Geo Tracker/Suzuki Sidekick Disc Brake Solution For Early CJ5's

Not my stuff just a friend who also plays off road with Jeeps and makes & sells just the axle housing brackets for $50.00 a pair shipped to help support his habit.............He has these on his early CJ rig with 35" tires and swears by them.......he suggests at least a change to a dual reservoir master if you still have the under floor setup......

No recommendation on my part just thought I would pass this along as it looks like a quick , cheap , easy and viable solution for a disc brake conversion on the early CJ's ..........These have 11" rotors and some caliper piston bores are just under 2" while others in the group are just over 2"...........do your math and make sure this is a viable solution for your Jeep application..........keeping in mind that excess weight , larger wheels , tires and auto transmissions require more braking torque to stop...

His name is Brennan Metcalf & can be contacted at: Brennanmetcalf@gmail.com or check out his Facebook page at Brennansgarage









Notes:

This conversion will work on 1941 to 1986 front axles and 1941 to 1970 rear axles, including those with a full float conversion.

-Use 1995 or earlier Geo Tracker/Suzuki Sidekick front rotors and
calipers/caliper mount/pads ( These are available at any parts house
or online at places like RockAuto ).
This kit is designed around using the NON-vented rotor and caliper.

Rotors-
GEO TRACKER 1989-1995
SUZUKI SAMURAI 1988-1995
SUZUKI SIDEKICK 1989-1995
SUZUKI SJ410 1983-1984
SUZUKIX-901996-1995

Calipers/Mount/Pads-
ASUNA SUNRUNNER 1992-1993
CHEVROLET TRACKER 1989-1995
GEO TRACKER 1989-1995
GMC TRACKER1989-1991
PONTIAC SUNRUNNER 1994-1995
SUZUKI SIDEKICK 1989-1995
SUZUKI X-90 1996-1995

-The rotor goes OVER the wheel bearing hub like the later drum/disc systems
On the early D25/27 front axle you will have to press the studs out to remove
the factory drum and then reinstall the studs. A D23 rear axle will be the same
as the early front axle ( press studs out, replace without drum ). The D41/44 rear
has the drum brake on the outside of the flange and is easy to replace.
A dana 30 front axle will have the drum on the outside of the flange also,
no need to remove the studs.

-The holes in the rotors for the wheel studs need drilled out to .609 with a
39/64 drill bit. A good hand drill typically works fine. I have heard of the register being
up to .614" in some cases

-You need M12, 1.25mm pitch x ~25-30mm long metric bolts for the caliper
mount ( I recommend using loctite 243 blue as a minimum along with
approx 70ft lbs torque with 10.9 or 12.9 fasteners ).
Depending on washer thickness, pleas check that the bolt does not
extend beyond the bracket towards the rotor.
Finding good quality 10.9+ grade bolts is difficult. Fastenal is the
best place I have found to order these online

-You need a shim/bushing to offset the OEM caliper mount from my
bracket. Depending on the bearing hub ( or rear axle ) is should be
about 5/16"/.313"thick. (Note:These are now provided with each bracket )
I have had the odd setup happen where this shim is the wrong thickness.
This typically only happens when you mix and match the
hub/spindle/axle flange between different versions.

-The brake hose fitting on the caliper end needs to be a 10mm banjo
style (I use 1985 honda accord front brake hoses on my flatty and they
transition to hard lines at the frame).
Be sure to use the appropriate banjo bolt and crush washers.
I have some shops that I use for custom brake lines once you figure
out what length/end you require.

-You need to chamfer the ID of the center hole of the bracket to
clear the machined corner radius on the spindle step. A file or 4" flap wheel
works fine for this. You want to make sure the bracket has no air gap
behind it. Note: I have elected not to perform this operation on my end.
I have had people clock the brackets into a different position front vs rear
and side to side to help clear shocks, steering, etc.
The caliper should be positioned with the bleed screw at the top
whenever possible.

-The bracket goes OVER the spindle just like the stock drum brake
backing plate did.

-I use 1/4" cold roll steel for the brackets. If you go
thicker the spindle studs/bolts start to get in the way of the bearing
hub. You can use the stock spindle studs and nuts typically.

 

wow. thanks! another option for us dana 27 people.

 

Who hoo more parts for me to by and shelve till I'm ready to use them!

 

Brennan's stuff. Good guy.

 

I have his setup on my 3a. It's a well put together setup. Fits under my stock 16" wheels and no modifications that would prevent going back to stock if you ever wanted to.

 

Thanks! Another upgrade "as long as I have it apart"....

 

There's a guy named Stev over on the 2a site (Dana 25 Front Disk Conversion for $250) who did this and made plates. His details are on the first page partway down (I couldn't find post numbers over there but look for his post). I got a set for the front and will be doing the conversion soon. Seems pretty straight forward. Here is another write up on it (Outlier Disc Brake Conversion - G503 Military Vehicle Message Forums).

 

This setup sounds like a natural to go with a full-float 44 rear. Just bolt the adapter on with the spindle, slide a rotor over, and drop the caliper on. Plumb up the lines, and all is good. Using the parking brake on the T/C adds to the simplicity.
-Donny

 

Those rotors will fit the 15" wheels also.............If you thinks it worth saving change it over...

 

R&P Early Jeep Parts has started the 1/4 ton kit back up that uses Suzuki rotors and Camaro or S-10 calipers. I think Richard is selling just the brackets at this time but he had a mess of the brackets at the Puyallup 4x4 swap meet. Works very similar but other than the rotors uses domestic vehicle parts.
Just another option.

 

There are a few people selling kits on the G503. I was looking at this for my GPW. IIRC you need a 1/2 inch spacer to run combat wheels.

 

My drums work fine for the speeds I go but I still find this set up tempting.

 

Hmmmm - gonna have to do this to the front now. Question is what non-power master cylinder to use for disk/drum though. The factory 71 dual circuit will have the wrong bias for disk/drum.

 

I believe you can remove the residual check valve from the front cylinder and it will work with disc brakes.

 

You will need a 2 lb residual pressure valve for disk brakes in front if you leave the stock underfloor master cylinder. I have a 71 with the factory MC and disk brakes up front a 2 lb rpv for the disk and a 10lb rpv for the rear drums and the factory ones removed from the MC. It stops great and has been on there for around 12 years now.

 

I have read on the 2a forum that there are guys with the original single resevor running this setup without a valve?

 

Anytime your master is below the level of your calipers or wheel cylinders a residual valve should be used on that circuit.

 

Yes!