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I have a 1989 F250 single rear wheel. I use it as a work truck for my business and it rarely moves without a heavy trailer in tow. So last year I got sick of the drum brakes and installed a disk brake conversion kit form Lugnut 4x4. The kit came with the "parking brake calipers" which they said work "great". Well... after installing the kit I realized that was not the case. I even tried lengthening the arms of the calipers to give them more leverage and the best I can get out of them is a slow down and holding on a flat surface, any kind of hill and they are worthless. I contacted Lugnut and they weren't any help, they just said they must not be adjusted properly. I'm very mechanically inclined and these things are stupid simple so I know they are adjusted fine. I think they just aren't up to the task of a heavy truck. I believe the calipers are off of a Chevy car from the 70's or something so it's not surprising they don't work.
It's been over a year since I installed them and now that the work season is over I'm looking to make them right. The truck is manual so I know i don't need to explain the necessity of a working parking brake. Looking on Lugnut's website it looks like they don't sell the "parking brake" version of the conversion kits anymore so I must not have been the only one having issues.
So I'm looking for any suggestions on a better system? I'm at the point where I'm probably going to go back to the drum brakes, even thought the stopping power wasn't as good, at least the parking brakes worked well. I wish I would have just switched back last year and send Lugnut their garbage back, but I didn't have time and it's too late for that now. Another idea I had was a driveshaft parking brake, but I'm not sure that would pass the Maine inspection. I also considered adding a line lock to the rear brakes and having it on a toggle switch. That would help when parking on a hill (and give me time to put a chock under the wheel), but obviously that doesn't help with inspection or the "emergency" requirement of a parking brake.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Last edited by acarter1992; Dec 16, 2021 at 08:34 AM.
I don't have any pics and won't be home for a few weeks. But I did find them on Lugnut's website, so apparently they do still sell them, though I purchased mine with the conversion kit these are the same thing I believe.
I have a 1989 F250 single rear wheel. I use it as a work truck for my business and it rarely moves without a heavy trailer in tow. So last year I got sick of the drum brakes and installed a disk brake conversion kit form Lugnut 4x4. The kit came with the "parking brake calipers" which they said work "great". Well... after installing the kit I realized that was not the case. I even tried lengthening the arms of the calipers to give them more leverage and the best I can get out of them is a slow down and holding on a flat surface, any kind of hill and they are worthless. I contacted Lugnut and they weren't any help, they just said they must not be adjusted properly. I'm very mechanically inclined and these things are stupid simple so I know they are adjusted fine. I think they just aren't up to the task of a heavy truck. I believe the calipers are off of a Chevy car from the 70's or something so it's not surprising they don't work.
It's been over a year since I installed them and now that the work season is over I'm looking to make them right. The truck is manual so I know i don't need to explain the necessity of a working parking brake. Looking on Lugnut's website it looks like they don't sell the "parking brake" version of the conversion kits anymore so I must not have been the only one having issues.
So I'm looking for any suggestions on a better system? I'm at the point where I'm probably going to go back to the drum brakes, even thought the stopping power wasn't as good, at least the parking brakes worked well. I wish I would have just switched back last year and send Lugnut their garbage back, but I didn't have time and it's too late for that now. Another idea I had was a driveshaft parking brake, but I'm not sure that would pass the Maine inspection. I also considered adding a line lock to the rear brakes and having it on a toggle switch. That would help when parking on a hill (and give me time to put a chock under the wheel), but obviously that doesn't help with inspection or the "emergency" requirement of a parking brake.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
a pair of these with tiny pads can stop a >4000 pound car in really impressive distance and almost at full application from 50+ mph. hold a hill great. yours arent working right
a pair of these with tiny pads can stop a >4000 pound car in really impressive distance and almost at full application from 50+ mph. hold a hill great. yours arent working right
Are you talking about the calipers in normal operation or the actual parking brake? Because the calipers have plenty of stopping power for normal braking, much better than the drum. It's the mechanical mechanism/parking brake that sucks.
Are you talking about the calipers in normal operation or the actual parking brake? Because the calipers have plenty of stopping power for normal braking, much better than the drum. It's the mechanical mechanism/parking brake that sucks.
yes. the picture has a lever that ratchets out the piston to compress the brake pads. The size of them, and the lever, and etc etc all stop a very heavy car decently and the cable system also handles the adjustment outside of being adjusted right away when installing cables(From factory they are ok) which is me saying I think your issue is in the adjustments or something
I think you may end up fighting this forever. It is part of the reason the big 3 stayed away from discs until the last 15 or so years. You may have better luck finding a factory disc rear and putting it in your truck. Bolt pattern will be an issue with staying ford since they like to change it up in the later stuff. But an AAM 14 bolt would have older pattern and disc.
I think you may end up fighting this forever. It is part of the reason the big 3 stayed away from discs until the last 15 or so years. You may have better luck finding a factory disc rear and putting it in your truck. Bolt pattern will be an issue with staying ford since they like to change it up in the later stuff. But an AAM 14 bolt would have older pattern and disc.
a 14 bolt? You just made a lot of enemies here 😂
not me tho I own 3. One of them goes under my trailer for hauling garbage. The springs and axle and unhooked brakes are larger than the f150 that pulls it.. lol 😂 4.10 even. But no axle shafts so easy to pull
not me tho I own 3. One of them goes under my trailer for hauling garbage. The springs and axle and unhooked brakes are larger than the f150 that pulls it.. lol 😂 4.10 even. But no axle shafts so easy to pull
Was just trying to go with the old bolt pattern and factory dics. Not sure the sterling or dana did that before the suoer duty body style.
This is a 70s but I do believe the late late 80s, maybe early 90s only got disc if it was 1 ton... possibly.. maybe crews... memory isnt so certain. by early 2000s they all were I believeI believe finned covers came on them(the ones that may have rear calipers) they may do drum in hat but I am unsure the parking brake.
here was my fun modification
ford vans never went metric. and had rear disc brakes from around 98 until the end of the E series van production.
so it should be very easy to adapt a 3/4 ton van disc brake setup to your 10.25 rear.
ford vans never went metric. and had rear disc brakes from around 98 until the end of the E series van production.
so it should be very easy to adapt a 3/4 ton van disc brake setup to your 10.25 rear.
Do half ton vans have 8.8s with rear disc?
my dad has a 2001 e150 that is gonna get parted and scrapped... I need rear stuffs
ford vans never went metric. and had rear disc brakes from around 98 until the end of the E series van production.
so it should be very easy to adapt a 3/4 ton van disc brake setup to your 10.25 rear.
Not as easy as one would think. Well maybe, depends on skill. The issue is mounting flanges on the D60 and D70 van axles with discs are both thicker and different bolt pattern from what the drum brakes backing plates bolt into on the Sterlings. So you gotta cut both off and weld the Dana flanges on the Sterling rubes and make extra extra sure everything is square and nothing moves while welding.
Most ppl toss the van Dana axle under the truck and just cut its spring perches off and move them about 2" inboard to match the width of the truck springs. Good opportunity to readjust pinion angle for lift purposes, etc. Chuck the factory U-bolts away while at it and go up to 5/8" Grade 8, with a decent top plate.
Oh yeah, in my experience Ford drum-in-hat parking brakes don't actually work all that well when it comes to heavy trucks. At least none of my five early SD axles (four were SRW Sterlings, one dually D80) were anything to write home about - bring them up to anything over 10k total and watch them creep down the driveway that wasn't even all that steep. No issues with adjustments or anything, and never did find what was causing it 🤷♂️
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