Dana 44 Disc Brake Conversion (Crown Vic)

[el_roy1985]

Had the calipers for a few years now, but just finally got a good reason to swap. The passenger rear wheel cylinder sprung a leak.

Off to the junkyard on my vacation. This is what I got...

Front (some grinding already performed in these pictures)

Back

The main part of the swap, which can be found on a crown Victoria. The model I pulled them from, was an interceptor. Not sure on the year, but I've heard that it's a 1995 or similar year that you want. I just knew what the caliper looked like, and went from there.

When I returned home with the parts, I removed the old drum assembly. Which brought me to something that looked like this...

Driver

Passenger

First time I've had the axle out of it's housing. Bearings even look pretty good after all the abuse I've put them through.

At this point, I need to enlarge the center hole on the new brake backing plate. I used the axle to test clearance. Just need enough to easily clear the seal.

Clearing the bearing, but still need a little more room for the seal.

I went to the local hardware store and picked up a cheap bit that looked like it might do the job. I'm sure spending a little more would have yielded quicker results, but I still got the job done.

Alright, now that the opening is large enough. Time to test fit...

With the axle and disc in place. (Waiting arrival of Rubicon retainer plates.)

The parts should be in on Friday, so it will be a few days before I finish completely. Other things to come are the replacing of the hard lines on the axle and getting the new retainer plates in, so I can finish assembling the brakes.

 

[CanMan]

Which bearing retainer plates did you use?

 

[Kiefer316]

X2 thinkin about doing the same very soon!

 

[ColoradoRaptor]

(Waiting arrival of Rubicon retainer plates) The parts should be in on Friday, so it will be a few days before I finish completely.

 

[CanMan]

Must of missed that with all the pictures.

 

[Jerry_h]

I did that same conversion a few years ago using the rear brakes from a 95 CV interceptor. Opened up the center hole 1/8 th inch, got the rubicon retainer, filled and redrilled the holes in the retainer. I found that I needed a little more thickness on the bearing seal retainer so I made a spacer from a piece of 14 guage sheet metal I had. Fit perfect. I also put on longer wheel studs, had to experiment to find the right one but finally did. I recommend you knock one out and take that to the parts store and tell them you want that same stud 3/4" longer.

Best mod I ever did, I love my brakes.

 

[RCP Phx]

Get some new (proper fitting) u-bolts-9/16" is good and straighten out the shims.How long has that u-bolt nut been missing(its pretty corroded)!

 

[Begster]

Get some new (proper fitting) u-bolts-9/16" is good and straighten out the shims.How long has that u-bolt nut been missing(its pretty corroded)!

Very good catch. I would definitely recommend what he said.

 

[el_roy1985]

As I was taking that picture, I was wondering how long before someone would notice. It's been missing for about a month. Did some river crossings, which probably helped with the corrosion. That's another item I plan to address by the time I'm done. Spent most of today getting new bushings in the control arms and modifying the new retainer plates. Need to get a new set of drill bits tomorrow, so I can finish this thread up.

 

[egotripp]

It's a little late now, but you might want to pick up a oil/drip pan while you're out. I don't know about you, but I hate stains and spots on my driveway.

 

[el_roy1985]

Got cat litter to soak all that up. Usually leaves the driveway spot free after you work it in a bit.

Got one side together today(passenger), only to discover the other side would not go together correctly. I don't know if the axles are different lengths, but it seems to be bottoming out the splines before the bearing is fully seated. I suppose I will be pulling the passenger side a part and switching the axles around and hope that that fixes the problem.

Hopefully, I'll find a brake line long enough to go directly from the caliper to the distro block on the axle. Not sure if they make soft lines with the correct fitting for that, but I'll check with the local shop that had the custom braided brake lines I got for the front. I think they had lines that you just got the end you needed and put it together.

Hopefully I'll have this finished up tomorrow. Getting anxious to see how the discs will perform.

 

[ausi02]

I used the Rubicon plates on my 44 and I dont like them, they are too thick (ie too much spacing), they are bent in wards now and I think are the cause of early seal failure. Im going with stock plates and a spacer when i get around to "rebuilding" the shafts.

 

[el_roy1985]

The Rubicon plate seemed a perfect fit on the passenger side. If after figuring out my problem they seem too thick, I will just grind them down a bit to make them right. I'd rather do that, then add another spacer.

It's kind of weird that one person claims they did not offer enough spacing, while someone else complains of too much spacing. In my case, I was concerned about how much free play there was in the bearings prior to removing the wheels. So I guess I will return with an update later today on how well I think they are suited for the job.

 

[FlameRedTJ]

Got cat litter to soak all that up. Usually leaves the driveway spot free after you work it in a bit.

Got one side together today(passenger), only to discover the other side would not go together correctly. I don't know if the axles are different lengths, but it seems to be bottoming out the splines before the bearing is fully seated. I suppose I will be pulling the passenger side a part and switching the axles around and hope that that fixes the problem.

Hopefully, I'll find a brake line long enough to go directly from the caliper to the distro block on the axle. Not sure if they make soft lines with the correct fitting for that, but I'll check with the local shop that had the custom braided brake lines I got for the front. I think they had lines that you just got the end you needed and put it together.

Hopefully I'll have this finished up tomorrow. Getting anxious to see how the discs will perform.

The factory Rubicon lines are pretty cheap, I think like $20ea or so. And thats hard line and soft line. should be the right length. I got some when I did a ZJ disk swap on my D35 and they worked great. Would have reused them on my D44 i just built but it was a waggy and the retainer pattern is way to big to redrill. So I just did my own setup with ZJ front rotors and caddy calipers. works great, and alittle bigger. Also did hydroboost, wow, makes a huge difference.

 

[el_roy1985]

Well, after countless runs to parts stores. It's finally put together.

To get the new retainer plates on without removing the bearings, I cut them in half. Then when I decide to replace the seals/bearings down the road, I will probably weld them back together. Also welded up the original holes and drilled new ones.

The cheap welder I have.

The Rubicon plates worked out great. The spacers left the perfect amount of free play, which is also a lot better then what the factory setup was at. When reinstalling everything, I used RTV on the outside of the seals to help prevent leakage.

Then the final pics of everything put together and how I ran my driver side brake line. The passenger side is the one from the crown vic. I will replace it with a braided line in the future. Only spent money on things I absolutely had to for the time being.

Then here are my newly painted wheels, waiting for some new 33s to be mounted.

Well, I think that about wraps this one up. Feel free to voice any questions you may have, I'll answer them as best I can.

 

[asp]

oops, I'm dumb. Nevermind... :doh:

 

[hidperf]

The Rubicon plates worked out great. The spacers left the perfect amount of free play, which is also a lot better then what the factory setup was at. When reinstalling everything, I used RTV on the outside of the seals to help prevent leakage.

I'm doing the exact same project right now. Did you use the RTV because your seals didn't fit the housing snug or just as an added precaution? The seals I have were cross referenced from the numbers on my old seals. These new ones I can push in by hand and they seem way more loose than the old ones.

 

[hidperf]

I also put on longer wheel studs, had to experiment to find the right one but finally did. I recommend you knock one out and take that to the parts store and tell them you want that same stud 3/4" longer.

I don't suppose you still have the part number of the wheel studs anywhere do you? I've tried to local parts houses and neither of them would even attempt to match up wheel studs for me. Always had to have the vehicle application so the "magic electronic box thing" could tell them the part number, which was exactly what I had in my hand naturally. Does anyone think on their own anymore?

 

[the_weirdo]

I don't suppose you still have the part number of the wheel studs anywhere do you? I've tried to local parts houses and neither of them would even attempt to match up wheel studs for me. Always had to have the vehicle application so the "magic electronic box thing" could tell them the part number, which was exactly what I had in my hand naturally. Does anyone think on their own anymore?

Stock lugs are these dimensions: Thread 1/2-20, Knurl Diam .625", Length 1-5/8", Shoulder Length 15/32". Maybe you can search for something a little longer.

 

[hidperf]

Stock lugs are these dimensions: Thread 1/2-20, Knurl Diam .625", Length 1-5/8", Shoulder Length 15/32". Maybe you can search for something a little longer.

Those sound like the front stud dimensions. I cross referenced the part number from O'Reillys web site (Dorman 310-364) and stock dimensions it gave were 1/2-20. .618 knurl, 1-15/32 length and 31/64 shoulder. But I have no idea what this D44 came out of. It's supposed to be out of an XJ.

The closest I could come looked like a Dorman number 310-368 which is 1/2-20, .615 knurl, 1-31/32 length and 17/32 shoulder. That would give me an extra 1/2" which should be perfect.