Clear, Consise Brake Upgrade Instructions, please.

[lockdoc]

Thanks a bunch!

[SoCalli V8]

Nice details Skip....

[blk lt awd]

i may be asking the obvious but please humor me........with the larger rear drums....they'll make the entire length of the rear end longer? therefore making the wheels stick out further as well.....am i correct?

[robertg]

OK.......Here's the part numbers for the big brake upgrade.
Front calipers are Cardone rebuilds. Part numbers: 184122 & 184123. These calipers are used on about a dozen different Chevrolet trucks in the years 79 - 86.
Front disc pads are Wagner. Part number: SX 153
/

these calipers will fit on existing RWD vans?

if so....

[LiftedAWDAstro]

i may be asking the obvious but please humor me........with the larger rear drums....they'll make the entire length of the rear end longer? therefore making the wheels stick out further as well.....am i correct?

Nope. The drums are simply larger diameter. The wheels will not stick out any further.

[LaGrasta]

OK.......Here's the part numbers for the big brake upgrade.
Front calipers are Cardone rebuilds. Part numbers: 184122 & 184123. These calipers are used on about a dozen different Chevrolet trucks in the years 79 - 86.
Front disc pads are Wagner. Part number: SX 153
For you guys that have a van that is 10 years or older I would recommend you also change the brake hoses. They will be the stock hoses for your application.
The rear brakes consist of the backing plates and all related hardware from the mid 90's full size cars. Not all full size cars have the 11x2 brakes so take a tape measure. A couple of cars to look at would be the Chev Caprice sedan and station wagon. Police and taxi versions. And Buick Roadmasters. You might even go back to the 80's and look at the big Oldsmobiles.
The 11x2 shoes are Wagner. Part number: PAB 462.
The wheel cylinders are Wagner. Here you have an option of using either 7/8" or 1". It depends on how much weight you cary in your van. The Buick sedan uses the 7/8" and the station wagon uses the 1". I used the 1" because the "Smilievan" carries 800 - 900 lbs of ballooning equipment all the time. The part number for the 1" cylinders is: 51088. Both sides are the same. I hope this helps. It's well worth the effort.

Awesome, thanks! This is perfect.

[Smiliesafari]

One small issue that isn't really an issue is the backing plates. There has been some confusion as to the packing plates being mirror image. By that I mean there is one for the left and another for the right. That use to be the case and may still be depending which car they come from. In an effort to save some money GM decided to make only one style backing plate. Both being the exact same piece. The only difference in hooking up everything is the location of the parking brake cable on the right side. On my Safari the parking brake cable was installed through the front of the backing plate. On the Buick backing plate the hole for the cable was in the rear. No problem. There was enough cable length to just switch it to the rear.

[astrozam]

OK.......Here's the part numbers for the big brake upgrade.
Front calipers are Cardone rebuilds. Part numbers: 184122 & 184123. These calipers are used on about a dozen different Chevrolet trucks in the years 79 - 86.
Front disc pads are Wagner. Part number: SX 153
For you guys that have a van that is 10 years or older I would recommend you also change the brake hoses. They will be the stock hoses for your application.
The rear brakes consist of the backing plates and all related hardware from the mid 90's full size cars. Not all full size cars have the 11x2 brakes so take a tape measure. A couple of cars to look at would be the Chev Caprice sedan and station wagon. Police and taxi versions. And Buick Roadmasters. You might even go back to the 80's and look at the big Oldsmobiles.
The 11x2 shoes are Wagner. Part number: PAB 462.
The wheel cylinders are Wagner. Here you have an option of using either 7/8" or 1". It depends on how much weight you cary in your van. The Buick sedan uses the 7/8" and the station wagon uses the 1". I used the 1" because the "Smilievan" carries 800 - 900 lbs of ballooning equipment all the time. The part number for the 1" cylinders is: 51088. Both sides are the same. I hope this helps. It's well worth the effort.

Awesome, thanks! This is perfect.

LaGrasta, what would make this even more "concise" would be some pics of the swap/conversion if you go thru with it please and thanks.

P.S Thanks for all the parts #'s and info Skip

[skippy]

P.S Thanks for all the parts #'s and info Skip

yes i agree completely , thanx skip !!!

but one question , will this upgrade work on the 95 & 96 astro vans ?????? i see your sons was a 91 , not sure if the calipers were the same through the years especially with all the changes around 95 & 96 .

[blk lt awd]

i'm doing some x referencing....or trying to at this point to see if some aftermarket multi piston calipers would then bolt up in place of the larger single piston from the 3/4 ton. websites on the brake sites aren't making it easy.

also should be picking up an early/mid 90's roadmaster sedan within the next couple weeks. i'm hoping the rear brakes are the ones that will bolt up. getting it sight unseen so worst case i'll fix the steering pump and sell it if it doesn't. on a side note hoping it also has an LT-1 in it, even a 350 at least. 350 will go nicely into the astro or the LT-1 i can put into another project. anything but the 305.

[Smiliesafari]

Yes, Skippy, the same part number applies to your '96. I think the change comes into affect when the wheel bolt pattern was changed to six lugs.

[skippy]

Thanx Skip !!!

[Xephius]

Hey all,

I am working on wrapping up some of the loose ends on my van to get it running from the V8 conversions, and brakes are in that pile of "broken" items from the conversion.

So, the ABS no longer work because I lost the ECU ('95 V6 RWD Astro) that controlled it. I am adding a ECU ('95 TransAm LT1) that had ABS control, but for a different model. Because I am going to loose my ABS, I want to remove that massive clumsy box hanging under the Hydrobooster. Has anyone else removed that and gone back to a standard brake proportioning valve? I would like to remove the ABS controller this weekend, but don't know what to put back in its place. Anyone with a Non-ABS RWD able to help?

[Smiliesafari]

I haven't done what you are contemplating. So this is a calculated guess. The ABS and proportioning valve are two separate systems. ABS modulates brake pressure according to wheel rpm. Proportioning valves apply pressure to the front brakes first so as to not lockup the rear brakes first causing the rearend of the vehicle to try to pass the front end. If your van has a separate proporationing valve you can keep it in place. It will work as it should. My 96 Safari has the proporationing valve as an integral part of the ABS unit. If yours is the same you will need a stand alone proporationing valve. One from an earlier van will work fine. I might add that you will be ahead of the game if you buy a new one. The major cause of proporationing valve failure is the crud that accumulates in them making the internal valves stick. They are not serviceable. Pay attention to how they are plumbed.

[SoCalli V8]

My `86 Cargo never came with abs, but when I upgraded to 11inch rear drums powered by hydro-boost and upgraded front calipers with the larger pad area, I used an adjustable Wilwood proportioning valve. This was back in `98 when I couldn`t get my rear Cadillac rotors, calipers and master, to work due to not enough fluid volume getting back to the rears.