Another beat to death topic.......Disk Brakes

[SteveC]

Wild Horses front disc conversion. End of story. Don't search any longer.

I'm a very picky and hard to please skeptical asshole. If it works for me it will work for anyone. The customer service and tech support form Wild Horses was great. I went back a forth between the Chevy (really Dana parts) and the all Ford swap for a good month trying to decide which way to go. I really wanted to use all "Ford" parts. At the end of the day I went with the Wild Horses kit. Couldn't be happier.

As for the Ford conversion i agree with NTSQD, if you plan on working a vehicle hard enough to bust axles you need to upgrade other things than brakes. I think an axle is the only thing I've never broken. Transmissions, busted transfer case housings, springs, the list goes on.

But as always Just my opinion adn you know what they say about that!;D

 

[StnePny]

Only advantage that I see in the Ford swap is IF you go with the rare bigger piston T-bird calipers, and I'm not convinced that they're absolutely necessary. And they will mess with the pedal feel, so you could be opening up a can of worms there.[/QUOTE]



The T-bird brake piston (if I remember) is 30% larger. If you doing Knuckles, this my be something to think about. Others have use it set up with no problems

As for not absolutely necessary is how I feel about the Big Dollar - 6 Piston Wilwood set up.

It all comes down to the cost & what are doing to do with your truck.

 

[ntsqd]

After years of pursuing the bigger caliper piston approach to better braking I no longer feel that it's the right direction to take for improving braking. The benefits of a larger diameter rotor far exceed a caliper with a bigger piston, and those don't upset the rather delicate total system leverage ratio.

Sure, others have successfully used the T-Bird calipers. What else did they have to change to make them work?

Then factor in that there is a HUGE range of different pads made for the large GM caliper. The pad selection range for the Ford calipers is extremely limited by comparison.

I get wanting to stay Ford. I'm glad that the Bronco that I bought has GM on it.

 

[boogie]

will the Wild Horses front disc conversion work with 15" wheels?

 

[ntsqd]

No idea about the wilwood stuff (designed long after I stopped working in their engineering dept.). The more common GM and Ford caliper conversions pre-date much in the way of wheels larger than 15's.

 

[BoureeOne]

Look at post # 51 to see my finished product.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198074&highlight=disc


Then look at these videos for a step by step walk through of doing the Chevy conversion. I bought the WH kit....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9meLGBOLYI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL7zJYGqFb4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEGzdHzWFuM

 

[SteveC]

will the Wild Horses front disc conversion work with 15" wheels?

Without a doubt. Running 15X5.5 stock on mine.

 

[69red]

I also went with the WH kit. it came with everything you needed. good, thorough instructions. I did the first side in about 3 hrs, the second side in 2.

I couldn't be happier.

the only thing I didn't do, that I should have is change out the old axel ujoints while I was in there :-[

 

[Nathan43]

Look at post # 51 to see my finished product.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198074&highlight=disc


Then look at these videos for a step by step walk through of doing the Chevy conversion. I bought the WH kit....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9meLGBOLYI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL7zJYGqFb4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEGzdHzWFuM

Ah yes I've seen those before, very helpful videos. And nice build you have going there. I believe I'm leaning towards the WH kit now thanks for the great help everyone.

This is one of the best online (communities) there is.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Then factor in that there is a HUGE range of different pads made for the large GM caliper. The pad selection range for the Ford calipers is extremely limited by comparison.

That was one of the main reasons I did the GM swap. I eventually was running a set of wilwood pads in the GM calipers. Pad material that was not an option with Ford calipers.

You can fit large U-joint axles through the drum brake hole. Often we just grab the axles from the GM donor axle anyway. They came out of the factory that way, they really do work. And if you are planning on popping U-joints, you are using the wrong axle to start with. Even the monsterous RCVs can be used on drum knuckles, you just have to have the axle in place before hanging the knuckle.

What is really nice about the GM swap is all the steering stays untouched. As long as the ball joints and tie rod ends are good, no reason to mess with them. There is no changes to any of the angles, all the bumpsteer factors are just as they were.

 

[boogie]

does the Wild Horses front disc conversion have any offset when installed?

 

[ntsqd]

What do you mean by "offset"?

 

[boogie]

does it make the wheel stick out or in any further? Im guessing its the same Bolt Pattern?

 

[bchesley]

Surely someone has mentioned this, but why in the heck would you want a chevy part on a Ford. I personally would not do it, but I am horribly OCD. I also like the fact that my brand new chromo front axle set with the bigger 760 joints will fit nicely in the Ford parts. I do plan on working my bronco, and really not sure why anyone would keep in the corral and just look at it.....

 

[Broncobowsher]

If you are afraid of "chevy" brakes, you wouldn't want to use that "chevy" Dana 44 axle either. Chevy bought that axle from a supplier, just like they bought the brakes from a supplier. Get rid of that Saginaw power steering pump, that chevy part that was a factory pump on many Fords. And the factory Bronco power steering box that was also made by Saginaw. That Quadrajet that a supplier sold to GM that works great on Ford motors, was also sold to Ford to use on Ford motors.

Don't go new truck shopping either, that new Raptor that is getting a new 10 speed automatic, co-developed with GM.

 

[ntsqd]

I'll say it again, if you're very likely to need that larger hole of the Ford knuckle you shouldn't be messing around with D44 outers. You need D60 outers if not a whole D60 front axle.

I'll use whatever part I deem to be the best for my need without regard for where it came from. Unless it's French, and then that just won't happen no matter how suitable the part might be.

As to if the WMS to WMS distance changes with a disc brake swap, I've no idea. I would assume that it does, but only by a little. Plenty of folks have gone down this path before you, if it were a big issue it would be known. If you're thinking about scrub radius, forget it. You're already screwed with the drums, it isn't going to get significantly better no matter what you do short of deep back-spaced wheels - which will kill your turning radius. If you're worried about fender clearance you probably already have too little back-space.

 

[boogie]

I'm using a 1/4" spacer on the front so if it had that built in that would be great just worried about less but I guess I could always get a thicker spacer.

 

[syndicate1]

good thread

 

[Apogee]

...I'll use whatever part I deem to be the best for my need without regard for where it came from. Unless it's French, and then that just won't happen no matter how suitable the part might be....

You sir are ruling out a lot of good parts from Peugeot and Renault...are you sure that's wise?

Nothing wrong with being a non-denominational enthusiast...I like a lot of different rigs, but the EB is still my favorite most of the time.

 

[DirtDonk]

I've probably read here somewhere before boogie, but what exactly are your spacers for now? What are you needing to clear?
Whichever brake system you go with, I would still revisit the continued need for a spacer after the swap is accomplished anyway.
I'm sure we can document the WMS-to-WMS (wheel mounting surface) distances between stock drum, later model Ford, and hybrid disc setups. Even books and magazines of the day listed different track widths for different year EB's. Some even had different track width specs between front and rear, while others had them at equal measurements.
Might be nice to put that question to bed once and for all.

The seals, hubs and rotors in these kits are still all Ford specification parts, which is how you get the correct wheel bolt pattern. Only the caliper, caliper mount and spindle are GM specification parts. Bearings are common to both manufacturers.

Paul