Drum to disc brake conversion

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Aug 23, 2009 | 08:12 PM

gottashiftgears

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Drum to disc brake conversion

Hello all, I am about to embark on a new project on my 1998 F-150 (my mother’s, actually). It’s a 2wd, 5.4 automatic truck that suits her daily driving well, but as I yanked the rear drums today, i discovered i needed to replace EVERYTHING, including the backing plates. I am thinking about converting to factory rear discs, and was planning on going to the local junk yard to grab the brackets, all assorted rear brake parts (rotors, calipers, hoses, etc) and then bringing them home, inspecting them, and buying new parts where needed. Before I go spending money, i did have a few questions... Will the rear disc setup fit inside the factory 16 inch wheels?? Also, will i need to swap the master cylinder or proportioning valve to a disc brake truck?? Finally, am I going to need to get different E- brake cables?? I’m just trying to research so that I don’t run into trouble later.... thanks for the info!

Lee

Aug 24, 2009 | 12:26 PM

Hybris

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From: Olathe

I asked this same question myself and from what I have been told your best bet is to get the rear axle off of a F150 that did come with rear discs and swap that as well. If you do go down that patten I'd personally ask if I'm happy with my diff gear ratios and whether or not I want to get a limited slip diff since you'll changing axles.