I strongly agree with loch about welding on the calipers. Before welding you would need to know the exact metallurgy in order to use the correct filler wire. Most MIG wire is very hard and brittle compared to cast metals including the various irons. If it was to be welded the whole piece would have to be pre-heated before welding and post-heated afterwards, and this according to the specific metal it's made of. Sudden catastrophic failure and a real disaster could be the likely result of doing this quick fix.

Also agreeing with the simple logic that the brake system is properly engineered and more than able to do the job. Step-by-step troubleshooting will reveal the actual problem. Brakes aren't a part of the truck to experiment on. People get maimed and killed that way.....

 

Upgrading to disk brakes in the back seems like a good idea to me, if done correctly and safely. I don't think the automatic adjusters ever work well, at least they never have for me, and I try all the stuff, like ripping in reverse and cranking on the brakes or just the park brake (while holding the handle out). I never can get them to work. And having to pull the axles just to do a brake job is crappy engineering. Changing the front rotors isn't much better...

I don't like to settle for old tech if there is a better way. There is a reason all new vehicles have rear disk.

I appriciate the advice though. I think I will yank it all apart and replace all the springs and adjusters, wheel cylinders and shoes and see where that gets me. I can't afford the Willwoods just yet!!!!

 

NOT to diagree but if your in the dirt and mudd a lot, like a lot of the oil field guys here, and own a newer rear disc dodge truck.....expect to replace the brakes and 1 rotor every 10,000 miles were in a drum rear brake version plan on replaceing the rear shoes around 60 to 80,000...JUST MY .02

 

Ok, that seals the deal for me. I'm keeping the drums!

 

I had an experience just last night that tells me you're on the right track with rear discs and I'll be following along behind you doing my own!

Never liked the brakes on my '90 W-300 Power Ram. Then the ABS/RWAL took a dump [so what's new?] Last night I got under there and finally adjusted my fully-automatic-self-adjusting rear brakes. Got 15 clicks out of the left side and about 30 out of the right side...HOLY TOLEDO!!! DOUBLE TRIPLE WOW, man! Took it for a test ride and almost hurt myself

That convinced me there's rear discs in the future on my project truck.

 

My wife's 2002 Grand Cherokee had 70K on the original rear disks and pads, and she drives in all the same stuff I do.

I'm going to take a look at the system on the 2002.5's 3500 and see how much trouble it would be to convert.....

 

I have a concurrent (trolling) thread running in the general section: https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...61#post1147361

 

I stand corrected. I should have taken Latin but was too stupid to understand it's value when I was a kid. Of course I have always hated grammar in any language.

 

YOU've looked in the sticky.....right

http://ramchargercentral.com/index.p...owtoshow;id=66

it's for a dana 60. but i bet it's the same for the 70 and a hole lot cheeper then going with a new truck disc brake set up.

 

Yes I have looked at that, but something tells me that the hub diameter is larger on the D70 than the D60....

 

Hmmm you my be right!

If so then we need a new tech fact sec for our trucks! Soooo............start snapping pic's

If you go that way, that is.

 

Dana 70 conversion:

http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/dana70discbrakes/

Using:

http://greatlakeoffroad.com/

I'm pretty sure these are the people with the brackets, looks like they're having technical dificulties right now.

You basically use their brackets with like mid 70's 3/4 ton rotor's and calipers. With that setup you don't have a parking brake, however I believe you can use the rear calipers from a cadilac then you will have a parking brake.

 

Disk brakes are a option but considering that id guess 70 % or more of the stopping comes from front brakes, does it not make a lot more sense to upgrade the front. Any mods is ok if its designed to fit.

 

Now we are getting somewhere!!!!

 

Crud, his email bounced....