tekazgtr1984 Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 I found this when I was on Rugged Rocks and was wondering about it... Rear disc-brake conversion Is this possible on the R50 rear axle? It'd be nice to look into beefing up the brakes all around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 I saw that over on Ronin Wheelers site, and wanted to do it. Just dont have the time nor the tools or money for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 25, 2010 Author Share Posted April 25, 2010 I'd like to learn more about it before making an attempt. And some help would be nice, too. I may have to look into this more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift220 Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 It's on my list to do. I was thinking Titan would be a good candidate but parts are hard to come by around here. Now i'm thinking 1/2 ton Chevy rear discs and some custom made brackets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorgan4 Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 How much do you want to spend....I have some free time and have all the front disc brake parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorgan4 Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 Actually....the way he did it using OEM rear brake parts is the better idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 26, 2010 Author Share Posted April 26, 2010 I'd like to find a way to run Brembo brakes all around! To be honest, I just want to get rid of ugly, archaic drums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 interesting. But which pathfinder brakes did he use? WD21 or R50? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 26, 2010 Author Share Posted April 26, 2010 My guess is WD21 because his truck's a D21 Hardbody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 26, 2010 Author Share Posted April 26, 2010 Two problems with using front brakes. Too large and no E-brake. It would be nice to have a spare axle to mock them up on though.. X2. I'll keep my eyes open for one at junkers here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 (edited) Two problems with using front brakes. Too large and no E-brake. It would be nice to have a spare axle to mock them up on though.. You're right. Now that I think about it, this was done with a WD21/D21 axle. The WD21 had a rear disk option. so ebrake was made to work with it. Damn. But, I wonder of there is a way, with a little modification, to make the rear brakes work from a WD21...Hmm... Might work. Looking at the diagrams on courtest nissan, alot of the parts from the wd21 and r50 drums are the same. the internals are a bit different, but uses the same shoes, cylinder, rear plate assembly, ect. The thing i don't get though, is that if you order a complete drum brake assembly, even though the diagrams show that they have some differences, the part numbers for the whole assembly is the same. makes me wonder... wd21 r50 Jose Edited April 26, 2010 by 180sx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 26, 2010 Author Share Posted April 26, 2010 I'm sure with enough time and money anything could be possible regarding this modification. That being said, I wouldn't swap in WD21 discs because they're designed for the WD21. I'd rather look into aftermarket discs (i.e., Brembo, Baer, etc.) and improve on the overall braking of the R50, taking into consideration larger tires and added weight (bumper, winch, roof rack, gear, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxman0324 Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 I'm sure with enough time and money anything could be possible regarding this modification. That being said, I wouldn't swap in WD21 discs because they're designed for the WD21. I'd rather look into aftermarket discs (i.e., Brembo, Baer, etc.) and improve on the overall braking of the R50, taking into consideration larger tires and added weight (bumper, winch, roof rack, gear, etc.) You don't think even WD21 disks would be better than R50 drums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 26, 2010 Author Share Posted April 26, 2010 You don't think even WD21 disks would be better than R50 drums? For aesthetic reasons, absolutely. I'm pretty sure for functionality, the R50 drums perform better than the WD21 discs. I could be wrong, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxman0324 Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 For aesthetic reasons, absolutely. I'm pretty sure for functionality, the R50 drums perform better than the WD21 discs. I could be wrong, though. i have no idea, i am interested in hearing if someone knows or if they do it what the results are... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted April 26, 2010 Author Share Posted April 26, 2010 i have no idea, i am interested in hearing if someone knows or if they do it what the results are... X2. Drums are ugly and lame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteeevO Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Thanks for linking to the Rugged Rocks forum! and i love my forum and everything but... Here is a better & more step-by-step writeup: http://crawlernews.com/2010/04/nissan-frontier-xterra-rear-disk-brake-conversion-2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 So... This swap is possible on the R50? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteeevO Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 I would say yes. Nothing immediately comes to mind that would prevent it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted May 2, 2010 Author Share Posted May 2, 2010 Okay, I need to clarify this. It's not a matter of using the 31-spline shafts. Rather, it's about pressing out the backing plates out of the WD21 axle shafts and then pressing them into the R50 ones. Am I coming to the right conclusion based on what I read on that write-up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 That sounds about right from what I got. Axle spline count has nothing to do with it (as originally thought). I think this is a worthwhile upgrade. If the D22 and X use it, and they should have the same drums we do, then this is an upgrade. I'm excited about this. Jose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted May 2, 2010 Author Share Posted May 2, 2010 That sounds about right from what I got. Axle spline count has nothing to do with it (as originally thought). I think this is a worthwhile upgrade. If the D22 and X use it, and they should have the same drums we do, then this is an upgrade. I'm excited about this. Jose X2, X2, X2!!! I'm gonna source a rear WD21 axle with discs and see if I can find a hydraulic press to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 New idea. Do you think the Patrol brakes could be made to work? Maybe not. Hmm... Wish I had pics of an axle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted May 3, 2010 Author Share Posted May 3, 2010 New idea. Do you think the Patrol brakes could be made to work? Maybe not. Hmm... Wish I had pics of an axle... I don't see why not. It's the same rear axle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 X2, X2, X2!!! I'm gonna source a rear WD21 axle with discs and see if I can find a hydraulic press to use. You don't need a press. Magregor and I did this on his first wd21 (swapped backing plates and bearings). Pm him I am sure he will tell you how to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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