What Rear End to Use?

[NeoJuice]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Keep in mind the s10 4x4 and the zr2 rearend are different widths..zr2 is 3in wider..unless you've got a pile of money and parts in the 80s t/a rearend I'd dump that in a heartbeat if offered $350
Looking at lkq it looks as if most standard s10 axles are under $300.. complete

I don't have any money in the t/a rearend, it came in the truck when I bought it.

[NeoJuice]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

Nothing up close, and truck is 250 miles away so can't take any now. Here's a couple.

Thanks for the pictures. I'll take a closer look at the kit and see what I can do. All I think I'm going to need is a spacer to center the caliper on the rotor. Is this what you had to do as well? you said that it was already a t/a rear disc diff.

[1project2many]

Originally Posted by NeoJuice

Thanks dsraven for all the information. I'm going to have to decide what I'm going to do. I just heard back from the local retailer about the disc brake kit. They said it wont fit because the rear axle "had" disc brakes already and has the incorrect offset/backspacing. I don't know how a stupid spacer couldn't fix that.

Option 1 - Had offer already to sell rear end for $350

Option 2 - Get rear end out of 4x4 or zr2 from pick n pull. Then figure out how much it will cost to put all new rotors/brakes/shoes/hoses on it.

Option 3 - Try and source OEM parts.

This is really stressing me out LOL.

OEM parts weren't that crazy. IIRC there are Cadillac calipers that are very similar to the TA calipers. But the disc brakes from a newer vehicle are likely to be supported much longer and parts will be available at more stores.

[NeoJuice]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I would say that if you already have the axle in and driveline etc built for it then keep the axle in there, just to save some cash. if you want to upgrade to disc and have some extra cash then cruise the pick n pull for the parts. try to find a zr2 S10 because they are nearly the right track width and will have disc, posi and lower gears due to larger tires sized for that model. this may require a driveshaft mod though if the pinion is longer as well. if you can't find a zr2 then look for a disc rear from a s10 and grab all the disc brake stuff or the whole diff, take it home and mock up the caliper mounts on your diff. you may need to have some spacers made up like the superchevy article shows. notice they have a full circle adapter that bolts on to the diff flange, then some spacers to get the caliper mount out there where it needs to be. if you have the complete diff then you have oodles of time to measure etc etc so you get the dimension right. I believe the article said something about right and left side backing plates to get the ebrake in the right location so maybe do a read first so you end up with the right parts. strip off the stuff you need at tjhe wrecker and quickly assemble the diff so it is in one piece before you truck on through the till. that way you also get to check the bearings, gears and locker quickly as well. if you need parts later or wanna rebearing the unit because you can try the gear centre for a bearing kit, they are usuallyu reasonable. if it were me i would grab the master cylinder, proportioning valve, ebrake cables and foot pedal anything else brake related for the swap.
that is why I went with a ford 8.8 on my truck (originally) because the 10 bolt was weaker or not the right width, the 12 bolt was non existant in the right width and anything that didn't need a total rebuild, a ford 9" was too much cash outlay and the explorer 8.8 is at every wrecker I was at. the choice seemed easy. I gathered up the ebrake cables and equalizer connector, the pads, rotors, stabilizer bar etc had grabbed an extra brake rotor as well. when I got home I cut the extra rotor down so all I had left was the mounting flange, then had a buddy with a lathe mark out the wheel bolt pattern I needed to match the front end on the donor rotor flange, and he drilled 1/4 inch holes at the right places between the ford holes. then I simple bolted that flange onto the axle using the ford pattern like usual and tightened it down with some wheel nuts, drilled through the ford axle flange using the pilot holes in the template, removed the template part and then drilled the pilot holes with the right sized drill for some new studs to match the front size. after that the rotors need to be redrilled as well, and the ford studs taken out. no biggie. keep the template with the truck so if you have a brake issue down the road the template is there at all times. you need to cut off all the ford brackets etc and weld on some new spring pads at the right location for the old truck. spring pads can be sourced at a spring/trailer shop like Standens. just need the axle tube size. just don't weld the whole thing at once or the diffcan get "bent" from the expansion/contraction process of welding. the driveline flanges are different as well but grab what you need at the wrecker and have the driveshaft modified for the end purpose. you could look for a mustang 8.8 as well because the diff center section is in the middle, not offset.

Thank you for the information. You sure went through a lot of work.

[NeoJuice]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

Nothing up close, and truck is 250 miles away so can't take any now. Here's a couple.

How did you shim the caliper to get the correct gap. Did you put the caliper bracket on the inside of the axle hub flange instead of the outside (differential side). because most kits go behind the axle flange. I hope from what I read above you are stock rear disc t/a rear that was missing parts like me.

[dsraven]

i would say just shim the mounting brackets to fit. if you need more room then mount them on the back side and shim them to what you need, with the rotor installed and tightened up against the axle flange.

[NeoJuice]

Originally Posted by dsraven

i would say just shim the mounting brackets to fit. if you need more room then mount them on the back side and shim them to what you need, with the rotor installed and tightened up against the axle flange.

That's what the plan will be nut as I mentioned above usually they mount to the rear of the axle flange. I'll see what Russell has to say.

[dsraven]

check out what bam did on his chevy diff. alsokniown on here as kabwe. awesome fabber with some great innovative ideas

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?t=440079/

fabbing up a set of brackets would be easy for a machinist or a guy with a plasma cutter but even a backyard guy could get it done if you can use part of your old bracket and weld it/bolt it to a new diff bracket welded on the diff at the appropriate location. you could use brakes from something else then if you wanted. pick something easy to find parts for and also that your wheel size choice will fit over, like s10.

what year of truck have you got there, haven't found that in the thread yet. maybe I am blind as well as deaf and dumb.....haha
got some pics?

[NeoJuice]

Originally Posted by dsraven

check out what bam did on his chevy diff. alsokniown on here as kabwe. awesome fabber with some great innovative ideas

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?t=440079/

fabbing up a set of brackets would be easy for a machinist or a guy with a plasma cutter but even a backyard guy could get it done if you can use part of your old bracket and weld it/bolt it to a new diff bracket welded on the diff at the appropriate location. you could use brakes from something else then if you wanted. pick something easy to find parts for and also that your wheel size choice will fit over, like s10.

what year of truck have you got there, haven't found that in the thread yet. maybe I am blind as well as deaf and dumb.....haha
got some pics?

Here is my build thread. 1952

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=723325

[Shady Rascal]

For what it's worth, I went to Rockauto and cataloged the brake parts for your current rearend.

They shows rotors, calipers, brake pads, and park brake cables completely available.

[NeoJuice]

Originally Posted by Shady Rascal

For what it's worth, I went to Rockauto and cataloged the brake parts for your current rearend.

They shows rotors, calipers, brake pads, and park brake cables completely available.

I took and look and see that. The only problem I think is the rotors don't come with ebrake assembly. I'll do some further digging.

[Shady Rascal]

Is the e-brake not built into the calipers themselves ? I've never laid hands on one of these, but google image search looks like the calipers have a lever on them for the cable to attach to.

[NeoJuice]

Originally Posted by Shady Rascal

Is the e-brake not built into the calipers themselves ? I've never laid hands on one of these, but google image search looks like the calipers have a lever on them for the cable to attach to.

I've seen those images on a google search. The problem is most aftermarket parts you can get dont come with the bracket and spring. They expect you to move it over from your old hardware. Now........I think some of the drum to brake kits out there use the 1980 cadillac Seville actually "do" come with the brackets and springs.

I have to do a little more research on this though because I showed the guy at napa today and he couldn't tell me if they were the same part number or not this article says they are the same.

http://nastyz28.com/threads/rod-mc.213484/

[NeoJuice]

Here is another article.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...0-81-rear.html

[1project2many]

Have you looked at any of the links I posted? Centric calipers are listed with the spring and bracket. The park brake is built into the caliper so there are no separate shoes. They have several different styles of rotors and pads so you can choose a combination you like. Centric also has a very good tech line. I've used them for a number of issues. They're honest imo. I have been told "Our products won't do what you want" which is very rare to hear these days.

King caliper is a rebuilder close to me. I source King parts for many of our fleet vehicles. I have spoken directly with the engineers there for specific applications. I have sent calipers to them that they do not list in a catalog and they have rebuilt them and sent them back. Their web site isn't much to look at but their brake work is good.
http://www.kaliper.com/

IIRC (it's been many years since I went down this road) Cadillac switched some models to metric fasteners in the caliper while Pontiac, Buick, and Olds took longer. So the bleeder and the banjo bolt were metric in some but not all. You could bolt one caliper in place of the other but you'd have to source a new banjo bolt.

FWIW I would not attempt to put larger rear brakes on a TF truck without the truck having a better weight balance. The front axle carries a much higher percentage of the weight than the rear and putting in highly effective rear brakes can increase the tendency for the rear wheels to skid in a stop. This is bad. Locked rears turn your pickup into a top ready to spin at a time when you need directional stability.

[NeoJuice]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

Have you looked at any of the links I posted? Centric calipers are listed with the spring and bracket. The park brake is built into the caliper so there are no separate shoes. They have several different styles of rotors and pads so you can choose a combination you like. Centric also has a very good tech line. I've used them for a number of issues. They're honest imo. I have been told "Our products won't do what you want" which is very rare to hear these days.

King caliper is a rebuilder close to me. I source King parts for many of our fleet vehicles. I have spoken directly with the engineers there for specific applications. I have sent calipers to them that they do not list in a catalog and they have rebuilt them and sent them back. Their web site isn't much to look at but their brake work is good.
http://www.kaliper.com/

IIRC (it's been many years since I went down this road) Cadillac switched some models to metric fasteners in the caliper while Pontiac, Buick, and Olds took longer. So the bleeder and the banjo bolt were metric in some but not all. You could bolt one caliper in place of the other but you'd have to source a new banjo bolt.

FWIW I would not attempt to put larger rear brakes on a TF truck without the truck having a better weight balance. The front axle carries a much higher percentage of the weight than the rear and putting in highly effective rear brakes can increase the tendency for the rear wheels to skid in a stop. This is bad. Locked rears turn your pickup into a top ready to spin at a time when you need directional stability.

Yes I did checkout the links to centricparts. I'll give them a call tomorrow and see what I can find out. I was hoping to try and source something locally instead of having to ship across border and deal with duty, exchange rates and so forth. Thank you for all your help and I will update once I know more.