Hi! I'm new here!

I just bought a 68 F-250 2wd. 240 I-6, T-18 transmission. The idea is to start restoring it, but for now I want to make it a daily driver. It needs brake work first.

My truck has the "heavy duty" brake option, with 12 x 2 1/2" drums on the front. I've been searching and reading on these forums that the spindles are the same for 12 x 2 1/2" drum brakes, and for the optional disc brakes.

I see that I can buy reman calipers with mounting brackets, and a rotor/hub, for about the same price as the drum for the 12 x 2 1/2" drum brakes. I do realize that I need a different proportioning valve and a different brake hose.

Can anyone confirm that I can just remove my 12 x 2 1/2" drum and the disc brake rotor/hub will attach properly? How/where does the caliper bracket attach? The same place as the backing plate?

If I keep my drums, it appears that the parts stores sell just the drum, without the hub. I was looking it over, and it looks like one piece with studs pressed into the drum. Is the hub supposed to be removable from the drum? Has anyone actually bought these drums; do they include the hub and studs?

Thanks!

 

The drum mounts behind the hub and is retained by the lugs. They are a press fit.
I know many remanufactured calipers say they come with mounting brackets, but there is usually something like (where applicable) after that. The mounting brackets for the calipers are either part of the knuckle forging, or bolt on behind the spindle.

 

If I press out the lugs, the hub should separate from the drum then, yes? I have a H-frame press, but didn't want to go pushing on things that weren't meant to be moved.

That's what I was wondering about the knuckle casting. It LOOKS like it bolts on behind the spindle, but I was hoping someone could go out and look at their truck or take a picture for confirmation. It appears that just the "mounting bracket" is available for $20 from parts stores. I might buy one and see if it looks like it'll fit.

 

After more research, it appears that "caliper bracket" means the piece that the caliper itself mounts to, and that the "caliper bracket" then attaches to something else.

The bracket covers a wide range: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...1260&ppt=C0066

So I guess the question is, is there a different spindle for disc brakes, or is there just another bracket that attaches to the spindle, that you attach the caliper bracket to?

 

There has to be another bracket that goes between that and the spindle. My F250 c/s had the HD brakes, and did not have a spot for that to bolt to.
My current truck has complete I-beams out of a 75 F250, so the caliper brackets are part of the knuckle.

 

i know discs are the hot setup but i have a 1970 ranger xlt with 3 inch drums and if i don't get stupid in deep water ,them drums haul her down pretty darn good/.

 

Oh, I agree about that. My c/s with manual drums could stop with less pedal effort than my current power disk setup for the first stop, but after that it had some major fade. I remember when i got my Courier, I had to come down this really steep hill with a stop light and major highway intersection at the bottom, and had very little for brakes on the truck at this point. I had my trailer brakes on full too and they were smoking by the time I got to the bottom.

 

The ones I bought did not. And because of the design. You only get halve of the caliper. The halve you reuse.

 

I'm going to keep my drum brakes until I can find some free time to patrol the junkyards and see if I can find complete I-beam assemblies with disc brakes on them. I'm pretty sure at least one of the junkyards here has what I need, but I'm at a lack of time at the moment.

When I reassemble the drums, how is the spindle nut tightened? Tighten to 20 ft-lbs or so and back off enough to insert the cotter pin, or tighten the nut and then loosen it enough so I can barely move the thrust washer with a screwdriver?