02. After loosening the spindle nut, the rear hub and drum pulled off with a good yank. The four bolts that tighten to the axle housing were then removed, and the drum backing plate dropped off as well. When swapping to disc brakes, each stud needs to be pounded out of the drum/hub assembly so the drum can be removed from the hub. Be careful not to mar the threads when pounding out the studs, or you’ll be making another trip to the parts store for new ones. 03. These four stock backing plate bolts are too short for the thickness of the Blackbird bracket, so new Grade 8 hardware needs to be acquired (1.5-inch thread/shank length). The bracket bolts directly to the 14-Bolt housing.03. These four stock backing plate bolts are too short for the thickness of the Blackbird 04. Though it is not required, we swapped the seals on the rear hubs while they were off the axle. The hubs don’t take grease (like a typical front one would) and instead lubricate using the axle’s gear oil. If these seals are damaged, you’ll be leaking gear oil.04. Though it is not required, we swapped the seals on the rear hubs while they were off 05. After the hub was cleaned and new seals were installed, the EBC rotor was placed onto the hub and the studs were pounded back in.05. After the hub was cleaned and new seals were installed, the EBC rotor was placed ont 06. Though we used a punch and a screwdriver to remove the spindle nuts, getting the nuts tightened correctly requires the correct socket. Another trip to the parts store got me a $10 chromoly 14-Bolt spindle socket. 07. With the hub and EBC rotor in place, it was time to bolt on the caliper loaded with Yellow Stuff pads. This is about the time I realized that the ’01 Dodge Ram caliper rides in a factory caliper bracket (that is not sold with the caliper at the auto parts store, of course), and the caliper bracket is what actually bolts to the Blackbird disc brake bracket. Another two days of waiting and $52 later, I had the brackets. 08. With the disc brake retrofit almost complete, the factory axleshaft was slid back through the hub and into the housing. The final step was to attach brake lines. The factory hard lines can be reused if you bend them into the proper shape, but I got new hard lines and specifically bent and cut them for the disc brake setup. Inline Tube Powerbraid stainless steel flexible brake hoses were off-the-shelf items that I ordered ahead of time and had ready to attach the hard lines to the disc brake calipers. Sources EBC Brakes 12621 Encinitas Avenue Sylmar CA 91342 818-362-5534 www.ebcbrakes.com Blackbirds Custom Trucks P.O. Box 4955 Spokane WA 99220 509-534-5219 www.blackbirdscustomtrucks.com Inline Tube 15066 Technology Drive Shelby Township MI 48315 800-385-9452 www.inlinetube.com « | 1 | 2 | 3 | View Full Article By Jerrod Jones Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
