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Dana 44 Disc Brake Conversion (Crown Vic)

hidperf said:
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.
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After driving all over town, I found 10 of the 310-368 wheel studs. They work perfect. FYI
IMG_5685.JPG
 
Welded back together. In a write-up I read, they had mentioned cutting a chunk out to get it installed without taking the bearings/seals off. I felt this way would be stronger, whether it was welded back together or even left in two pieces.

I put RTV on the seals because I had heard of others having problems with leaks, even with the correct seals. I also re-used the old seals. So either way, just an extra precaution.

I used studs that were for a Crown Vic application. They turned out to be exactly what I needed. I had originally just brought in the stud from my Jeep, but the studs they said would work, did not hold themselves in the hub.

Your axle looks great, hidperf. Next time I have to tear into mine, I will be making it all pretty. Probably when I replace the discs with ZJ discs, get new pads for the new calipers and put a new shackles on the leaves.

I ended up using the old calipers, because the new ones I have, have a larger diameter hole in the caliper piston. I could have bent out the three prongs to get them to seat, but figured I would just use the JY calipers and pads to make sure I don't run into any problems before I stick shiny new parts on there just to get destroyed.

Still waiting on new tires, so haven't done any driving yet. Should have them on by next week though.
 
el_roy1985 said:
I put RTV on the seals because I had heard of others having problems with leaks, even with the correct seals. I also re-used the old seals. So either way, just an extra precaution.
Click to expand...

I got new bearings and seals and used sealer so I'm hoping for the best. The new seals went in easier than the old ones came out so I wasn't taking any chances either.

el_roy1985 said:
I used studs that were for a Crown Vic application. They turned out to be exactly what I needed. I had originally just brought in the stud from my Jeep, but the studs they said would work, did not hold themselves in the hub.
Click to expand...

After several failed attempts at local parts houses, I measured the old studs and cross referenced them on the Dorman web site. They were a pain in the rear to install but they're perfect.

el_roy1985 said:
Your axle looks great, hidperf. Next time I have to tear into mine, I will be making it all pretty. Probably when I replace the discs with ZJ discs, get new pads for the new calipers and put a new shackles on the leaves.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I had the luxury of having mine on the shop floor working on it. It's much easier to "make it all pretty" that way. I wire wheeled the housing to remove the loose rust and paint and then coated it with spray-on bed liner. The diff cover, caliper brackets and dust shields were all sandblasted and painted with rustoleum. I haven't done the calipers yet. The rotors that came with the pile of parts weren't worth turning so I picked up a pair of ZJ disc for under 30.00.

el_roy1985 said:
I ended up using the old calipers, because the new ones I have, have a larger diameter hole in the caliper piston. I could have bent out the three prongs to get them to seat, but figured I would just use the JY calipers and pads to make sure I don't run into any problems before I stick shiny new parts on there just to get destroyed.
Click to expand...

I picked up new shoes and pads for my setup and only after trying to install them, realized that I must not have the typical early model CV rear brakes. My calipers have the large piston hole and the pads and shoes were just different enough that they wouldn't work. Turns out, my stuff was from a 96 CV. FYI for anyone else looking to do this swap. I can't wait to get it all in the rig.

This thread is one of the top search results in Google so thanks for starting it. It's in my bookmarks.
 
No problem that's actually one of the reasons I did start it. I've tried to search so many times, but it always took a while to track down what I was actually looking for. So I'm glad it served it's purpose, and hopefully it will help future D44 Disc swappers.

Also, a little update... Been running my setup for about a month now and it's working great. Still need to get the rear brakes bled a little better, but it's stopping great and no problems so far.
 
Instead of all that work on the rubicon retainer plates, you can just get the teraflex spacers, cut a section of them out to slip over the axle and slide them between the retainer plate and the seal. They're like 6 bucks each from teraflex.
 
Teraflex probably would have been slightly cheaper. Oh well, still got the job accomplished.

One thing I forgot to mention (and no one noticed yet), is that I mounted both sides with the calipers trailing, instead of one fore and one aft like on the CV. I mostly did this to keep both parking brake levers pulling towards the front of the vehicle, instead of having one cable snake behind the axle and pull towards the rear.
 
how are the brakes working? i recently picked up a dana 44 and want to run discs. anything you wouldve done differently? and to run both calipers trailing did you just rotate the bracket? thanks
 
1990JEEPXJ said:
how are the brakes working? i recently picked up a dana 44 and want to run discs. anything you wouldve done differently? and to run both calipers trailing did you just rotate the bracket? thanks
Click to expand...

I'm actually in the process of installing mine right now so I'm hoping to find out in a few weeks. I've been gathering parts for the last year for some major upgrades and just started the project recently.

Yes, you just rotate the bracket. I still haven't figured out the E-brake situation yet though. I've heard someone makes cables specific to this swap or you can also use the factory XJ drum brake cables with some mods.
 
hidperf said:
I'm actually in the process of installing mine right now so I'm hoping to find out in a few weeks. I've been gathering parts for the last year for some major upgrades and just started the project recently.

Yes, you just rotate the bracket. I still haven't figured out the E-brake situation yet though. I've heard someone makes cables specific to this swap or you can also use the factory XJ drum brake cables with some mods.
Click to expand...

Here is my solution for the crown vic ebrake.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=97226
 
thats what i figured. good to know. i picked up all the stuff to do this yesterday. $35 at the local yard. just need to get the teraflex spacer.
 
Just a quick update. I finally got my rig rolling and all I can say is WOW! 4.5" with 33's on 15x8 steelies and this thing will lock them up at will on any surface. I should also note that I did the '95 dual diaphragm booster and master cylinder and the ZJ proportioning valve all at the same time. But I no longer have any fears of stopping in time.
 
markw said:
Instead of all that work on the rubicon retainer plates, you can just get the teraflex spacers, cut a section of them out to slip over the axle and slide them between the retainer plate and the seal. They're like 6 bucks each from teraflex.
Click to expand...

Do you have a part # for the spacers youre talking about so I can look them up on their web page? Thanx.
 
Thanx for your the help, I ordered them already:cheers:
One more question. Isn't it better to just leave the brakes the way they go on the Crown Vic instead of flipping one of the brackets?
 
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