I would like to convert my 98 Laraiat 4x4 to rear discs. Can I use the rear system from a 99 or newer truck? If I do are they a direct bolt on on the axle?
Will I need to change the master cylinder , lines and or electronics for the existing 4 wheel discs?
I can get the entire rear axle including brakes dirt cheap.

 

Good Question, I would like to convert my 97 rear brakes to disc also. The drum brakes have been nothing but trouble.

 

Cachristian, what kind of problems have you had with your drum brakes? It's been my experience in the past that rear drums have been less troublesome than rear disks.

Thanks, Le Pew.

 

Good question. I have always wnated to do that myself. Do the trucks with the rear discs seem to stop any better? I have seen the conversion kits but they are so expensive. I wonder if the whole axle needs to be changed due to mounts and the backing plat fro mthe drums and stuff. Maybe someone has done this and will come along soon to enlighten us. In the meantime I might search threw my repair books for differences.

 

I spoke with one of my riding buddies who is a Ford tech, and he indicated, he thought the axles were the same, but he wasn't 100 percent sure. He also did not know about the master cylinder/ electronics.

 

This question has been asked many times yet no one has yet to answer it completely/satisfactorily. It seems as if no one on this whole board has actually done the conversion. I'm not sure anyone will anytime sooner either considering the kits' cost is from around 1 grand.

All that I've found so far that was interesting was a member swapped out the whole axle, brakes and everything included. It only cost him less than 400 too..

 

Le pew, I have had my 97 for a couple of years. Rear drums have been a problem the whole time. I have taken to dealer, and very good mechanics I know. The Problem: brakes are spongy, it feels as though you are just not going stop when getting close to a stop. The pedal seems to go down over half way before even starting to activate brakes. Some way, some how the rear brakes come out of adjustment. All springs, adjuster wheel and hardware have been replaced. Also, system flush. You can adjust the brakes up and they feel pretty good...for about four days. It seems that the problem is worse or quicker the more often I apply the parking brake. The reply from dealer...rear drums were just way out of adjustment. Well, I knew that! I have just about given up and plan way ahead before stopping.

 

That is my exact complaint too. I figured it was my bigger tires messing with the ABS and the rear's needing replaced and readjusted. I hardly ever apply the parking brake, maybe that's a good thing.

 

Cachristian, I totally understand what you mean about the spongy feel of the pedal and the need to constantly adjust the rear shoes for a higher feeling pedal. The sad thing is that most of us who have the rear drums have come to accept this trait as normal. I've never had any mechanical malfunctions with the rear drums but even when they work right they are anemic at best.

Ive gotten into the habit of jabbing the brakes as I back out of the driveway to keep them self-adjusted but even then it's not as solid feeling in the pedal as when they are done manually. I would love to install a set of braided stainless brake lines knowing that it would definetly make some improvement but none are available for our application as of yet. I'm sure that some nice, sticky performance tires would improve stopping distances but that still leaves the wimpy brake system as is.

Is the braking substantially better with rear discs? Has anyone driven both a rear drum & rear disc equipped truck and noticed any improvement in one over the other? I'm wondering if it's worth it to try a swap?
Here is a thread in which I mention some concerns that I personally would have to take into consideration if I were to attempt the drums to discs swap myself.

Personally, I dont think I would ever try it because I hardly ever use my brakes. So ....... unless the braking performance was substantially improved. Or maybe if I got some nice wheels that really let the brakes be seen more easily in which case I'd like to see nice clean calipers front & rear, I'd just leave well enough alone.

Good luck, sorry for the prolonged rambling.

 

Bumping this thread back up to the top since it's old. I'm hoping someone can give some info on some of the questions here. Maybe someone has tried this in the past few years. I'm curious if the rear discs really make much of a difference, and if swapping in a 99+ rear disc system is possible / easy on a 97-98.

I have a '98 Supercab 4x4 and the brakes work, but similar to what is described above when stopping it doesn't feel like they are going to until the pedal is pretty far down in the travel and the feel is very spongy / difficult to modulate.

-Brad

 

Man it's been a long time since I was here. Not done much to truck expect pay it off and drive it. I haven't had time working 40+ hrs and trying to find a buy a home.
Anyways talk to a guy with a 01 w/ disc and he states his is not much better. Still doesn't stop like it should and still gets that grab the first time the brakes are applied after they gotten wet. Plus he claims that they wear out faster then drums. I don't know, I just plan ahead and hope to stop. The person in front of me better hope he's not in a Metro or I'll punt him 3 city blocks.

 

That's what I would have guessed. When you're stopping most of the weight (and required stopping power) ends up over the front wheels anyway. The best bang / buck would probably be spent on upgrading the front discs, and just live with the rears as is.

I've learned to plan ahead too. My daily driver weighs about 1/2 what the F150 does ... needless to say you can feel a *big* inertia difference. If I followed the car in front of me like I do in my Jetta, I'd have a new hood ornament in no time.



-Brad

 

Jetta , huh. Wifey drives a Beetle. I almost smash our faces in the dash when I drive her car due to the fact I'm use to stomping the pedal to stop in my truck.

 

Originally posted by DigitalMan
... I'm curious if the rear discs really make much of a difference, and if swapping in a 99+ rear disc system is possible / easy on a 97-98...

DigitalMan,

Changing to rear discs makes a HUGE difference. I was shocked tonight when I first drove my truck with disc brakes. The firmness can be felt as soon as the pedal is depressed. No more pushing 1/2 way down before anything happens and the Sponge Bob Square Pants feel definitely is gone LOL.

Here's the drawback, total project cost: about 2K. If you do it yourself you'll save about 1K. I didn't even have to get my hands dirty.

 

Mine has rear drums and I've driven both my dad's (01 F150) and mom's (03 expy) trucks w/ 4 wheel disk and the difference is pretty big. Stopping power is increased greatly w/ 4 wheel disks. My 2 cents.