Has anyone changed over to rear disc brakes on a 99 RAM 2500 Diesel? I would like to have a source and any hints. I currently pull a 32 ft 5th wheel and want a little more braking without any fade.

 

Would be intrested in this as well.

 

Buy a rear end from a newer truck. I just bought one for $250.

 

dont waste your money.....


go to napa and buy the chevy 1 ton rear wheel cylinders, they are significantly bigger than the stockers and will notice a large improvement.


if you search you'll come up with a ton of thread on this and should find a part # somewhere.


they were $9 each at napa...

 

As much as I hate working on drum brakes, I think they're actually more appropriate for a heavy duty truck.

The purpose of brakes is to convert motion into heat. How well the brake design dissipates the heat is generaly how well the brakes perform - if they're heat saturated (smoking and burning), they will be unable to do their business.

Disc brakes vent heat well, but don't have as much surface area as drum brakes to absorb heat. If disc brakes are used for a heavy duty mountain descent with a huge load, the small surface area of the rotors runs the risk of becoming extremely heat saturated (due to large amounts of energy being put into a small surface area) and deforming (failing). So they're more appropriate for applications where frequent but smaller amounts of heat are generated, because they will recover quickly without loss of brake power. This is the situation a car will encounter on a race track.

Drum brakes don't vent heat as well to the atmosphere as disc brakes, but they are able to retain a lot more heat and maintain braking power without deforming. They're more appropriate for applications where larger amounts of heat need to be generated at once, and a long time is provided to cool them down. This is the situation a truck will encounter going down a steep decline, where the driver does all the braking at one time then lets momentum build back up.


All is IMO!

 

Been there done that. I switched my 99 to a 2001.5 D70 with disc. It didn't improve the braking as much as I had hoped. If you're going to spend some money, spend it on swapping out the front axle/steering kuncles for a 2000+ unit. You'll get dual piston caliper then, and you'll think it's the best money you ever spent. I'm saving for mine, if I don't trade up before then.

No, for 4x4's you can't just switch the knuckles as the design differences between 1999 and 2000 are significant enough that you'd have to switch the entire axle.
I'm not sure about the swap for 2x4 trucks as I do not own any of those.

Chris

 

Try the larger wheel cylinders first, I can almost guarantee that's you be impressed. Napa #4637337 @ $13 each

 

Do you guys know if the caliper mounting bracket on a 98 and a 2001 mount to the knuckle in the same way? I have designed a kit and installed it on my 01 to have manual locking hubs and larger rotors off of a 03 truck and would love to install this set up on my 98 but don’t know if it would fit. Any input would be great.
Thanks Ken

 

No, the caliper mounting bracket does not bolt onto a pre-2000 truck. I have reasearched this thoroughly. I have suspicions that someone with access to machine tools, perhaps a vertical mill, might be able to make a bracket that would allow this, but I don't have access to such a thing right now.

The best thing you can do is swap in a D60 from a mid 90's Ford. It has it all, lock-out hubs, slide on rotors, and huge dual-piston calipers. One member here has done it.

Chris

 

my 98 has abs and I want to keep it r u sure that you could not just switch out knuckles with a 2000+ style?

 

I would definitely agree. I don't understand what all the hype is about rear discs. They hate the gravel, dirt, slush, etc. that gets thrown at them from the front tires. The slides seize up in no time at all, and soon you have one pad worn to metal while the other three are still relatively new. Seen it dozens of times. The newer trucks definitely stop a lot better than my 96 or your 99. Not because of the rear discs, but because of the dual piston calipers and larger pads they have on the front since the 2000 model. Stamey's right- if you want to make a big difference, upgrade to a 2000 or newer front axle. But try the larger wheel cylinders first- that may be all you need.

 

No, the ball joints and the axle's end-yokes are different too.

 

94-99 Rams' ball joints come in from the bottom, and 2000+ axles' ball joints come in from the top.
Just buy a 2000+ front axle with ABS for your truck.

Chris