Brake Line/Axle Upgrage Question

[rlhenry61]

I've got a '69 F250 that I am swapping a '76 F250 Dana 44HD axle into. The upgrade for disk brakes, open knuckles, etc. has all been worth the time and money so far.

However, I did run into an issue with the brake lines. I bought the brake lines for the '76 truck (so they would fit the caliper) but found out that the thread pattern/size on the other end of the line is different than the '69 line. As far as I can tell, the '69 has your standard 3/16 line/fitting but the '76 must have had either a larger SAE size or a metric size. So my question is; should I look for some time of male/female brass adapter fitting to make my existing set-up work, or does someone know of a year/model of line that I could use that would fit the '76 caliper but also fit the '69 line?

Related to this, when I bolted up the loaded calipers to the the bracket/rotor and tighted them down, they seem to clamp way too hard. I can't begin to turn the rotor at all. I haven't tried it with the tire/wheel bolted up and I haven't been able to do any brake pressure testing since the lines don't work, but it seems that the calipers are clamping way too hard without any pressure in the system. Are the two big caliper bolts supposed to be torqued all the way down? Backing them off seems like a bad idea since there isn't anything to keep them from backing all the way out.

Anyway, the rebuild/swap has gone great...just a few hangups...any help would be much appreciate. I'm running out of beer while trying to figure this one out...

[fordman]

what i might do is to order steel lines for the 76 and how they reach the rubber lines and the proportioning valve. but you can probably mount the valve where ever you want to that they reach.

[rlhenry61]

Thank you, Fordman.

I thought about doing the same thing; replace the steel lines all the way back to the master cylinder. In fact, the MC/Break Booster came off of a '74 or '75 junk yard truck. I had to use a brass adapter to make the stock '69 brake lines mate up to the newer MC. Damn, I should have remembered that, but I did that upgrade 3 years ago.

That means I've got two things to consider; replace the steel lines entirely and eliminate the need for adapters/reducers...or find two more of the adapters/reducers that I already know do exist. Hell, I've got one on the system already! Damn, I love these forums...if nothing else, they make you consider options that hadn't already occured to you. Sometimes we don't see the forest for the trees.

Thanks, bud. You're a huge help with a single post.

[fordman]

if i was doing it that is the way i would do it. there are other ways to rig stuff up. but doing a professional job. is the way to go.

[rlhenry61]

I have to agree...you are guilting me into the right-fix rather than the easy-fix.

[fordman]

i have rigged stuff up before and had to go back and work on it again. then i changed the rigging to the right way. it wasnt the rigging that went bad though.

[rlhenry61]

Yup, been there many times myself and, for the most part, I've learned my lessons....though there are plenty more to be learned!

[fordman]

yep and i did it again today. non professional work gave me a 5 mile hike to get home to get my truck.

[rlhenry61]

fordman

More on the brake issues I've been having. When I rebuilt the axle, I purchased new rotors, caplipers and pads (among other things), but now that it is all assembled, I can' turn the rotors. If I back out the two big caliper bolts that hold the whole thing together, it frees up the rotor. Do you know if there is supposed to be some sort of spacer/shim between the two halves of the caliper? I think the two big bolts are supposed to be torqued all the way down. It could be that once everything is assembled, bled and rolling it will break in just fine, but it seems like they are way too tight.

Did I possible miss something in putting them together? It's worth noting that all my other vehicles are Chevy/GMC so this is my first stab at working on the Ford brake systems...that makes it entirely possible that I've messed something up!

[forrestbump]

When I rebuilt the axle, I purchased new rotors, caplipers and pads (among other things), but now that it is all assembled, I can' turn the rotors.

Are you trying to turn the rotors by hand? If so, you won't have enough leverage. Bolt a wheel/tire combination up to your hub then see if it spins. Usually after installing new brakes and rotors, there will be some interference between the two until their broken in.

Sounds normal to me unless it won't spin with a wheel and tire installed. If so, than it's dis-assembly time to retrace your steps.

[fordman]

i'd try that.

[rlhenry61]

Thanks, guys. I'll give it a shot. The axle is installed now, so it will be easier to mount the wheel and give it a spin. I'm use to the one-piece calipers...once you fully collapse the pistons and install new pads/rotos there is usually still enough space to spin the rotor.

[rlhenry61]

Well, it's all done and things are working just fine. Got the brake-line issue corrected and the rotors did spin once a tire/wheel combo was mounted up. I still need to get it aligned/toe set and I'm going to add a stabilizer. Braking isn't quite what I'd hoped it would be, but I'm positive it's the junk-yard booster/master cylinder combo I installed a few years ago. That's next up for replacement.

Thanks for the input and suggestions.