Disc brakes

[shackwrrr]

I am ready to convert to disc brakes on the rear of my j20. I am going to buy a kit from hardonoffroad on ebay while the price is cheap. But I wanted to know is there anything that i should have other than stuff to be ready with brake work. what about a prop valve is it really needed or will it work fine without till i get one? other than prop valve is there anything else?? after i do this does anyone want my backing plates and drums? I know the drum are alright but will probably need turned and the backing plates are good too. i can get the drums turned for free if anybody wants them when im done. mcroth i know you have this same setup. what did you do about lines in the back? did you just cut the metal lines and re flare them or did you just install shorter lines? I just want some general info about the swap.

[Tad]

I just want some general info about the swap. I never did one for a D60 but J10Mike has some info:
http://12.29.16.230/mmimages/index.htm
It's under the Modifications link he has up to the left.

[mattmopar440]

Iam planning on doing this to my wag in the spring let me know how it goes :drivin: :fsj: :cool:

[J10Mike]

Ya...That's where I got my disk brake conversion from. Paul Bowman worked with me to produce the prototype for the Jeep D60 7 bolt flange.
You will have to knock out the wheel studs in the rear hubs in order to attach the new rotors. So, while you are at it, buy new wheel studs for a front J20 rotor. They dig into the hubs better than standard rear wheel studs.
Furthermore, you will need new brake line and fittings. Very cheap at the local auto parts. Buy what you need and then some to cover any mistakes with a flaring tool. Don't ask me why I know that...LOL. Also, since I needed new extended flex lines for my lift, I went ahead and bought BJ's SS extended brake lines.
Also, I did not need a new prop valve.
It was a very worth while conversion. I'm getting ready to order a conversion from Paul for my rear Dodge D60. He gives you nearly everything you will need to install the conversion. After it's completed, you will not be disappointed.

[jeeping1974]

this is good to know as i swapped in a dana 60 rear axle into my j10 and was gonna look into a rear drum to disk convertion.

[Casey]

I'm getting ready to order a conversion from Paul for my rear Dodge D60. He gives you nearly everything you will need to install the conversion. After it's completed, you will not be disappointed.
That's great!

I ended up not using the J-20 D60 I had. I found a Dodge D60 with the correct spindles on it and had them bored to accept a D70 size 1.5" 35 spline shaft.
Got it back from Chris Durham Motorsports yesterday! :dancingbanana:


I am out of $$$ as far as axles go so I had to keep the drum brakes for now. They have all new parts in them and should last a year or two. I will eventually swap to discs. ;)

[shadowjeep]

sorry to hijack but, casey what did you get the d70 shafts from and what carrier did you use?

[Casey]

sorry to hijack but, casey what did you get the d70 shafts from and what carrier did you use?
The shafts were blanks, custom cut and splined by Chris Durham Motorsports*. The case is a 35 spline Detroit locker. :thumbsup:






*Yet another shameless plug for a great shop!

[shadowjeep]

thanks casey, ill have to give them a call when i finally get ready to upgrade. again, sorry to hijack.

[JERSEY JOE]

DON'T FORGET THERE IS THE PARKING BRAKE DILEMA. THE ELDORADO CALIPERS CAN WORK BUT ARE A PITA. I USED A DANA 60 HD IN THE REAR OF MY CJ AND USED THE CALIPERS FROM THE FRONT OF THE J-20 AND AM USING A TRANSFER CASE DISC BRAKE FROM TOM WOODS. IT'S MORE WORK BUT BETTER THAN DEALING WITH THE ELDORADO CALIPERS IN MY OPINION.

[Towtruck]

I have the metric El Dorado calipers on my AMC20 and they work great...including the e-brake. Maybe the larger version has problems?

[shackwrrr]

for now I am going to use a park lock. all I need for it to do is to hold my truck for a few min while i get out and do something. Other than that i have the t18 witch holds preatty wel in 1st gear. I someday plan on prolly fabbing my own brake setup on the xfer case. I like the caddy calipers but i dont like how expensive they THEN you have to get custom cables.

[JERSEY JOE]

I actually have not used them but all the people I talked to said to avoid them. Then again they were off road only rigs. They are expensive and the cable situation is a pain. The transfer case disc brake setup was $150.00 then I had to fab the mounts. Believe me I wish there was a total bolt on kit.

[crispyboy]

is there a link to the ebay site?
The whole issue of an emergency brake has kept me from making this switch. I live in hilly country and I don't feel safe without the brake - especially when the truck has a load.

[AMX factor]

For all you converters...you will love the results. Best upgrade I did to my 87GW. The 4800lb beast stopped so much better! I bypassed the e-brake myself and just used the smaller calipers.

[Towtruck]

I can see where the e-brakes cables might be a problem on an offroad setup with a lot of articulation of the axle. Cat's meow for a street setup, though. Fab a short cable extension and move a couple brackets, and the original drum brake cables work perfectly...beyond simple. In fact I posted a photo summary a couple months ago. But again, they might be an issue for large axle excursions/large lift.

[shackwrrr]

I thought of something like a second caliper mounted ofset from the main one and then get one of those tiny master cyl from a circle track car and have a seperate setup. i could mount the MC where the old pedal was and fab up a ratchet and a switch.

[JERSEY JOE]

The transfer case disc brake works well

[Towtruck]

I'm curious about the "cable issue" with the Caddy brakes, since I reused the original cables off the drum brakes and made a simple, minor mod on the forward cable that solved the "reach" issue. Take a look at my string of 11-7-2007 (photos). Pretty simple e-brake fix...a couple spots of weld for the cable extension and about $4 for the new frame brackets...could have cut off and reused the old ones if I wasn't so lazy. Sure wasn't no $150. I must be missing something....

By the way, I bought a set of beautifully rebuilt calipers on e-bay for about $65 each, two brackets for $10 each, and then the hoses and rotors. The whole conversion was under $250 including the e-brake hook up. Not sure what they're getting for kits...

[JERSEY JOE]

Towtruck: I asked. a few guys. The problems are getting the adjustment right and it's effect on the brake pedal. Some have reported that the parking brake adjustment effects the pad to disc clearance and leads to soft pedal . For me I did not want to have any cable at the wheel area and the transfer case brake seemed easier at the time.

[Towtruck]

Yes, no cables near the tires for offroad makes sense. The soft pedal problem is invariably due to insufficient bleeding...had the problem myself. Zero issues since the second bleed. In any case...whatever floats your boat. Regards.

[shackwrrr]

I started on my swap today and I tried the old studs and I found out that you have to use new studs. The old ones dont bite enough and they lack a shoulder to take up slack in the hole on the rotor


Does anybody know where i can get some wheel studs cheap??? everywhere i found them wants 2 dollars plus for them.

[jaber]

We use to get hydrolic locks for the military 6x6's. it went into the rear brake line. You push the brakes and turn the lever and it would keep the rear brakes locked. A hidden bracket under the dash to hold the valve.

[J10Mike]

I started on my swap today and I tried the old studs and I found out that you have to use new studs. The old ones dont bite enough and they lack a shoulder to take up slack in the hole on the rotor


Does anybody know where i can get some wheel studs cheap??? everywhere i found them wants 2 dollars plus for them.
Having done the Jeep D60 disk brake conversion myself, here is the reason the old wheel studs don't bite. The left stud is OEM for the rear drum. The right stud is for the J20 front disk brake hub. Look at the burrs...While the burrs on the old OEM studs are longer, the burrs on the disk brake compatible stud penetrates deeper into the hub.
Spend the $32 to do it right.
http://12.29.16.230/mmimages/DiskBrakeConversion/wheelstuds2.jpg

[shackwrrr]

I think I got my dad to get me them fro christmas So Im good there. thanks everyone for the help.