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SectionEditor
ScottGomez
<pglyph@offroad.com>
GraphicsEditor
WilliamJohnston
<billjohn@offroad.com>
Sidekick/Tracker
Reardiscbrakesareapopularupgradeformanyvehicles,
includingtheSuzukiSamurai.Spidertraxsellsabolton
reardiscconversionkit,butbuildingyourownreardisc
conversionisnotasdifficultasitmightseem.
Reardiscsareadesirableupgradebecausetheyoffer
numerousadvantagesoverthestockreardrumbrakes.
Discsarelesssusceptibletomudanddirtreducingtheir
effectiveness,providemuchmoreclampingpower,canbe
morepreciselymodulated,arelesspronetobrakefade,
workjustaseffectivelyinforwardorreverseandthey
makeservicingthebrakesandtherearaxlemuchsimpler.
Aweldonreardiscconversionisverysimplewhenituses
thestockSamuraifrontbrakehardware.Inbuildingthis
rearaxle,weusedthestockfrontcalipers,calipermounts,
brakehoses,androtors.
Startingwithastockrearaxlehousing,we'll
weldcalipermountstotheendsofthe
housing.Themountswillhavea2"notch
cutintothemtoallowthemtofitoverthe
axletubeandthenslideoveragainstthe
axlehousingflange.Insteadofcuttingthenotchinthe
centeratthebottom,offsetittoallowthreeoutofthefour
boltholestobereused,ratherthanjusttwooutofthefour
AaronAndrews
<aarona@offroad.com>
Technical
CoEditors
GeoffBeasley
<beasley@offroad.com>
AdamLeach
<leach@offroad.com>
aswedidonthisaxle.Youcanthentipthemountsforward
sothatthebackingplateboltswillfitthroughthemounts.
Weldingofthecalipermountstothe
housingmustbedonebysomeoneknowing
howtoweldproperly.Ifthehousingis
heateduptoomuch,itwillshrinkandmake
installingtheaxlesmoredifficult.Also,
strongweldsareanecessityforensuring
safety.Triplecheckthealignmentofthe
mountsbeforebeginningtoweldthem,andmakesurethey
arefirmlyclampedtothehousingsothattheydontslip.
Afterweldingiscomplete,useadrilltoextendtheflange
holesthroughthecalipermountssothatthebackingplate
canbeboltedon.
Thestockdrumbrakebackingplatesmustbecutdownto
thesizeoftheaxlehousingflange.Alternatively,youcan
usetheOEMSJ410backingplates,whichIhadalready
installedonmyaxlespreviously,makingthedisc
conversioneveneasier.
Thenextmajorstepis
makingtheaxletowheel
adapterplatesfromapairof
Samuraibrakedrums.Allthisdoesisallow
the5lugwheelstobolttothe4lugaxleends.Youcan
hammerouttheoldstudsandtakethedrumstoamachine
shoptohavethemcutonalathe.
You'llalsoneedtoinstalllongerfrontwheel
studs,whicharenecessaryto
accommodatetheadditionalthicknessof
therotors.
Theaxlescanthenbe
reinstalledinthehousing.SincetheSJ410
backingplatesweredesignedtobolttothe
flangeswithanotherplatebetweenthem,I
usedacoupleofwashersoneachboltto
properlyspacethebackingplatefromthe
housing.Theboltswhichpassthroughthecalipermounts
willneedtobelongerthanstock.
Next,theadapterplatescanbeboltedto
theendsoftheaxlesandtherotorsbolted
inplace.Withtherotorsecurelyinplace,
thecaliperscanbefittedoverthediscsand
boltedtothecalipermounts,usingwashers
betweenthecalipersandthemountsto
properlyalignthemonthediscs.
Usingthestockrearbrakelines,afrontbrakehosecanbe
installedbetweeneachcaliperandthehardlinesandthe
brakesystemcanthenberefilledandbled.
Whileanadjustableproportioningvalveisnotstrictly
necessaryforatrailonlyvehicle,astreetdrivenSamurai
requiresaproportioningvalvetocompensateforthe
increasedstoppingpowerofthereardiscs.Prematurerear
lockupwillotherwisebeaproblem,especiallyonwet
pavement.Spidertraxsellsseparatelythesame
proportioningvalvesetupthatisincludedintheirbrakeline
kitswehighlyrecommendinstallingone.Failuretodoso
putsnotonlyyourlife,butalsothelivesofyour
passengersandothermotoristsindanger.
Youshouldalsoplanonconvertingyourvehiclefrom
dualdiagonalsplitbrakingtofrontrearsplitbrakingif
required.Samuraishavingdualrearbrakelinesare
'dualdiagonalvehicles'andmustbeconvertedforsafe
brakingwhenusingreardiscs.Thisiseasilyaccomplished
byswappingthepositionoftwoofthebrakelinesatthe
brakelineheaderinsidethepassengersideoftheframeat
thefrontofthetruck.Seeourtecharticleaboutinstalling
theSpidertraxBrakeLineKitfordetails.
Beforeanyhighspeedtesting,somegentlebrakingatlow
speedsinasafeareaisanecessaryprecaution.If
preliminarytestsrevealnoproblems,graduallyworkyour
speedupandincreaseyourbrakingpressureasyoutest
thenewbrakes,keepinginmindthatyouwilllikelyhave
usedbrandnewbrakepadsandfreshlyturnedrotorsthat
maytendto'grab'.
Impressions
Initially,thenewbrakeswerequitegrabby
asthenewpadsandrotorsurfacesbegan
towearin.Veryquickly,thenewbrakesran
inandbegantoworkextremelywell.In
additiontoprovidingasignificantincreaseinbraking
power,modulationofthebrakesunderthresholdbrakingis
muchmoreprecise.Brakingstrengthoneachrearwheelis
nowequal,afarcryfromtheoldreardrums.Onroad,the
reardiscsmakeaverywelcomeimprovementinthe
Samuraisbrakingability,morethanmakingupforlarger
tires.
Offroad,thediscsareagainablessing.In
additiontoagreatincreaseinmodulation
capabilityonslipperysurfaces,theyare
alsounaffectedbywateranddirt.The
biggestimprovementofall,though,istheabilitytoback
downasteep,slipperysurfacein2wdandhavecontrolof
thesteeringandspeed.Withtheoldreardrumbrakes
ineffectivenessinreverse,backingdownasteephill
unloadedthefrontwheels,causingthemtolockupand
thuslosinganycontrolofthespeedofdescentand
steering.OnseveraloccasionsIhadclosecallsbecause
ofthisbrakingproblem.Thediscbrakespassedthis
definitivetestwithflyingcolors.
Oneotherimportantbenefitofthisreardisc
conversionisthe
simplificationof
maintenanceontherear
axle.Withoutthedrumbrakesintheway,removingan
axletakesnomorethan10minutes.AswithanSJ410
backingplateconversionforthedrumbrakes,carrying
spareaxlesonthetrailismuchmorecompactwithoutthe
hugeSamuraibackingplates.Changinganaxleisnow
simplerthanwithabackingplateconversionalone.Brake
padsshouldlastmuchlongerthantheolddrumbrake
shoesandtherearbrakesshouldnowbeaverylow
maintenanceitem.
Thebiggestdrawbacktoareardiscconversionisthelack
ofaparkingbrake.Theeasiestsolutionistheuseofeither
anSJ410transfercasemounteddrumparkingbrakeor
Spidertraxtransfercasemounteddiscparkingbrake.
Withoutaparkingbrake,itisrecommendedthatwhenever
thevehicleisleftunattended,theengineisshutoffwith
thetransfercaseleftinlowrangeandthetransmissionin
firstgear.
Ifaweldonreardiscconversionisntforyou,Spidertrax
boltondiscconversionkitprovidesallthesamebenefits
withoutthewelding.OrcontactChrisMinerichthe
technicaladvisorforthisarticlewhocanbuildamodified
rearhousingforyouandsupplytheothernecessaryparts.
Youwillnotethatwealso
addedatrussandskid
platestotherearaxlehousingtoprepareitforoffroad
abuse.Whilenotanecessarystepforthisconversion,
armoringandstrengtheningtheaxletubemakessense
whileyouhaveitremovedfromthevehicle.Chriscanalso
trusstheaxleforyou.
GeoffBeasley
TechnicalAdvisor:ChrisMinerich
SuzukiSectionCopyright19952000by PetroglyphComputing,
WilliamJohnston,GeoffBeasley,AdamLeach,JohnGehringandthevariouscontributors.
Suzuki,Samurai,Sidekick,Vitara,andtheSuzuki'S'logo,areregisteredtrademarks
ofSuzukiMotorCorporation.
30Nov200017:31
SCORELaughlin
January1216,2005
BITDParker250
January79,2005
UROCSuperCrawlIIIatSaltLakeCity,UT
October1417,2004
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