dana 60 rear disc brake conversion?

[bucks77ford]

Well, I soon will be looking at redoing my rear brakes on my 75 supercab, so I am wondering if I should a disc brake conversion. I checked out autozone and with free shipping I can all the brake parts for about $205 and the caliper brackets on ebay for about $60. There will be some small misc stuff I will need but nothing expensive. I am just wondering if its worth it and will rear discs make any difference.

 

[LEB Ben]

I'm of the opinion that well maintained and properly tune drum brake can be sufficient, I don't believe they'll ever be as good as a disc though. Enough guys do the conversion, so there has to be benefit in that alone. The biggest appeal to me is when it comes time for a brake job...with discs, 15 minutes and you're done...drum brakes have never been that quick for me.

 

[bucks77ford]

I feel the same way about a good drum brake. I just am going to need to put some money into the brakes either way and figured if disc IS much better than I should just spend a bit more and convert.

 

[DNFXDLI]

Disc brakes are far superior to drums any way you cut it. You've got to weigh up the amount of work to change them out and setting up the proportioning valve.

 

[bucks77ford]

Disc brakes are far superior to drums any way you cut it. You've got to weigh up the amount of work to change them out and setting up the proportioning valve.

Ya, I've done some reading and still trying to do some research to see what all is involved. If I have to change out the prop. valve and what not, than I might just pass. I have come to realize that trying to upgrade isn't always the way to go and if something works why change it or open a can of worms and end up going back to original anyway. I did that with my 77 F250 trying to install a large cap DUI distributor that didn't fit well and caused some other problems and ended up going back to a stock Ford distributor and just upgraded the ignition box. Than I tried to do the whole higher compression E85 thing and ended up going back to a lower compression and an Edelbrock to run Fuel as a result of some issues that I didn't research enough I think. So, I'm getting to a point of just keeping things the way they are and why mess with some technology that has lasted 30 plus years and works. I'll still do some research before I do anything, but in the end I might just redo things the stock way.

 

[kiwi f150]

Nothing wrong with a good drum brake setup ... actually they will give better braking effort than a disc due to having a lot more surface contact area it's just that they are more prone to "brake fade" due to not being able to disperse the heat as well as a disc setup - disc on the front and drum on the rear is a good compromise in combatting this especially on those long downhill runs with a trailer on the back.
Look at most large trucks and you will notice that they still have drums all round - they are stopping much more weight per axle than your truck is ever likely too and they don't seem to have any problem .
Yes they can be a pain to setup properly but it only takes practice and having the right tools helps a lot too.

 

[LEB Ben]

Just an FYI Buck...I've bought and sold lots with this guy if you're interested. I know you can do it for a few bucks cheaper but figured I'd throw it out there.

http://www.nc4x4.com/forum/index.php?threads/8-lug-disc-brake-kits.24220/

 

[m78]

^ He doesn't list the proportioning valve.

 

[bucks77ford]

I think I will just stay with the drum rears. The front has dual piston calipers. I am not sure if there is that much a difference in the F250 booster vs the F350 2wd booster, but if someone chimes in and says there is, I may look at just upgrading it when I need too and leave the rest as is. I appreciate all the replys.