Dana 44 Disc Brake Conversion (Crown Vic)

[Begster]

If you know how to weld, I highly recommend throwing a few tacks on the spacer to attach it to the backing plate. I did this after listen to some advice I read, and I can only imagine the pain in the ass it would be if I had to try to keep that aligned when I was attaching everything. If you don't know how to weld, find someone who does, or take it to a welding shop. It won't be expensive at all for them to throw a few tacks on.

 

[Lurch]

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?

I installed them like they were on the cv, one forward, one rear and have had no problems. Ebrake cables fit and work fine.

 

[bajaxj1]

I installed them like they were on the cv, one forward, one rear and have had no problems. Ebrake cables fit and work fine.

Thanx. I'm going to keep them the way they are on the CV.

 

[FunkRider]

FYI the rear piston differences is due to some cars having steel caliper pistons and some having phenolic pistons. Police interceptors or CVPI (will have P71 in the vin) *usually* have the phenolic pistons.

The smaller 1" clips are for a phenolic piston.

The larger 1 3/4" clips are for the Steel pistons.

 

[bajaxj1]

FYI the rear piston differences is due to some cars having steel caliper pistons and some having phenolic pistons. Police interceptors or CVPI (will have P71 in the vin) *usually* have the phenolic pistons.

The smaller 1" clips are for a phenolic piston.

The larger 1 3/4" clips are for the Steel pistons.

I would imagine the CVPI ones are better, right?:dunno:

 

[1990JEEPXJ]

can someone describe how they adapted the XJ hardline on the 44 to the soft line for the calipers?

 

[Lurch]

The male end of the hard line screws right in to the femal end of the crown vic soft line. I used a worm gear clamp to secure the end of the soft line to the axle tube. If you want to get creative with bending the hard line, you can hook them directly to the caliper. It's all 3/8".

 

[Vanimal]

you're welcome to come by and check out mine Tom. mine's all plumbed already. i also have a longer length body to axle line if you need one, brand new in the box. i got the flare tool and everything for the hard line if you need to borrow it.

 

[Vanimal]

The male end of the hard line screws right in to the femal end of the crown vic soft line. I used a worm gear clamp to secure the end of the soft line to the axle tube. If you want to get creative with bending the hard line, you can hook them directly to the caliper. It's all 3/8".

i thought about running the hard line to the calipers, but then i figured it would be a PITA to change brake pads without stressing the lines.

 

[1990JEEPXJ]

The male end of the hard line screws right in to the femal end of the crown vic soft line. I used a worm gear clamp to secure the end of the soft line to the axle tube. If you want to get creative with bending the hard line, you can hook them directly to the caliper. It's all 3/8".

did not know they were the same thread. thats great news.

and dan i will see how my rear extended line looks and let you know about grabbing it.

 

[kastein]

I wouldn't run the hardline directly to the caliper, that's just looking for trouble. What I usually do is tack weld a bolt to the axle housing headfirst in a good spot and then use a nut to hold the soft line down to it, most factory soft lines have a tab with a hole for this purpose on one end.

 

[1990JEEPXJ]

yeah i still have the soft lines attatched to the calipers. knowing they bolt on it doesnt make sense not to use them

 

[Vanimal]

i just threaded a hole in the axle tubes to screw the tab on the soft lines to on either side.

 

[Oatmeal]

When considering discs for my D44 I thought about going with Crown Vic stuff because it was pretty much a bolt on but....the asymmetry of the caliper mounting just plain bugged me!

I could have flipped the one side but, then you have one e-brake cable above and one below and you'd have to remove the upside down one to bleed it, plus....I'm really into symmetry!

Went with Explorer stuff instead....a little more work (welded and redrilled XJ pattern on the brackets) but, well worth the extra effort.

I also used the Explorer flex lines and mounted it to a couple of bolts welded to the axle tubes for a pretty clean looking install (the Explorer line I found was way longer than the XJ line and allowed for extra droop).

Also, I've found that a .230" piece of schedule 40 pipe (can't remember the size) was a perfect spacer for the retainer plate.
Just split the spacer and a couple of tack welds after you stick it between the retainer plate and the bearing and you'r egood to go!

For the e-brake I modified a couple of passenger side Explorer cables and the stock XJ cables.

Don't forget to adress the proportioning valve....just swap Grand Cherokee guts (plunger, spring and end cap) to your XJ's valve, makes a noticeable difference

Hans

 

[XJensen]

I used Explorer stuff and used two pass side soft lines. I welded those little tabs with nut-certs on the top of the axle tube on each side, RuffStuff sells the tabs.

It was around $5 for them and made it all look real clean.

 

[Vanimal]

i have explorer brakes but they werent symetric, both were identical. i think they were off a newer exploder though. i did run it with both calipers trailing, mostly for the ebrake cable positioning. i dont care about the bleeding, i use a vaccuum bleeder anyways.

 

[hidperf]

Just an update on my D44 install. After I got it all finished and have been driving it for a while, I had an axle seal seeping on the drivers side. I thought maybe I didn't use enough RTV on that side so I pulled it apart, cleaned it and put some more sealer on it. It's been gushing gear oil ever since. I've pulled it apart, cut off the brand new bearings and seal and installed new stuff, also cleaned up the seal mating surface while it was out. It had a shiny spot where the seal rides but nothing noticeable when I ran my finger nail across it so I put it all together with new parts. Still leaking.
So now I guess I'm going to order some alloy axles for it, hoping that the seal surface is causing the leak.
Any ideas what else it might be or recommendations on alloy axles?

 

[Vanimal]

Just an update on my D44 install. After I got it all finished and have been driving it for a while, I had an axle seal seeping on the drivers side. I thought maybe I didn't use enough RTV on that side so I pulled it apart, cleaned it and put some more sealer on it. It's been gushing gear oil ever since. I've pulled it apart, cut off the brand new bearings and seal and installed new stuff, also cleaned up the seal mating surface while it was out. It had a shiny spot where the seal rides but nothing noticeable when I ran my finger nail across it so I put it all together with new parts. Still leaking.
So now I guess I'm going to order some alloy axles for it, hoping that the seal surface is causing the leak.
Any ideas what else it might be or recommendations on alloy axles?

the seal might not be tight in there, meaning the spacer might not be thick enough. did your backing plate have a recess/counterbore for each bolt hole where the 4 retainer plate bolts go through?

 

[hidperf]

the seal might not be tight in there, meaning the spacer might not be thick enough. did your backing plate have a recess/counterbore for each bolt hole where the 4 retainer plate bolts go through?

I used the Rubicon plates. They were flat except where the retainer went into the bore and presses against the seal. And I used the same retainer and seals on both sides but only the drivers has caused me problems. I can't see inside with all the components, e-brake and retainer plate in the way, but it looked and felt like it was in all the way.

I might loosen the retainer up and see if I can tell what's going on.

 

[Vanimal]

I used the Rubicon plates. They were flat except where the retainer went into the bore and presses against the seal. And I used the same retainer and seals on both sides but only the drivers has caused me problems. I can't see inside with all the components, e-brake and retainer plate in the way, but it looked and felt like it was in all the way.

I might loosen the retainer up and see if I can tell what's going on.

i'm talking about the backing plate, not retainer plate. is there a counterbore on the backing plate where the bolt would go?
some have it, some dont. mine did, and the backing plate is thicker so the rubicon plates might not work.
this picture shows one of the backing plates with the counterbores. there are bolts and washers in the hole, but you can see how it is recessed a little where the washers sit in. these backing plates also have a rough cast finish instead of a smoother surface like the backing plates in this thread.