The "Do it Yourself" 14 Bolt Disc. Swap

PARTS LIST #'S IS ON BOTTOM OF PAGE
Contact me if you have any ?'s

How many of you Guys & Gals have been seeing the GM 14 Bolt for years with the Disc Conv. on it but couldn't or didn't want to spend the $$$ to buy it! Sure there are some kits out there that were outrageous prices for "just the brackets"!! I know everyone who knows anything about cars or trucks can tell you that Disc brakes have many advantages to them. The key advantage to me is the weight savings you get when you put them on and throw the heavy drums away. The other big one "around here" is that any of you guys & girls can confirm that when you play in MUD they have a "problem" with packing up inside of the drum with MUD/DIRT! I don't know about you but I really can't afford to tear them apart every time I play in the MUD. Yes it is simple but as you can guess I'm lazy....:):) This in the easiest of terms kills your braking "if any" to worse than "stock" specs. If you got BIG tires on there it's even worse! Below is the "play by play" install of this kit on the GM Corporate 14 Bolt rear axle.

First, let's get the "Technical" stuff out of the way. This kit "currently" only fits the single-wheel, 14 Bolt, "Full Floater" rear axles from early 1973 to 1985. You can distinguish these rear axles before 1985, because they rear brake drums are held onto the hub with the wheel studs. The drum is unable to slide off without removing the hub. The later (86-up usually) 14 bolt axles have a "floating" drum that you are able to take off and inspect the brakes without having to remove the axle shaft and hub from the axle. Another way to distinguish a FF 14 rear it has the 6 bolt "flange" behind the yoke on the pinion as pictured to the right.

Now that you have clearly identified the axle, the steps below detail the installation process. If you have any questions please E-mail me and I will answer them as quickly as possible. To make things easy for you just get the ROTORS/CALIPERS/PADS/BRAKE LINES from a Dana 44 front axle from a 1973 Chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 truck. They fit perfect without any machine work needed. Scroll to the bottom for the Parts numbers for this conversion.  Also if you are going to or are running "Aluminum" rims I use new wheel studs from a "Dually" 14 they have more stud length for the thicker rim center.

If your wondering where to get these brackets call me or send me a e-mail I have these laser cut for me locally.  If you have any problems with the rear axle brakes locking up after the disc brake install I also have NEW GM Disc/disc Factory proportional valves also available for sale upon request.

Thank You,   Tim "Shaker"

Pic. # 1: Diff. Cover ID Picture

Pic. #2: 6 bolt "flange" behind yoke
Step # 1
Assuming that your axle is under your vehicle and not on a bench, as mine was, loosen lugnuts if you do not have a good set of pneumatic tools. Jack up the rear of your vehicle and place it on jack stands or blocks (VERY IMPORTANT TO BE STABLE). Now remove your wheels.
Step # 2
 Now remove the differential cover bolts to drain the gear oil. Then remove the bolts on the hubs that hold in the axles (You will get a little fluid so have a catch pan ready). Now you can pull both of the axles out from the housing. The hub nuts require a specialty socket to remove them (but it has been done with a punch or screwdriver). To the right is a picture of the socket. You will also need to pry the star washer between the nuts that is locking the hub nuts from backing off.
Step # 3
 Pull off the hub-drum assemblies. Now go ahead and take off the backing plates. You may have to remove the brake shoe clips to get to all four bolts that hold on the backing plate. If you are going keep the E-brake on your disc conversion you might want to keep the cables to modify, but I chose to use a line lock or rolling lock for my E-brake.
Step # 4
 Let's take a look at the hub-drum assemblies, take a brass drift punch to knock the wheel studs that hold the HEAVY drums to the hubs. After you separate these HEAVY drums from the hubs, you can take the drums to your nearest dumpster-LOL. Now take your new rotors out of the boxes and put them on the back of the hubs, just like the drums were on there. Take your studs and put them in all the holes where they were and take the "drift punch" and knock them back in, making sure that they are all the way in and that there is no gap between the hub flange and the rotor (very important).
Step # 5
 Now that the hubs ready to go back on, you'll need to put on the brackets that hold on your calipers. When putting the bracket on, angle it toward the rear bumper. Take the four spacers and put them between the bracket and the 4 bolt flange where the backing plate was bolted to and torque them down.
Step # 6
 Now that the caliper bracket is installed on the axle, you can put on the rotor-hub assemblies. After you put them on the axle, install the nuts that hold the hub on with the locking collar between them. Bend the collar tabs to lock the nuts to keep them from working loose. Spin the hub to seat the bearings and to ensure you did not over tighten the bearings.
Step # 7
 Now it's time to put the axles back in. After that is done you can go ahead and begin to put the caliper on the bracket. When that is mounted on the bracket you can attach the brake lines. Where the hard line went across the housing to the wheel cylinders cut it to the length desired and re-flare it with installing the male Chevy end of the 3/16 fitting that is used on the front lines. Now you can bleed your brakes and go to your local parking lot to make sure they are COMPLETELY bled. In some cases a "Proportioning Valve" is needed to dial the pressure to the brakes desired.
Part #'s for Conversion

Rotor Manufactures Part #'s Below....Normal price is around $25.00 each.....

Foster Part # HY141049
Raybestos Part # 5014
Aimco Part # 5523
IPI Part # 567

WearEver Part # 5670586 (Advance Auto)

Napa Part # 85677

Wagner Part # BD-60427

Any more manufacturers Part #'s let me know.....

Caliper Pins for Chevy front calipers (No E-Brake)-U.S. Brake Parts Part #JUA5003A

Chevy Front Calipers (No E-Brake) Wagner Part #'s WGL L116348& WGL L116349

ARI "Loaded calipers" Part #'s 4077 & 4078 (has pads with calipers)

Hub Seal-Federal Mogul Part #2081

Pinion Seal-Federal Mogul Part #2286

Cadillac Calipers-Raybestos Part #'s RC6021 and RC6022.... (Caliper Pads)- Bendix Part # D122

 

 
If you have any questions feel free to send me a E-mail......Thanks-Tim