off road brake trouble

[guitarfreak235]

with the new tires on i have been off roading lately. but whenever the truck gets muddy the brakes start to not work so well. washing the brakes afterwards returns things to normal but going down a steep hill on the trail i noticed it required a TON of force to get the brakes to work. it was actually scary because the hill was pretty dangerous. but the question is is this normal?? is there a way to avoid this? i do need to get the rotors/drums turned and new pads and probably bleed the brakes. but the brakes are completely functional.

 

[bucket]

You are probably loosing braking power because of water and muck getting in the drums. Disc brakes may be in your future, and from what I've seen, it can be done cheap. You can use modified caliper brackets from a 1/2 ton front axle, stock front calipers, and rotors for an '88 4x4 extended cab truck with a stamped (not cast) rotor hat. A more common cast rotor could be used also, but longer wheel studs would be needed. Oh, and you also have to grind down the axle flanges so they fit inside the rotor.

 

[guitarfreak235]

You are probably loosing braking power because of water and muck getting in the drums. Disc brakes may be in your future, and from what I've seen, it can be done cheap. You can use modified caliper brackets from a 1/2 ton front axle, stock front calipers, and rotors for an '88 4x4 extended cab truck with a stamped (not cast) rotor hat. A more common cast rotor could be used also, but longer wheel studs would be needed. Oh, and you also have to grind down the axle flanges so they fit inside the rotor.

ive heard drums suck for off road, but im not sure thats the only problem... this was goin down hill so most of the braking was in the front. but it seriously needed almost as much pressure as if the truck was not running....

 

[bucket]

Going down a hill doesn't change the brake bias. The rears will lock easier, but the bias is the sane.

 

[crazy4offroad]

May want to check your wheel cylinders, they are not good for emergency braking or offroad use. I converted to disk and never looked back, brakes are more firm than they've ever been. I know you probably already know this but you may want to put it in 4-Lo 1st gear for going down bad hills.

 

[bobehud]

In this heat if you are the brakes alot then you can boil the fluid in the calipers,causing the issue you describe.
When you let things cool for just a moment they recover and fine.

 

[guitarfreak235]

Going down a hill doesn't change the brake bias. The rears will lock easier, but the bias is the sane.

i realize the bias is the same but if the rears lock they arent doin any good and the fronts are what essentially are stopping the vehicle. but how much would it cost to do a rear disc conversion?

 

[bucket]

i realize the bias is the same but if the rears lock they arent doin any good and the fronts are what essentially are stopping the vehicle. but how much would it cost to do a rear disc conversion?

But were the rears locking up? As for price for a swap, it just depends on how cheap you can find parts.

 

[guitarfreak235]

But were the rears locking up? As for price for a swap, it just depends on how cheap you can find parts.

actually i dont remember.... seems like something i should pay attention to

 

[elstm3]

If you go for a weld on caliper bracket it can be done for fairly cheap. Also with the rear disc swap you may want to get an adjustible proportioning valve ase the rear brakes may engage first due to the rear drums taking more fluid and time to engage the drum. This could cause the rear brakes to lock up durng braking, which could send your rear end drifting, although this is fun most of the time when it is unexpected is typically not a good thing.

 

[guitarfreak235]

If you go for a weld on caliper bracket it can be done for fairly cheap. Also with the rear disc swap you may want to get an adjustible proportioning valve ase the rear brakes may engage first due to the rear drums taking more fluid and time to engage the drum. This could cause the rear brakes to lock up durng braking, which could send your rear end drifting, although this is fun most of the time when it is unexpected is typically not a good thing.

ive heard about the proportioning valve, read it in a write up on colorado k5.... whole thing seems like a long process to me

 

[elstm3]

I think you could get away from having to use an adjustable proportioning valve if you used ¾ ton calipers up front and ½ ton calipers in the rear, this could work due to the fact that the half ton calipers can not exert as much pressure as the fronts and keep the brake bias In check. I plan to do this on my k5 when I get to working on it.

 

[ben h]

weld on kit - 50$
calipers - 18$ each
rotors - 30$ each
lines - 25$ each
and thats if u buy all brand new from the store verry easy to do i just did it on a short box that i had a month ago
i went with ruff stuff weld on kit
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/Weldon.html
they do also have a bolt on kit if u have the right axle but the weld on is simple
and u can use elderodo calipers if u would like to still retain ur e brake cable