Dakota/Durango rear disk upgrade- about $610

[This name is al]

I was surfing for some stuff, and came across this page (http://www.tsmmfg.com/2552.htm) . I added the total parts needed as follows:
Brackets & 11" rotors: 260
Calipers w/ parking brakes: 280
Cable extenders: 20
Braided SS hoses: 50
Total: $610

The cheapest I've seen a conversion kit has been about $715.

If I am reading their info right, they are using the 79-85 GM "E" body (Eldorado-Rivera-Toronado) rear calipers, which are cheaper to buy at a parts store, but you may not get all the hardware for the parking brake needed. I found these unloaded (no pads) for about $56 each, or loaded for about $90 each. This could cut another $100 off the cost.

These are pretty good brakes, I used a complete set when I converted a 1965 Corvair from 4 wheel drums to 4 wheel disks. The "E" body is a heavy car so these brakes should work well for the Durango/Dakota.

I don't know anything about this company, but it looks like it could possibly be a good deal to save some $.

EDIT 11-8-04
I do know something about this company now- they can't deliver and don't know how to communicate. Avoid them.

[scentralpirate]

not bad a 100 bucks saved is a hundred bucks you can spend on something else :cool:

not to thread-jack too much but you mentioned about a 65' corvair so check this out :


http://www.docsmachine.com/nonPB/corvair.html

quite cool to see in person needs another visit to the paint and chrome Gods, but its still a worthy beast.

[This name is al]

:hijack:

He should not feel too bad. I started in 1977 on mine & it needs a lot of God's help still :) . It doesn't look like much, but at least it has good brakes. Anytime I mention anything about that car, I get :nono: .

[This name is al]

I ordered the drilled/slotted eBay rotors & Hawk pads for the front, the conversion kit for the rear, and a set of Hawk pads for the E body calipers (also ordered shocks & sway bars as well). I'll let everyone know how easy this conversion is & how well the brakes work. I need to find some braided SS front hoses! I may end up making my own, as there is an Aeroquip shop in town that is very friendly- the guy there made a custom clutch hose to adapt a Mazda RX7 clutch cylinder to a T5 out of a Camaro that was behind a 383 in the RX7!

[DurangoDude]

Drilled/slotted rotors are not the best way to go on the Durango, going with the stock configuration. Those rotors have a tendencey to crack because of the heat. Most people prefer the slotted.

I have the SSC Slotted Rotors on my Durango with Hawk Pads and it works great. Can't compare them to the stock brakes.

[scentralpirate]

about the rear disk conversion...What size rotors can you put on with the kit? I thought I was looking at a disk upgrade kit once that required a minimum 16" rim because the rotors were larger.

Was I seeing things or does a person have to up the size of their rims ( from the stock 15's ) in order to do the rear disk upgrade?

[This name is al]

Drilled/slotted rotors are not the best way to go on the Durango, going with the stock configuration. Those rotors have a tendencey to crack because of the heat. Most people prefer the slotted.

I have the SSC Slotted Rotors on my Durango with Hawk Pads and it works great. Can't compare them to the stock brakes.

I agree, but after doing some research here one of our members has 5K miles on these exact rotors w/o any problems, and I won't be as aggressive w/ the brakes on this as I am on my other vehicle ;).


About the rear disk conversion... What size rotors can you put on with the kit? I thought I was looking at a disk upgrade kit once that required a minimum 16" rim because the rotors were larger.

Was I seeing things or does a person have to up the size of their rims (from the stock 15's ) in order to do the rear disk upgrade?

They are 11" rotors, the E body cars came stock with 15" wheels and my Corvair cleared fine with these with 15" wheels. I'm going to 17" R/T wheels, but I don't see any issues w/ 15" wheels. Once I have them installed, I'll stick a 15" wheel on & see if there are any clearance issues.

[spitz]

definetely get this one going. i can see spending a little over time but i can't see dropping 700 at once for better brakes. it helps me do it at my own pace...

[rt_terror]

Brakes are not my area, so help me out here. Why wouldn't you just adapt a new set of the front rotors and calipers from the front? At least it would be easier to get new pads in the future.

[This name is al]

Brakes are not my area, so help me out here. Why wouldn't you just adapt a new set of the front rotors and calipers from the front? At least it would be easier to get new pads in the future.

IMO, the trick setup would be to use the larger 2003 Durango disks, but apparently no one has done this as yet and many have had good results w/ slotted rotors & high performance pads. To engineer the E body disks to the D would be cost prohibitive with no gain, since both vehicles use an 11" rotor. Pads are usually not an issue, I ordered Hawk pads at Truckperformance.com for both vehicles w/o any problem. This is not an uncommon situation, as the front brakes on my 1995 TA are from a 97-02 Vette, and the rear brakes are from a 98-02 F body (added when I put a Moser 12 bolt rear in).

When I did the Corvair, I did use all E body brakes (and an adjustable proportioning valve), but I was swapping from 4 drums to 4 disks, so the effort was worth it.

[This name is al]

These guys seem to run at their own speed... when I ordered, he said they had the stuff in stock, but it would be a while to ship.

19 days and counting leads me to believe they had to make some of the stuff up- how difficult is it to put stuff in a box & put a label on it?

I wanted to have the truck done by the end of the month, but to do so now will mean keeping the rear drums.

BTW, I saw the SSBC kit FS at Martel Brothers (http://www.martelbrothers.com/customer/product.php?productid=SSBA157&cat=&page=3) for $689.97, which is like $60 off the SSBC price of $750.

[This name is al]

Called to cancel my order today, and learned my card had been "declined" http://www.ianai.net/jokes/forumpix/bsflag.gif and that I was in the list of people to call "today" with declined cards. I wonder when they were going to call? Funny how everything else ordered before & after this purchase arrived OK and the card was not declined. On the basis of my experience, I would not recommend dealing with this company.