Rear Disk brake conversion

[Mulochico]

Oh I know. I've replaced the master cylinder. Flushing the fluid is next.

Flushing the fluid did wonders for my pedal feel. I would do it as soon as you can as the contaminants will start deteriorating the new parts. It would be good to get another 20 yrs out of the new ones.

Also need to lube the front slide pins.

Another "I do it every time I work on the brakes" item. Don't forget to clean them good before lubing. I had lube build up on one of my vehicles and they got gummy and didin't work very well until I cleaned them good w/Brakekleen.

Since you seem pretty knowledgeable, what's the best procedure for adjusting the parking brake?
Mine goes straight to the floor and barely does anything. I know I need to adjust the shoes some more. But I don't have access to a strong enough jack to get a tire off the ground. My 2 ton floor jack won't budge it. Lol

Adjust them as firehawk says and then the self adjusters will work. They need to be adjusted properly for the self adjusters to work at all. The parking brake should not be adjusted until the rear brakes are properly adjusted as they work together to keep the truck stopped (i.e., if the parking brake is to tight, the brakes will not adjust properly.) When everything is working and adjusted properly, you should be able to backup, hit the brakes until stopped then repeat a couple of times and the brakes will self adjust. If they don't, something is either out of place, installed incorrectly, gummed up, or inop.

 

[hce]

This is a great little article look for the words increased pressure and pedal effort

 

[hce]

This one talks about how the sizing of a booster changes when adding rear disks

 

[hce]

Way too much good reading on mp brakes website

NOTE: If you are using Cadillac ElDorado rear calipers there are some important things you should know. One of the biggest advantages of a disc brake system is the fool proof self adjuster. Not so with this rear GM system. The rear calipers adjust off the parking brake. The parking brake is incorporated into the caliper.

You must set the parking brake every time you park the car. The rear caliper pistons utilize a one way clutch inside the caliper piston. When the parking brake is applied the clutch senses when there is .030" or more clearance between the friction material and the rotor on the inboard side. When there is more than .030" the clutch turns inside the piston adjusting it out keeping the rear brakes adjusted. If you do not set your parking brake every time you will start to lose brake pedal (low and spongy) and the adjuster mechanism will not work any longer.

 

[79jasper]

Flushing the fluid did wonders for my pedal feel. I would do it as soon as you can as the contaminants will start deteriorating the new parts. It would be good to get another 20 yrs out of the new ones.



Another "I do it every time I work on the brakes" item. Don't forget to clean them good before lubing. I had lube build up on one of my vehicles and they got gummy and didin't work very well until I cleaned them good w/Brakekleen.



Adjust them as firehawk says and then the self adjusters will work. They need to be adjusted properly for the self adjusters to work at all. The parking brake should not be adjusted until the rear brakes are properly adjusted as they work together to keep the truck stopped (i.e., if the parking brake is to tight, the brakes will not adjust properly.) When everything is working and adjusted properly, you should be able to backup, hit the brakes until stopped then repeat a couple of times and the brakes will self adjust. If they don't, something is either out of place, installed incorrectly, gummed up, or inop.

That's pretty good help. I'm also thinking I should take the RabsII valve apart and clean it.

 

[Mulochico]

That's pretty good help. I'm also thinking I should take the RabsII valve apart and clean it.

Not a bad idea. My abs light stopped coming on when I fixed the self adjusters.

 

[79jasper]

Mine has been on since I first got the truck. I'm about to go flash out the codes and see what I find.

 

[The Warden]

Flushing the fluid did wonders for my pedal feel. I would do it as soon as you can as the contaminants will start deteriorating the new parts. It would be good to get another 20 yrs out of the new ones.

Thank you for this. It amazes me how few people understand the importance of flushing the brake fluid...most people have never even heard that it's something that should be done regularly; they figure that you need to bleed the brakes enough to get the air out of the system and you're good to go.

I don't know if other car manufacturers do this, but both Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have explicit instructions in their owners' manuals giving intervals for brake fluid changes. IIRC they recommend it be done annually, or it might be every two years. Given how much water can build up in the brake system (brake fluid's hydroscopic), you can imagine how much corrosion there almost has to be in a system that hasn't been flushed in 20 years...

 

[79jasper]

The warden is correct. Searching around the internet, most people agree that every 3 years is best. But more often if you tow heavy, because the extra heat buildup.
I haven't done it yet myself, but starting now I will.

 

[Mulochico]

Mine has been on since I first got the truck. I'm about to go flash out the codes and see what I find.

Don't know the year of your truck, but my 1990 doesn't have a computer to flash

 

[79jasper]

Don't know the year of your truck, but my 1990 doesn't have a computer to flash

It's the 94.
Code 7. Possible causes: bad rabs valve, bad rabs module, or faulty wiring.
My choice of action is cleaning the rabs valve.
Any advice? Lol

 

[The Warden]

BFH to the RABS valve?

 

[79jasper]

Lol that may be all that's left.
The lines came loose but the nuts are stuck to the lines. So when I turn it, it's twisting the line. I sprayed them with wd-40 cause that's all I have. I'll try to pick up something better Friday. So what should I do now?

 

[fordf350man]

when i first started in the dealership i though it wasn't that important to flush brake fluid but it worked wonders, i couldn't beleave the difference, had people come in that replaced everything they could to get rid of a soft pedal and couldn't figure it out, i did a fluid change and it felt like it just came out of the factory, and my opinion on the disc brake conversion is its very expensive but i don't see the problem with the pressure on the brakes, with a brake booster setup you should be putting around 2000 psi on the rear brakes as long as vacuum is correct, and can get even better with a hydro boost setup, but there are many different opinions, but without a doubt disc brakes with stop better and create less heat that drum brakes, but drum brakes will still get the job done, people have been towing with them for years and they work fine

 

[giezy]

disk brakes also save rotating mass. Picked a drum up lately?