Hi everyone.
My van has never had terrific brakes, and I was thinking that maybe rear discs would help it out. It's a 90 G20. Did the later vans come with disc in back or did the Express/Savana have them? Would an E/S bolt right in or are the perches different?
Has anyone ever put in rear discs and was it worth the effort? Thanks everyone.
Rear Disc Brakes
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WoodButcher
- Deputy
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I sleep in my van
- Posts: 449
- Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:01 pm
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Re: Rear Disc Brakes
I have not done this to any van but do have a first gen (11' upgrade rear mentioned below) and 3rd generation (disc rear) astro. I don't notice a difference and I tow with both.
That said I did play with the front discs on a '97 astro while upgrading the suspension to carry more weight.
I found a chevy caliper with a larger piston and pad surface area from an earlier model pickup. It made a slight difference in regard to long downhills, heat, wear and longevity. I would commonly warp rotors prior so that was my motivation for it. My end conclusion was it was just as easy to replace the stock parts when needed than to build the bigger brakes.
One modification that may be helpful is to look at the rear brake diameter. My '93 safari has the chevy 10 bolt rear. I swapped it out it to replace the glass springs with steel and at the same time added a detroit tru trac and I went to 11' drums from a Buick roadmaster. I needed the backing plates from the boneyard and a couple other parts that are pretty much unobtainium new. I really didn't notice a difference in the braking as my attention was focused on the tru trac, posi can be fun... I did this about for years ago and haven't even thought of the rear brakes since.
If you search this forum for "big brake upgrade" you should find results from others.
That said I did play with the front discs on a '97 astro while upgrading the suspension to carry more weight.
I found a chevy caliper with a larger piston and pad surface area from an earlier model pickup. It made a slight difference in regard to long downhills, heat, wear and longevity. I would commonly warp rotors prior so that was my motivation for it. My end conclusion was it was just as easy to replace the stock parts when needed than to build the bigger brakes.
One modification that may be helpful is to look at the rear brake diameter. My '93 safari has the chevy 10 bolt rear. I swapped it out it to replace the glass springs with steel and at the same time added a detroit tru trac and I went to 11' drums from a Buick roadmaster. I needed the backing plates from the boneyard and a couple other parts that are pretty much unobtainium new. I really didn't notice a difference in the braking as my attention was focused on the tru trac, posi can be fun... I did this about for years ago and haven't even thought of the rear brakes since.
If you search this forum for "big brake upgrade" you should find results from others.
'93 Safari shorty, 350 swap
'05 Astro AWD, lifted, 6 liter, cammed, ported and programmed for fast.
'93 cargo, work in progress
'05 Astro AWD, lifted, 6 liter, cammed, ported and programmed for fast.
'93 cargo, work in progress