D44 brakes, 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton, single piston vs dual....HELP!

Safari Ary

NAXJA Forum User
I'm in the process of searching Pirate as I type this, but I need to know if the bigger dual piston(at least that's what I thought) calipers will bolt in place of 1/2 ton single piston calipers. I was just at the local parts house and had them pull 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton calipers for a 79 Chevy truck and they were identical. I had been under the impression that the 3/4 tons were dual pistons and would provide better braking. Can anyone shed some light on my misunderstanding? Thanks

Ary
 
My neighbor has a '78 3/4 ton and it seems that Chevy used several different setups. Everytime he goes in for brakes they ask for some brake code that is supposed to be in the glove box. Still haven't found it. :dunno: He ends up pulling the crap off and taking it with him to get the right ones. The rotors on his are somewhere around an inch bigger in diameter than my 1/2 ton Ford and the set of Waggy's I have. I don't remember them being dual piston though.

Are you planning on going to 16's, 17's, 16.5 Hummer wheels?
 
Lincoln said:
Are you planning on going to 16's, 17's, 16.5 Hummer wheels?

Nope. Got tires already and they're for 15s. I'd just heard that it was an easy upgrade to get better brakes. Guess that's only with the ford calipers. No biggie, half ton brakes should be enough for me with discs out back.

Ary
 
Chevy 1/2 & 3/4 ton calipers are single piston. I'm running 3/4 ton rotors & calipers on the back of my Junk (14B).

The Ford 3/4 ton calipers are dual piston, I've got them on my front D44. They will fit on a Ford large spindle front D44 with the correct caliper mounting plate. They will not fit on the small spindle Ford & Chevy & Scout D44 (CJ D30, Scout D30) knuckle.

-jb
 
You can also buy dual piston calipers from aftermarket sources that will fit on the Chevy/Jeep/Dodge 7 1/4" bracket. Can't recall the manufacturer at the moment.

CRASH
 
On 3/4 tons there is a break at 8500 GVW, basically light duty and heavy duty 3/4 ton. That's likely where there will be some differences when dealing with parts. For example, an F250 can have either a front D44 or a D60, depending on the GVW (talking about older models).
 
CRASH said:
Now I remember:

http://www.howeracing.com/Braking/Index-Calipers-Piston-Double.htm

These are top quality brakes at a decent price. I think they fit the 7.1" mount, but you should check to be sure, ast hey also make a similar caliper for the GM "metric" mount and the small GM mount.

CRASH

I'm going to call these guys when I get off work. However, do you have any idea how much these cost? You said "reasonable"....what's reasonable? I'm assuming substantially more than a stock 1/2 ton caliper, but maybe I'm wrong? :confused: Thanks guys.

Ary
 
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