Brake line compatibility between J10 w/ d44 and J20 w/ d60

[Tigger4X]

Finding myself in a pickle converting my J10 to J20 suspension & axles. The rear hardline connection on my '74 J10 is on the passenger side and the connection of the J20 d60 is on the driver side. I already bought a full brake line kit from BJs so aside from having to shelf it for Lord knows how long and having to buy/shape it using 'by the foot' stuff ... I'm hoping someone else has already conquered this mess and can give some insight. I dread having to shape my own as past adventures have proven disastrous.



EDIT : the d60 came out of a 1978 J20


TIA

[Cecil14]

Brake lines on my '83 all come down the driver side. Wonder if the pass. side thing is an earlier deal? Very strange to have the lines going down the pass. side, as that makes it a much longer run?


Does the main line still come down the driver frame rail from the proportioning valve? Guessing yours just runs up and over the crossmember over the rear axle to the pass. side? If so, just cut that line a bit shorter and put an end on it so it drops where it needs to on the driver side.

[Tigger4X]

CECIL - with both of out trucks being J10s the only thing I can think of is that it might have to do with the d60 coming out of a J20.


I have thought about drilling a hole on the driver's side where it was on the '78 J20 and then some sort of connecting line between the two ports. That new section would run from one side to the other along the cross member. I will have to take another look once the rain stops to see what kind of bits it will take to make the connection work.

[Cecil14]

I'll hop under my truck tomorrow and snap a pic of where my brake line runs. As far as I now it's in the stock location. I can take a look at the '80s D60 I have sitting here as well.

[Cecil14]

These pics are out of my '83 J-10, the axle is a '78 D44:






And here is a pic of an '80s D60:





And for good measure, a '99 E3650 D60 to compare:





They all have a retaining bolt on the driver side for the splitter block. All the axles I've seen (which is admittedly relatively few) have the incoming brake line on the driver side.

[Tigger4X]

Thanks for the pics CECIL

It looks like I'm going to have to drop the dual tanks, swap out the proportioning blocks, and then install the new brake line kit from BJs. Not sure if there is a difference in the master cylinders or not so I'm preparing to spend the $$ on that too. Oh the web I wove when first I dreamed of this going smooth. ROFL

[tgreese]

The parts book shows one picture for all of 1974-80. The rear line, prop valve to flex hose, is two pieces, with a union in the middle. For 74/75, the front half is the same for all models 20 and 40 (short and long WB trucks). The rear half is different for the 20 vs 40; that is, the same for all LWB trucks J10 and J20, models 45 and 46. They all drop to the rear axle at the same place. The tubes on the axle are different for the D44 vs D60, as expected.

[Tigger4X]

I wish I could post pictures for you because my '74 J10 has the flex hose coming up off the axle on the passenger side, not the driver's side. I compared both sides and the bracket was there from the factory as there are no OEM bolt holes or welds on the driver's side. The bracket/etc on the passenger side is just like the driver side on the '78 J20 that I got the axles out of.

[Cecil14]

Was this truck originally right hand drive?

[tgreese]

The parts book drawing clearly shows that all '74-79 trucks drop from the passenger side. https://tinyurl.com/yxkko4je

Note this is big file, posted here as a link so you can see it in detail. No guarantee it will be there indefinitely - save it if you want it.

1980 clearly switches to drop on the driver's side, for all models. This suggests that your D60 is 1980 or later.

[Tigger4X]

Was this truck originally right hand drive?

100% USA left hand drive. I bought it from the OO with 16,500K original miles.

[Tigger4X]

The parts book drawing clearly shows that all '74-79 trucks drop from the passenger side. https://tinyurl.com/yxkko4je

Note this is big file, posted here as a link so you can see it in detail. No guarantee it will be there indefinitely - save it if you want it.

1980 clearly switches to drop on the driver's side, for all models. This suggests that your D60 is 1980 or later.

Props to you for being able to ascertain which side it runs from that diagram.

I was told by the PO that the J20 was a '78. I will run the VIN decoder and check the year. It's very possible that the PO didn't know for sure. Who knows. But I will here soon. I just need to find a way to make it work and get it done.

[tgreese]

Props to you for being able to ascertain which side it runs from that diagram.

Does that mean you are having difficulty understanding the diagram? The left front corner is in the foreground, and the tubes are laid out like the truck is sitting there with the front to the left and the back to the right. Just as the parts would be in the truck, but with all the other parts removed. The hump in the tubing is in the middle of the axle, so to the right of the hump is the left side of the truck, and vice-versa.

I was told by the PO that the J20 was a '78. I will run the VIN decoder and check the year. It's very possible that the PO didn't know for sure. Who knows. But I will here soon. I just need to find a way to make it work and get it done.

Could have been a VIN swap for a newer truck. Not legal, but it happens. A 1978 VIN will start with "J8."