Disk Brake conversion mistake?

[legotech7]

Hello everyone, I am seeking some help in what might be a mistake I might have made in choosing brake parts for my disk brake conversion. I am in the mist bagging my 70 c10 1/2 ton, and also in the middle of doing the drum to disk on the front. I purchased 2-1/2'' dropped spindles from CPP to do the exchange. Now I thought I did all my home work on this and tried to save a few dollars and got some parts from the salvage yard to complete the conversion. The rotors are 11-1/2'' diam. x 1-1/4'' thk. The calipers are from the same vehicle, a 1977 1/2 ton c10. Now I was told that they would fit the new spindle. the rotor fits ok but the caliper looks like it is to tight, or what I mean to say is the hole that the screws to the caliper wont line up to the one's on the new spindle. Also the bleeder hose on the top of the caliper looks too long, the top part hit the top portion of the spindle. I hope I'm not confusing anyone, but I sure am scratching my head over this right now.
This first pic is the top of the caliper up against the spindle.... tight...

The second is the bottom, tight also......

And the third is hose is hitting the top of the spindle.....

Now I think I might need to change the caliper set up and or the rotor, to make this work, but I need to know from what year vehicles I need, to make the exchange. I will get the parts new, If I only knew what I needed... I'm asking the experts here for any help in setting me straight. I'm almost done with this bag project, and this is holding me up.

Thank you one and all.........

[PowerdbyChevy79]

Hey bro..can u take pics of the backside so we can see what it looks like from the back...and a pic from the too of the caliper down...need to see it all before we can give advice...

[SCOTI]

It's common practice to tweak the brake line fitting to ensure clearance. I use a big screwdriver & slowly/gently pry the fitting far enough away to clear the spindle.

I can't really tell where your clearance issue is w/the caliper bolt from your pics...

[legotech7]

I'll try to take better pics tomorrow. I'm out of the garage right now, but when I ordered the spindles, the y guy said that any of these years, 73 to 87, rotors and calipers would fit with out any other modifications. The parts I got were from a 77. I think I can get the shorter hoses for it cause the seem rally long. But the issue seems to be with the caliper. Now I may be able to persuade the caliper to fit with a couple of taps of the old ball pean, but that might be to tight, a pain to replace in the future,plus I want to make sure the brakes will operate safely.

Thank guys, I'll post some more pics i hopes I can resolve this.......

Ok managed to get in the garage, but difficult to take pictures from behinde the wheel. The first is from the front, I was working on the passenger side, when I found the issues.....

The second is what the spindle looks like, drivers side...

The third is more towards the back... drives side...

And the fourth is from the back of the passenger side, but don't know if you can tell anything from it hard to get under there with everything done,.. Sorry...

[SCOTI]

If the clearance issue is w/the caliper sliding into place then that's another common issue w/some caliper/aftermarket spindle app's.

I've had to grind a little on more than 1 set-up. Buzz a little of of either piece to gain you necessary clearance so the caliper slides into place easier. The 2 bolts will anchor it in the proper position.

73-87 4wd rubber brake hoses are a little longer vs the 2wd versions. I wonder if that's what they gave you?

[PowerdbyChevy79]

Well imma measure 10x cut once type of guy...I would verify that your calipers are for a 77 and or buy a new one just to test fit it...if its a tight fit..if it is..then I ll grind some of the caliper......

[legotech7]

Thanks guys, I'm pretty sure the parts were from a 1/2 ton. I a little Leary about grinding down break parts, but if that's what it takes than so be it. I going to call CPP and see what information I can get from them, other wise I'll go and get some new calipers and see what happens... I searched some more and those spindles should take parts from 73 to 87, like I had mentioned before. So like SCOTI mentioned, they have to be the spindles.... Damn after market crap, and I see a lot of folks use these spindles from CPP....We'll see.... I will post the continuation..... Thanks again...

[SCOTI]

It's not just CPP spindles. I had to do mild clearancing on the Western Chassis spindles that are currently on my square dually. And tweak the brake line banjo fitting....

[legotech7]

Thanks SCOTI, Not a problem, it is what it is.... Man I hate that phrase! Try telling that to the guy on the other end of the phone, when your trying to get answers... Had to order the calipers and hope to have them by the end of the week... Delays, delays, right.....

Thanks again, stay tuned......... Oh, ok so would you advise to do the clearance on the caliper or the spindle?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by legotech7

Thanks SCOTI, Not a problem, it is what it is.... Man I hate that phrase! Try telling that to the guy on the other end of the phone, when your trying to get answers... Had to order the calipers and hope to have them by the end of the week... Delays, delays, right.....

Thanks again, stay tuned......... Oh, ok so would you advise to do the clearance on the caliper or the spindle?

I would opt to do the spindle so that any future replacement calipers can swap right on w/o fuss vs having to grind on them.

[legotech7]

My thoughts exactly.... Cool Beans......

[Mikeeal33]

As mentioned they need some persuasion. Here's mine when I got them from CPP, I left the photos large to show the detail, sorry if they're too big. One tab had left over material from the mold I guess:



And the caliper wasn't even close to fitting, here I am holding it up level with the top tabs, you can see how much I had to take off:



Grind away till they fit!!!

[legotech7]

Thanks for the photos Mikeeal33, Always appreciate the pics... Maybe about an 1/8'' material to take off? I wounder if the folks at CPP is aware about this issue. Seems to be happening a lot....

[Mikeeal33]

I seriously doubt they'd do anything about it, not knockin em, just sayin. I probably took atleast .125" off the one tab that was the longest. Grind, test fit. Grind, test fit. Keep going till it slides in.

Don't even get me started on their "mislabeled" boxes, lol. What a pain that was.....

[legotech7]

LOL... Agree... Guess I got some grinding to do tomorrow....

Thanks again.....

[michael bustamante]

Are your drop spindles for 71-72 or 73+? That might be the issue

[legotech7]

The spindles I got from CPP fit from 69 to 72 and brake parts from 73 to 87 1/2 ton pickup can be used according to the folks at CPP......

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by legotech7

The spindles I got from CPP fit from 69 to 72 and brake parts from 73 to 87 1/2 ton pickup can be used according to the folks at CPP......

That must be incorrect.
Ball joints and tie rods are different.
One spindle won't work for those years.
They are divided as follows:
60-62
63-70
71-72
73-87.

[legotech7]

According to CPP the spindles I got for my 70 will work with the original tie rod ends witch I replaced. I also replaced the upper and lower ball joints. Everything fit together well. I had no issues with the spindle or its related parts Only the issue with the calipers and with the help of everyone here, i got that covered. I think the information I gave may be incorrect. I am sorry if so....

[legotech7]

Well I finally got my front brakes done. Ground down the spindles. It was actually easier that I thought, calipers fit on there great. The only thing that has me a little worried are the rubber hoses. They are a little longer than I would like them to be! I think they will work ok, did anyone have any issues with them being long? Can I get them on the shorter side and if so where. Or what did you guy's do if at all?...

Here's a pic of the back side of the passenger side, don't know if you can see the hose hanging a bit at the bottom and curled a bit... I threw the wheels I will be using on there, just to check for clearances. Everything looked good....

[chevy_mike]

Couple of things. Most of the companies use the stock GM style disc brake hoses. Problem is, on disc brake trucks, the lines connect on the front of the crossmember. On drum brake trucks, the lines are on the rear of the crossmember. This actually make the disc brake hoses route incorrectly. Most just deal with it. On my panel, I made new lines on the front side with bracket that replicate a stock disc setup.

Not the clearest pic but you'll get the idea,



Also, the bolts holding in your upper ball joint are not mounted correct. The nuts should be on the top of the arm. Doesn't make sense at first but with the excess bolt threads sticking down, you run the risk of having them tear into the boot.

This shows them,



Otherwise, nice job.

[lolife99]

The OP had air bags.
I think you will like the extra brake hose length when airing out the front suspension.

[legotech7]

Already checked the travel with the longer lines, ( up and down, side to side ) and everything looks good.The reason for the bolts going going down is because I read some where here on the forum from who was an airplane mechanic and when he was in school he learned to put all the bolts facing down and nuts with lock washers facing up in case one or more of the nuts should come loose ( with vibration and such ) at least a bolt would still be in its place instead of completely loosing the attachment. I'm not sure if that would work with the upper ball joint, since if all the nuts should come out than with the downward travel I guess the spindle would detach it self from the ball joint.But I find that highly unlikely it would happen. Besides I also used a loctite thread locker on all the bolts and nuts in this particular project, I think I should be good. Its only my weekend beater, can't wait to get it on the road.

Thanks for your suggestions and concerns, I do appreciate it.....

[SCOTI]

What are the hoses spec'd for, 73-87 or 71-72?

For the routing path taken, 71-72 would be the right choice. 73-87's are routed differently.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by legotech7

Already checked the travel with the longer lines, ( up and down, side to side ) and everything looks good.The reason for the bolts going going down is because I read some where here on the forum from who was an airplane mechanic and when he was in school he learned to put all the bolts facing down and nuts with lock washers facing up in case one or more of the nuts should come loose ( with vibration and such ) at least a bolt would still be in its place instead of completely loosing the attachment. I'm not sure if that would work with the upper ball joint, since if all the nuts should come out than with the downward travel I guess the spindle would detach it self from the ball joint.But I find that highly unlikely it would happen. Besides I also used a loctite thread locker on all the bolts and nuts in this particular project, I think I should be good. Its only my weekend beater, can't wait to get it on the road.

Thanks for your suggestions and concerns, I do appreciate it.....

I am an airplane mechanic. I've got the licenses in my wallet. Yes, ordinarily the bolts should face downward like you have them, but in special cases, they do not. This is a special case. Chevy Mike told you correctly. The upper ball joint hardware should be installed with bolt heads down, nut up. It protects the rubber boots from abrasion damage. There's plenty of situations on airplanes where special circumstances dictate that hardware is installed contrary to normal methods too.