & (in)famous!

 

[Mtngoat]

MLee-



I don't think OnlyCummins was ragging you. I wish someone would point out mistakes I make so I don't do it again. Anyway, have a good day.



Robin

 

[RustyJC]

Depends on the industry you're in. In dealing with natural gas, mcfd = thousands of cubic feet per day. mmcfd = millions of cubic feet per day. The basis of this is that M is the Roman numeral for 1000.



Rusty

 

[MLee]

rusty;

thanks, thats what i have always used. BUT now i have been CORRECTED, and will use what has been pointed out. (no biggy). NOW BACK TO THE DISCUSSION AT HAND.

Marv.

 

[OnlyCummins]

Most of the opinions I've read relate to doing the conversion on GM trux but FWIW they've all been very positive. Comments I've read were weight reduction of ~50lbs/side (I think ... kinda of hard to believe the brake drums weigh that much!), improved to far superior braking, much better braking when wet & especially off-road since disc brakes tend to stay relatively mud/etc free compared to drums which can become rotating mud pies. The only problems that I can remember were with folks who upgraded to discs on trucks with vacuum braking -- seems proportioning valve had to be added or the stock one removed or both (can't remember which).



You can try these links for kits/brackets:



http://www.tsmmfg.com/Dodge_Truck.htm (partial & complete kits & they very generously list addl parts necessary if going with partial kits)

http://www.echobit.com/cgi-bin/gravityfab/products.cgi (DIY route)

http://www.azkickin.com/home.htm (also DIY but currently only for Dana 60 but they may be able to build some for Dana 70/80 since they were originally an aerospace specialty machine shop)

http://ssbrakes.com/home/ (don't appear to offer kits but included for completeness & bc their kits are the only ones that I know of that include MC if necessary -- very complete but very spendy)



& for general info:



http://subtopics.freeyellow.com/Brakes.htm (try to ignore that it's GM oriented)



If you take the DIY route be sure look at the part #'s on the tsmmfg website.



Good luck.