Bigger, Better Brakes on a 97 2500

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cheerdude63

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Anyone out there have a good recepie for better brakes on a 2500 truck. I see a ton of stuff on here for the 1500 but not much for a 2500. Are there any good kits out there that would be worth doing a rear 14bolt disc conversion on with? Is there an upgrade kit for a bigger front disc? I found a 97HD chassis with a rear Disc DRW 14bolt, would that stuff bolt to the SRW axle, what about the front brakes, they have to be bigger than the 2500? Any advice out there from the forum would be cool. thanks.
 

454cid

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Are there any good kits out there that would be worth doing a rear 14bolt disc

I have never done a rear disc conversion, or driven one, but the ones I see and hear about don't impress me much. If I were going to put discs on the back of my truck, I'd want to grab a GMT-800 14 bolt and move the spring perches and shock mounts. The GMT-800s have factory discs.

I found a 97HD chassis with a rear Disc DRW 14bolt, would that stuff bolt to the SRW axle,

The only 97HD that I know of is the 3500HD which shares the cab with the GMT-400 pickups, but the chassis is completely different. It should be a Dana 80 axle, and I doubt anything would swap. If you are talking about a C or K 3500 pickup, it's not going to have factory rear discs.

what about the front brakes, they have to be bigger than the 2500? Any advice out there from the forum would be cool. thanks.

Assuming you're talking about a 4wd 8-lug truck, the calipers, pads, and rotors that are used on the front of the DRW trucks is a direct swap. So that would be the 459 pads instead of the 370 pads, thicker rotors and larger diameter pistons in the calipers. I considered swapping the larger DRW brake cylinders into the rear, but apparently the lines/fittings are different, and since I already have new wheel cylinders I probably won't bother messing with trying to swap the larger cylinders in.

If you have a 2wd truck, look at the 2002 1-ton vans for rotors... maybe a couple of years earlier. The pads and calipers would be the same as I mentioned before. I don't know that those rotors would work for sure, but I would suspect they would... My truck is a 4x4.
 
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someotherguy

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I found a 97HD chassis with a rear Disc DRW 14bolt
No such animal. Either you found a 14 bolt that had discs added, or if you were really looking at an HD then that's a Dana 80 which is an 11.5" ring gear monster with a 10x7.25" lug pattern, and would have either 4.63 or 5.13 gears in it. Probably not exactly a great swap candidate for you. That was literally the only GMT400 rear that came with discs.

Richard
 

JackE

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I found a place that makes a complete rear disk swap for about $400 for our 2500's. I can't find it again, but I have it bookmarked on my home computer and will add it later. My question is what needs to be changed on the other end? Master cylinder, proportioning valve, which I think is incorporated in the ABS module on the '96 and up. Is it best to just delete the ABS and put an old style proportioning valve in it?
 

cheerdude63

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454cid, thanks for the info, sounds like if I just upgraded to the 3500 4x4 DRW stuff that would be the best and probably adequate for what I need.

someotherguy, I guess I just assumed it was a 14 bolt. I am thinking it is the Dana 80, so I will not go that direction.

Thanks again guys. I wish I knew how to quote people like you guys can haha.
 

454cid

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454cid, thanks for the info, sounds like if I just upgraded to the 3500 4x4 DRW stuff that would be the best and probably adequate for what I need.

It's certainly the easiest thing to do. It's still not GMT-800 level brakes.

What is your RPO code for brakes? JB7? JD7?

Thanks again guys. I wish I knew how to quote people like you guys can haha.

You put [quote&] and [/quote&] around the text, but without the &. You can also do it from the editor menu under the + sign.
 

someotherguy

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I'll also throw this into the mix; while it's important that your rear brakes are working properly - they only play a supporting role in the overall braking power of your vehicle. The split is like 70/30 front/rear. If you want noticeable improvements in braking power, first make sure the rears are adjusted and working properly...then look into upgrades for the front.

Despite lots of internet and marketing claims otherwise, there's no magic brake pad, drilled/slotted/plated/frozen/sprinkled/smothered rotor, or fancy caliper that will accomplish this unless the pad is seriously more aggressive compound than stock, and the rotors are considerably larger and calipers multi-piston. Same goes for stainless braided lines. They look nice (and you'll never see them) and they are durable but the one real benefit they offer is if you're using them to replace stock hoses that have gone bad.

I don't personally know of any upgrades for the front on an 8 lug 2500. I think they're already pretty stout. If you have a vacuum booster, you could try the hydroboost conversion. Obviously doesn't increase the power of the rest of the system, but makes it easier for your foot to apply maximum force to what you've got.

Richard
 

JackE

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Thanks again guys. I wish I knew how to quote people like you guys can haha.
If you highlight the parts you want to quote, a message will appear that says +Quote. Click that, then in the reply window in the bottom left corner, click the 'Add Quote' tab. That puts it into the reply box, then you add your message.
 

454cid

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Despite lots of internet and marketing claims otherwise, there's no magic brake pad, drilled/slotted/plated/frozen/sprinkled/smothered rotor

I actually heard of frozen a few years back. I haven't heard of it lately, Though.

Mine are the best kind...."Wholesale Closeout" :Big Laugh:
 

malibu795

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00-10? 2500/3500srw with 6.0 engines had GM FF 14B 10.5 with 12.9-13" disc brakes..
00-10? 2500 suburbans got the 9.5 SF 14B with disc brakes

GM455 chassis (92-02) as stated, had 14" disc brakes all around with either 3 3/8" single piston calipers or dual 2.6" piston calipers and 10-7.25 BS

iirc AAM took over the 10.5" stuff in '11 with the 900 series trucks

SN
01-10 SRW 2500/3500 SRW trucks and suburban runs same rotor/pads/calipers
fronts are all the same
rears are all the same
pads/calipers are inter changeable F/R
rears and hub parking brake
DRW are longer for duals run same pad/caliper as everything else
 
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