Easy Drum to Disc Conversion Question

[vanolefan]

Yes, I have searched the threads, but I am still unclear. I am somewhat new to this level of wrenching, so I want to make sure I am doing this right.

I have a stock 74 with drum brakes. I recently bought a 77 Dana 44 with disc brakes from a bronco and I am attempting to convert from drum to discs. I have removed everything from the knuckles out on the 77 and I am getting ready to reinstall these parts onto my truck. Are there any issues with the tie rod length? If so what should I buy? If I wanted to use this as an opportunity to get new tie rods, any recommendations? I was also planning to buy new brake lines for a 77. Will these work? The dust/brake baking shields are toast. Can I run without them or should I buy new ones?

Any other tips or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. This Bronco community is great.

 

[RPM289]

I'm Interested in this also as I want to upgrade one day. Will be following this thread!

 

[jmangi62]

The first thing is throw away the dust shields,not needed,all they do is clog up with mud and debris if you're building a trail rig,second is buy a better steering setup,most go with the chevy 1ton system,I went with the heavy duty system from Ruffstuff,they have both,check them out.I would also just swap in that 77 D44 and sell you're 74 drum brake setup.You also should go with new brake lines also while you're in there,just a few tips as I just did this swap,more comments will come in,these guys are experts in this field,good luck. Jim

 

[thegreatjustino]

Would have been easier to just install the complete front end from the '77.

Your '74 tie rods will not work with the '77 knuckles. Taper is incompatible with the ball joints and the '77 knuckles require a longer setup. Easiest bolt on would be the conversion setup from Wildhorses.

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Tie_Rod_Drag_Link_3way_Adjustable_7677yr

 

[duffymahoney]

If you go for it I have brand new tie rods for a 77 I would sell. I painted them so i can't return them to the vendor.

 

[bronconut73]

Like Justin said, just replace your 74 axle with the 77.
The 77 will have more caster built into the axle design. You will be glad you did it,

 

[DirtDonk]

Unless the gear ratios don't match.
In that case you're into it much deeper than a simple linkage swap.

Paul

 

[sprdv1]

The first thing is throw away the dust shields,not needed,all they do is clog up with mud and debris if you're building a trail rig,

Agree with Jim to get rid of the shields.. Good luck

 

[Bronco4x4]

Hello All. I have a similar question. I have a rusty housing 77 D44 disc axle and want to swap the knuckles (or spindles) onto a cleaner 73 D44 drum axle. I know the tie rod length issues will need to be addressed. This question is related to the internals. Will there be any issues in axle splines, lengths or other internal components. Also, can I interchange the ring and pinion as well? Just want to make sure there will be no surprises on this swap in case I need to take the best parts from both D44's. Thanks in advance . This forum has been very useful in my 1969 EB build . I am starting a new 73 EB build that will be more of driver than my 69 that is a nice day/summer cruiser .

 

[DirtDonk]

Yes, all will interchange. If it's indeed a Bronco 44 (low pinion type), then your later model 44 stuff from the '77 will all just bolt on. Except for the tie-rod you already knew about.
Ball joints, knuckles, brake stuff, axle shafts (can use either 44's shafts) and gears are all compatible. And in many cases are the same part numbers.

If you're going to be putting all this in the '77 chassis, then you simply need to reuse your stock Inverted-Y steering linkage. If you're lifting the suspension and running larger tires however, you're much better off using an Inverted-T conversion like this: http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Tie_Rod_Drag_Link_3way_Adjustable_7677yr
It's beefier and already set up with proper lengths and ends.

If you are lifted and go down this route with your steering linkage, you would definitely want a dropped pitman arm, but NOT a dropped trackbar bracket. Only the arm.
And for best parallel alignment of the bars, you would want the arm with less drop for a full-size truck like this: http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Drop_Pitman_Arm_7879yr
This puts your pivot points closer when using the '76 and '77 frames. If you're putting this on an earlier model however, you would continue to use both the drops to keep things equal.

Paul

 

[Bronco4x4]

Paul, Thank you. I am building a 73 EB with the 77 knuckles. Will the steering linkage on the link you sent be correct or do you have another suggestion. It seems like the drag link should be more straight for this appication. I plan to do a 3.5" lift w/drop pitman arm and adjustable trac bar. I currently have this same set up on my 69 EB. On this EB I cut and extended the long tie rod (w/sleeve) and used the stock drag link. This EB has a 350 HP 302 and steers fine. I also have stock length adj. radius arms from BC.

 

[DirtDonk]

Will the steering linkage on the link you sent be correct or do you have another suggestion.

The #2390 linked to is specifically to fit a '76/'77 axle, or an earlier axle that has had the later disc knuckles swapped on to it. It's longer by 4" (I think?) to fit the wider spacing of the steering arms and includes the correct rod ends to fit the smaller tapered holes of the disc knuckles.
Where you might need to get creative is that you're using the earlier pitman arm with the larger hole at the steering box. Should not be an issue though.
We will gladly mix-and-match the components to work with whatever combination you have. If you're using the quicker steering '77 box with arm, you won't need to make any changes to the kit.
When in doubt, just call it in to make sure you get the right stuff for your specific combo. Or if you prefer ordering online, make sure to mention all this in the NOTES section.

It seems like the drag link should be more straight for this appication.

It's ok as it is. It would be nice if it was straight, with just the gentle curve at the bottom of the stock one, but the curve does not cause any issues that I'm aware of and has not been a weak link or any trouble with alignment. For checking parallel between the trackbar and draglink, you go by the pivot points anyway, not the bars themselves.
So the curve does not have any effect on that aspect at least. Or did you mean something else?

I plan to do a 3.5" lift w/drop pitman arm and adjustable trac bar.

Make sure to use the dropped trackbar bracket with the dropped pitman arm to keep things parallel. You can still use the adjustable bar to fine-tune the axle position and correct for the angle of the upper eye after the lift, but the bracket is key to keeping things parallel when using a new pitman arm.

Paul

 

[Bronco4x4]

I have the set-up described above on my 69EB with no drop bracket (3.5" lift, adj. track bar, drop pitman, stock drag link, extended tie rod). Steering bars seem parallel (will look at again) and the truck drives down the road well. Yes, I plan to use a 77 steering box. I have a complete donor 77 (plow truck). Thanks for your replies and helpful information.

 

[DirtDonk]

If your current setup drives well, then don't change the formula. But without other modifications to compensate, most others don't experience good road manners with just a pitman arm and no drop bracket to match.
But as we also say around here, if it works, keep it!

Luckily just about anything can be changed, updated, modified or repaired, so if the new setup doesn't drive as well as the old, it can be corrected.

Paul

 

[DaveLev]

measure twice, cut once. If I had known what I wanted to do with my bronco before I started I would have saved thousands. I rebuilt my dana 30 instead of doing a dana 44 swap, and I regeared it once, and I added disk brakes to it as well. Learn from my mistake, save money, and do it all at once. The 77 front end sounds like the best way to go, and gear accordingly. But I don't know all the details about your situation.

 

[riggermortis]

Just in case anyone else is reading this thread and wants to convert using ford part's, the f150 disk brakes and knuckles are a direct swap also the only difference is the tie rods are bigger on the trucks but they do make sleaves to adapt to the bronco tie rods. I converted two drum dana 44's that way. http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Tapered_Sleeves_for_F150_Knuckles

 

[Bronco4x4]

Thanks for your words of wisdom. My 77 axle tubes arę heavily rusted and is the reason for using the knuckles on my drum D44. I have a new question for the EB experts. It appears that the EB I just bought is a 71 and not a 73 as I was told. From researching parts, it appears that 71.5 to 72 D44s have different part Numbers. Two questions arę: (1)How do Identify the D44 in the 71 to mąkę sure it is that year? (I did not see an axle tag on the front cover). (2)Will the 77 D44 knuckles and parts (if I need them, axle, ring/pinion, bearings) fit a 71 D44? I'm not sure what makes the 71.5 to 72 difference. Thanks as always guys. AL

 

[DirtDonk]

Not familiar with anything that would make them different either. All Dana axles have unique BOM's (bill of material numbers) stamped into the tubes, but that's just to know what they were optioned with (like a VIN number on a whole vehicle).
Nothing of what we normally deal with will change between the early and later EB Dana 44's though, so everything you were planning on a '73 will fit the '71. As long as it is indeed a 44.

So, two things to look at to make sure that it's not only a Dana 44, but also not one of the early hybrid 44's with the 30 outers. Never seen one of those on a '71 though, but just about anything could have been swapped in during the last 45 years.

Does it have a 44 front cover? And does it have ball joints or king-pin bearings out at the knuckles?

And yes, if it's a 44 center section, even if it's one of the hybrids, all of your D44 ring and pinion stuff and theoretically all the bearings, shims, seals and oddball stuff should still fit.

Paul

 

[1strodeo]

Yes, I have searched the threads, but I am still unclear. I am somewhat new to this level of wrenching, so I want to make sure I am doing this right.

I have a stock 74 with drum brakes. I recently bought a 77 Dana 44 with disc brakes from a bronco and I am attempting to convert from drum to discs. I have removed everything from the knuckles out on the 77 and I am getting ready to reinstall these parts onto my truck. Are there any issues with the tie rod length? If so what should I buy? If I wanted to use this as an opportunity to get new tie rods, any recommendations? I was also planning to buy new brake lines for a 77. Will these work? The dust/brake baking shields are toast. Can I run without them or should I buy new ones?

Any other tips or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. This Bronco community is great.

Never use the 'E' word until you're finished! Lol

 

[Bronco4x4]

Yes it has a D44 cover and yes there are ball joints. Still would like to know how to ID this axle to make sure it's the original 71 with the 71EB. The JBG website shows different 71.5 axles and bearing kits.