Best way to convert to Disc Brakes?

[FunSeeker]

I have a '75 Bronco, original drum brakes front and rear.

Wild Horses catalog says 76 thru 79 F-150 and 78-79 full
size Broncos are good donors for disc brake upgrades.

Does that mean knuckles out hardware from any of above,
e.g. Dana 60, will bolt onto my stock Dana 44 housing
end yokes via new ball joints?

What about axle lengths, spline counts, etc.?

Any advice/opinions for best way to convert to disc brakes
front and rear? How about buying a '76 or '77 Dana
44 complete from someone upgrading to Dana 60? Or
a James Duff conversion kit, etc.?

Thank you,
Jim

 

[thegreatjustino]

Depends on your definition of best.

Easiest would be to buy an all new kit from one of the vendors.

If you are in the marked for used parts, you can do the Chevy conversion or the Ford conversion. Dana 60 stuff won't work. Needs to be from a Dana 44.

You keep your stock Bronco axles. No need to change those.

76/77 front end is a choice, but it has a different steering linkage and different knuckles. Those open other cans of worms. Will the different knuckles work with your current wheel offset? How will you adapt the steering linkage to your t-style pitman arm?

Easier to swap to discs on your current axle in my opinion.

 

[rubbman]

Save yourself the hassel! I bought my kit from wild horses and it was worth buying! All the parts were there and new!

 

[rubbman]

P.S. they are close to you in stockton

 

[Gray035]

I did the ford swap (knuckles out). There's a tech article that explains it all in the tech section. It was not difficult and it's a good opportunity to replace your thirty year old ball joints on the new knuckles anyway. I think I spent $250 using a mix of used and new parts.

 

[FunSeeker]

When you buy a kit, do they tell you what make, model, and year(s) to
order from the parts store when it is time to renew rotors, calipers, etc.?

Thank you.

 

[FunSeeker]

I did the ford swap (knuckles out). There's a tech article that explains it all in the tech section. It was not difficult and it's a good opportunity to replace your thirty year old ball joints on the new knuckles anyway. I think I spent $250 using a mix of used and new parts.

Great price, I'll check out the tech article. I'll go new if it gets to be hard
to find parts.

 

[casadejohnson]

When you buy a kit, do they tell you what make, model, and year(s) to
order from the parts store when it is time to renew rotors, calipers, etc.?

Thank you.

I don't know if they tell you but most of the kits I have seen are chevy disc conversions. For that you can ask for 72 Blazer Calipers and pads and 79 Bronco Rotors.

 

[weasel]

Funseeker:
I bought my kit from wild-horses and it is a good kit. Kept most of the boxes, because they had the part number on them. If I loss them, just call widhoreses and they will help ya!

 

[FunSeeker]

Any opinions on James Duff Dana 44 disc brake upgrade?
Thank you, Jim.

 

[DirtDonk]

Hey Jim. Welcome to CB if you haven't been already.

No matter whether you choose a kit with some GM components, or go all Ford (knuckles out), the hub, rotor, bearings and inner bearing seal are all the same as if you were ordering for a 76 or 77 Bronco.
Only the spindles, pads, calipers and backing plates would be certain early to mid-seventies GM.
You can source any and all parts from the junkyards of course, but the early GM stuff has been getting pretty scarce around this area lately. And the Ford stuff is not far behind.

As has already been said, for certain parts, only the Dana 44 versions are compatible.
No other full Dana 44 housing or axle shafts are a direct bolt-in except for an EB 44 housing, and some short side axle shafts from a few others. Knuckles though, are very compatible across the varied lines of Dana 44's of that vintage. With just a few exceptions.
But it's the spindles and brakes you have to really watch out for on most.

The '76 and '77 EB knuckles, while compatible with both the disc brakes and your 44, have wider spaced steering arms with smaller tapered holes for the tie-rod ends. So using them would work, but you would have to ream out the holes and choosing the right wheel offset is critical.

Knuckles from the full-size Ford trucks and Broncos are a better choice, but still have some differences you need to compensate for.
The tapered rod end holes on these are actually larger than your existing ones, so you would either need to use tapered sleeves to fit your existing tie-rod ends into the larger holes (such as our http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Tapered_Sleeves_for_F150_Knuckles ), or utilize a custom tie rod setup (such as our http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Tie_Rod_for_F150_Knuckles_Two_Way_Adjustable ).

If your existing steering is in good shape, the sleeves are a simple solution. If your tie-rod is already in need of replacing, then the one we offer is another simple upgrade. If your stuff all needs replacing anyway, then there are many different upgrades offered by us and the other vendors, as well as custom stuff you can build yourself.
Lots of info about that hereabouts too.

Not to get you away from any Duff stuff (well, ok, just a bit maybe ), as they and the other vendors all have good product. Just letting you know what's out there. Some of which at least, from us. If you have your favorite, by all means give them a call for details you need. Duff's 01Dudley is a member here (and Suzy too of course), as are some others. So they may chime in here at some point as well.

Just some options for you.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

I should add too that, if you're trying to save tax, that's one thing. But if you want to save on shipping, just call me ahead of time or, better yet, call on Monday when I'm there and I can bring you just about anything you need that night.
We can hook up then or during the week, depending on where you are and your schedule.

I'm in West SJ near Campbell. If it'll fit in a Buick, I can bring it with me.

Paul

 

[hotrod351]

i used the rotors and hubs off a 84 bronco, chevy spindles and caliper brackets, works great, i did have to change out the master cylinder for a rebuilt for a 79 f250 for dual piston calipers. the original MC i had, which i swapped for a rebuilt, would give me any front brakes, but then i do have 3" piston calipers, the f250 did the job. my MC rod is the adjustable rod, think it must be fatory, which i had to turn out about 1/4" and also open one of the MC mounting holes.