Swapping Rear Drum to Disc - What do I need? (99 Monte)

[Piston.Hurricane]

Guys,

 

I'm new to the W-body scene and was interested in swapping discs onto the rear of my '99 Monte LS. I see a ton of Z34s in the jy's around here and was hoping you guys could tell me what I need to gather in order to do this swap.

 

Right now, my car is an all original 65k mile example with ABS disc/drums.

 

Thanks!

[GJD5]

I did this swap. Not very difficult. You need the knucles, rotors, pads, calipers, rubber brake hoses on each side and the e-brake cables on each side.

 

The wheel bearings are actually the same.

 

I had to get the e-brake cables from the dealer because the stupid adjuster always rust out and I couldn't get them off...and the ones at the part stores didn't work.

 

That's it.

[Piston.Hurricane]

I did this swap. Not very difficult. You need the knucles, rotors, pads, calipers, rubber brake hoses on each side and the e-brake cables on each side.

 

The wheel bearings are actually the same.

 

I had to get the e-brake cables from the dealer because the stupid adjuster always rust out and I couldn't get them off...and the ones at the part stores didn't work.

 

That's it.

 

Sounds pretty simple, but I'm also curious if there's anything regarding the ABS I need to be concerned with.

 

How about fluid proportioning to the rear since there will now be a big caliper to feed instead of a small wheel cylinder? Any valve swapping needed?

 

I guess it sounds almost too simple.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

PH

[jman093]

Proportioning valves are almost always different between cars with drum and disc brakes. I'd go ahead and swap it as it's not going to give the rear enough pressure if you don't.

 

As far as ABS I'd go to a dealer parts department and ask them if the computer specifies different abs units between a disc and drum car. I wouldn't think that it's something you have to swap though. It wouldn't affect normal braking to not swap it, the bias just might be off under ABS stops. You're still going to get improved braking performance with the rear discs on there.

[GJD5]

ABS is not affected...you are fine. Porportining is in the master cylinder...the master cylinder is the same between a disc and non-disc vehicle. Your good. I did the swap on a 95 Z34 with ABS...no problems.

[Piston.Hurricane]

I picked up most of the hard parts I needed at the JY last weekend. Thanks for the input, guys.

 

One more question - Will the brakes function properly if the parking brake cables are not attached? I've been driving for over 30 years, and I've never even used a parking brake.

 

Thanks,

 

PH

 

 

[timg]

I did a rear swap and never connected my parking brake. No problems yet!

 

Tim