Thanks for looking, here goes:

First off, what is realistic stopping distance 60mph-->0 for this truck? ...I suppose that would tell me if my truck is performing normally and I am just unrealistic in my expectations, or if something isn't up to snuff.

I got used to 4 wheel disc w/ ABS in panic stops, that sure is a sweet set up. I live in DFW, TX and people always cut in front of my 2 or 3 second cushion I make between myself and the cars I travel behind. Every once in a while, right after moving in my lane, they will put on their brakes heavy and I pucker up a bit. And TX laws are not friendly to the rear car of a rear end collision.

I installed brand new rotors and pads recently on the front, the rear brakes weren't close to being worn out yet. However, I am still not happy with the performance of the brakes. I have drum rear brakes. I was thinking about changing out the complete rear end to have disk brakes and upgrade to limited slip. Since 70%? of the braking load is in the front, I don't think this would be enough. Should I try stainless steel brake lines? Should I just get new OEM ones? The ones I have look original. Is it possible to get bigger brakes off of a F250 or F350 at the junk yard? If so, what all parts would it take to get the conversion done? This truck is a F100, one of the weirdos with the 5 on 4 1/2 lug pattern (typically used on cars). [I say weirdo because I had a 1979 F100 w/ 5 on 5 1/2 spacing)]

Also, I am getting a deep pop noise when I turn the steering wheel 80%, I need to replace the worn bushings and such. So, if I do need to start replacing front end parts, I would like to know what all I need up front!

Thanks in advance, John

 

i would bet the poping noise is from your radius arm bushings being worn out. as for the brakes i would replace all the rubber hoses and bleed out all of the old fluid and make sure the rear shoes are adjusted correctly then see if you have any better braking.

 

Best one can tell you, who also owns a 82 F-100 {mine came with a 232 V-6 and three on the tree, all gone}, the brakes are really weird. I had to replace a caliper, and they are no where near the same as a 150 on up. The "engineers" at ford decided that in order to get "decent" fuel miliage out of a full size pick up, they need to shave some weight off. That's why we don't have power brakes! The first thing I would do is change ALL the lines, rubber to stainless braided, metal with new [they "grow" after a while, then burst!] Then I would look into putting a power booster in, assuming that your's is the same as mine. The disc on the rear are nice, but EXPENSIVE. I only use mine on the weekends mainly, but the stoping distance leaves much to be desired. Hope this helps.

 

Yeah, I think my truck is rather unusual. It has most of the things I associate more with the F150 than the F100...302 V8, C6 auto, 3.25 (IIRC) rear end. I had a heck of a time getting parts for the front brakes. After buying the wrong ones twice I had a friend drive me to the store and I hauled all of the old stuff in. The computer screen at O'Reilly's Auto had a slew of part numbers that could have been the 'right ones.' Another weird thing was that my old rotors were mismatched...one was Ford and one was Century or some such brand.

 

Whoops, I forgot to mention that my brakes are NOT manual.

 

I went thruogh the the same nitemare trying to get a caliper. IF oyou can remember, always tke your reg or VIN on a peice of paper with you. At Advance, NAPA and Auto zone, The 3 biggies here, it seems to help in that regard. Ford was no the only ones to get "WEIRD", I also have a Dodge Van that I need the VIN to order almost everything! Good Luck

 

Cool, I live in the DFW area too. I've got an '86 F150 and mine isn't that great on stopping either. First thing I plan to do pretty quickly is get me some cross-drilled rotors and semi-metallic pads. I have no idea on what to do for the rear end, I was thinking of doing the conversion to discs, but I don't have the time or the money. I'm going to replace all of my lines with SS also because I think my rubber lines are expanding a lot when I apply the brakes.

 

That's the one quirk of the 80-82 F100's with power brakes... The manual brake F100's had the regular F150 brakes... To upgrade, you not only have to invest in all new brake hardware, rear axles, drums and wheels, but, you have to change the spindles too, and that's just to go to F150 components... The F100 FS(fuel saver) may also been saddled with the 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern.
Have Fun
Evan

 

It sounds like a fairly major undertaking... In the short term maybe I will investigate replacing the entire rear end to disk and limited slip. I have a 9" with 3.25? gears. What does it take to change from drum to disk? Would I be better off just finding a complete new rear end?

As far as the front end goes, how much can I upgrade? What all will fit on there? I am not familiar with the differences in the front brakes between F100, 150, 250, etc. If I have to invest some major money into it, I would like to max out what I get within reason. What would be the best "bolt on" upgrade I can make? By that I mean that I don't want to have to custom fab anything; I just want to pull stuff off of a donor, replace the rotors and pads, and the like and be done with it. Thanks for all your help!

 

I forgot to ask, if I buy braided steel brake lines now, is there any reason why I could not use them for the set up I will use in the future?

 

As far as donors go, what years have rear disc brakes as an option? I heard there are also kits available to convert my existing rear end to disk. Is that true? Are these as good? I have a 9" rear end.

 

1) I looked on the net and it looks like a rear disc brake conversion would run me about $500 bucks or so. A limited slip set up would be $300-400 plus labor if I didn't install it myself.

2) I called a junk yard and they said that a 1990s limited slip rear end with disc brakes would run me somewhere around $600-800 depending on mileage and condition. I assume that if I went that route I would have to do something about my drive shaft too since it would be a 8.8 and not a 9" rear end, right?


It looks like I am going to be out $800-1000 either route, which one would be more advantageous?

 

Anyone care to respond to this quote?
http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofbrk.htm#Brakes
BTW, the link in the article doesn't work.

"Stainless Steel Braided Lines/Hoses
If you go with braided stainless steel (SS) brake hoses, you should plan on replacing them every year. If you do not plan to do this annual replacement, then you should not install braided SS hoses on your car. That being said, I strongly urge you to read the following webpage on this subject:

http://www.olympiakos.com/svt-faq/node21.html.

This page explains a lot about braided SS brake hoses, which are really Teflon lines with a SS braid around the Teflon. The Teflon has advantages over rubber, but these brake lines are not bulletproof.

Here's some quotes from the above mentioned webpage:

"Here's the thing, though: Since stainless-steel lines don't bulge as they age, and since the inner Teflon lining is hidden behind the braid, there's no easy way to inspect the lines for warning signs of imminent failure."


"This is no big deal on a race car, since the lines are (or should be) replaced at least once a season. On a street car, where most people are likely to let YEARS go by without even looking at their lines, it can be an issue."

"When steel-armored hoses were run through a test, it was found that the hoses tended to bend right at the junction between the hose and the hose-ends. After a while, the stainless-steel braid would start to tear, and the broken wires would cut into the inner Teflon liner, causing it to fail."

I have seen other postings on a different car forum where people have seen this same type of failure - over time the steel braid cut through the Teflon brake line.

So, again I urge you to read that webpage, and be fully informed before you consider whether stainless steel lines are right for your car. Brakes are no place to cut corners, so if you don't want to make the commitment that SS lines require, then you should stick with rubber, IMHO.

 

Has anyone seen an article for the 80-86 Fords like Danny Cabral's one for the brake upgrade on the 78-79 Bronco/F150?

 

I looked at the conversion kit mentioned in Danny Cabral's article. As it turns out, it is about $300 and it is for Mustangs with the 5 on 4.5 spacing, which is what my truck has.

Does anyone know if I have the correct housing ends on my 9" for this to be a direct bolt on? The kit is for a 'big Ford new style' with 3.150" id, 2" vert X 3 9/16" horiz center to center hole spacing with 3/8" holes.