Zerocell5688 Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 ok so the issue at hand is i've been slowly rebuilding my Z getting things cleaned up and repaired (rebuilt stock halfshaft on pass side, new coil/plugs/wires/air cleaner/vacuum the works ) and i'm down to getting my brakes taken care of. I'm kinda a broke kid so i'm working on a bit of a budget. I'm wanting to get the M-M rear brake conversion kit and get rid of my crappy drums and get some discs hooked up on the back. I'm diggin threw U-Pull to see what i can do about getting me some calipers but my concern is can i swap the rear brakes the 240SX discs onto my "stock" Z with the stock MC or do i need to hook up the 15/16 MC first? I'm intending on putting the 15/16 i have in it already i'm just not sure if its totally necessary to do this right away of it a can wait till i'm ready to do the front swap to the S12W calipers. To my understanding i also need to hook up a brake porportioning valve when i go to the 15/16 with upgraded brakes but would i need that right away? I've been checking the FAQ's and all the posts i can but this is a little different so i figured i'd ask maybe someone else is in the same boat anyways thanks everyone PEACE! ~J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Having done the 280zx rear disc swap (the same as 240sx) the improvement I noticed was not a large one and was probably more due to a different factor than the rear disc brakes themselves (the brake pads being the largest factor). I used a 15/16 MC and adjustable prop valve. I drove it with stock MC and felt the 15/16 one is a good improvement. I would recommend it, along with the prop valve. If youve searched around you already know stock brakes work fine for most applications, theyre not really THAT crappy, so any upgrades done here are because you want to do them... and less because you need to. Therefore, if youre really on a tight budget I would recommend some higher quality brake pads and shoes and some SS braided lines. These will greatly improve braking, cost less, and require less work to setup. This will leave time and budget for other (possibly more necessary) modifications to the car.... Just my opinion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerocell5688 Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 Having done the 280zx rear disc swap (the same as 240sx) the improvement I noticed was not a large one and was probably more due to a different factor than the rear disc brakes themselves (the brake pads being the largest factor). I used a 15/16 MC and adjustable prop valve. I drove it with stock MC and felt the 15/16 one is a good improvement. I would recommend it, along with the prop valve. If youve searched around you already know stock brakes work fine for most applications, theyre not really THAT crappy, so any upgrades done here are because you want to do them... and less because you need to. Therefore, if youre really on a tight budget I would recommend some higher quality brake pads and shoes and some SS braided lines. These will greatly improve braking, cost less, and require less work to setup. This will leave time and budget for other (possibly more necessary) modifications to the car.... Just my opinion... You may be right. I was mainly wanting the rear brakes swapped cause i effing hate dealing with the rear drums. the fronts seem to work pretty good but my rears are shot to hell and i hate how the ebrake operates except when i'm parking it, than it works great. My 15/16 that i got has the bleeders on the opposite side would that make a big difference? it came off a 79 manual N/A and its got the same mount pattern as my stock one so i figured it would be the same. I wish i had some pictures of it. I know the "stock brakes" are good enough for general use would it be worth it to rebuilt the drums or woud i be better off just spending the money and get the disks? I just got done spending $500 for shocks which isn't bad compared to what some of you have spent but for me thats a heavy hit and the "Full" Rear Brake Conversion Kit from Modern-Motorsport is $435 http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=2 with rotors and everything but i don't think its got calipers and i've been having trouble finding a 240SX out here that someone hasn't stripped everything off of it. Thats the only thing holding me back besides over drew like crazy when i ordered my shocks thats life i guess. anyways i'll shut up now tell me what you think. ~J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 15/16 MC will bolt up just fine. Before you put it on you will have to adjust the pushrod inside the booster. Otherwise your brakes wont engage hardly when you push the pedal. Try www.car-part.com they might have some calipers listed. The swap is definitely not cheap. Ultimately its your call what you spend your money on. I knew I wouldnt see a great improvement in braking, but I did the swap anyway because I wanted to. Servicing your drum brakes and adding nice brake pads, shoes and SS lines will likely cost less then the disc brake swap but it really just depends on what you prefer to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerocell5688 Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 15/16 MC will bolt up just fine. Before you put it on you will have to adjust the pushrod inside the booster. Otherwise your brakes wont engage hardly when you push the pedal. Try www.car-part.com they might have some calipers listed. The swap is definitely not cheap. Ultimately its your call what you spend your money on. I knew I wouldnt see a great improvement in braking, but I did the swap anyway because I wanted to. Servicing your drum brakes and adding nice brake pads, shoes and SS lines will likely cost less then the disc brake swap but it really just depends on what you prefer to do. I'm a broke fool right now like BAD BAD BAD maybe for cost effective-ness(is that even a word?) i should just rebuild thr drums $150-200 isn't as bad as $500 for sure but i'd hate to rebuild everything just to tear it off later seems like a waste but its cheaper than wrecking with NO brakes a guess lol ~J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stravi757 Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 15/16 MC will bolt up just fine. Before you put it on you will have to adjust the pushrod inside the booster. Otherwise your brakes wont engage hardly when you push the pedal. Try www.car-part.com they might have some calipers listed. The swap is definitely not cheap. Ultimately its your call what you spend your money on. I knew I wouldnt see a great improvement in braking, but I did the swap anyway because I wanted to. Servicing your drum brakes and adding nice brake pads, shoes and SS lines will likely cost less then the disc brake swap but it really just depends on what you prefer to do. When i upgraded to the 15/16 mc I didn't notice a difference at all in my pedal movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerocell5688 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 (edited) 15/16 MC will bolt up just fine. Before you put it on you will have to adjust the pushrod inside the booster. Otherwise your brakes wont engage hardly when you push the pedal. Try www.car-part.com they might have some calipers listed. The swap is definitely not cheap. Ultimately its your call what you spend your money on. I knew I wouldnt see a great improvement in braking, but I did the swap anyway because I wanted to. Servicing your drum brakes and adding nice brake pads, shoes and SS lines will likely cost less then the disc brake swap but it really just depends on what you prefer to do. How would i adjust the pushrod just push it back a certain distance or what When i upgraded to the 15/16 mc I didn't notice a difference at all in my pedal movement. Stravi so you just bolted it up and cruised on? interesting.... I wonder if you two had different MC's or maybe stravi you adjusted yours and didn't know it? any other opinions on this? Edited October 2, 2009 by Zerocell5688 had to finish my sentence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stravi757 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 And i forgot to add, my brakes are all stock right now with the exception of SS lines, my brake conversion on all four corners doesn't come in till tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerocell5688 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 And i forgot to add, my brakes are all stock right now with the exception of SS lines, my brake conversion on all four corners doesn't come in till tomorrow. oh well that may have an impact on it . I'm supposed to be recieving my shocks this weekend so i'll probably be installing the 15/16 MC, new Hitachi alternator and new TOKICO ILLUMINAS!!! unless they screwed up and i don't get them till next week:rolleyesg anyways your still runnin the drums in the back currently right Stravi? Who'd you get your conversion stuff from? Just curious i like people opinions on the companies they get from they tend to REALLY help avoiding the screw ups. ~J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stravi757 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 yes i still have drums in the rear. I bought my stuff from Modern-Motorsports. I got the vented four piston stuff for the front and 240sx stuff for the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerocell5688 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 yes i still have drums in the rear. I bought my stuff from Modern-Motorsports. I got the vented four piston stuff for the front and 240sx stuff for the rear. Thats the same kit I'm gonna get once I can save up the money to order it anyway let me know how your install goes ok? I'm probably gonna have to go junkyard running this weekend to get new or rather new to me drums so i can save money for the good stuff! Poor old car deserves some goodness considering I put 100 miles a day on her lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Nothing wrong with the stock drums. I ran the Toyota S12W calipers and 300zx rotors on front with stock drums on back. I bought good pads all around, and had SS flex lines and a stock m/c 7/8's. I drove that for almost 10 years, and had lots of seat time on the track. It worked very well. If this is mainly a STREET car, the above setup is plenty good enough, anything more and you would be doing it because you can/want to and/or for bling bling effect. That is just my experience and my 0.02 cents. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stravi757 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Nothing wrong with the stock drums. I ran the Toyota S12W calipers and 300zx rotors on front with stock drums on back. I bought good pads all around, and had SS flex lines and a stock m/c 7/8's. I drove that for almost 10 years, and had lots of seat time on the track. It worked very well. If this is mainly a STREET car, the above setup is plenty good enough, anything more and you would be doing it because you can/want to and/or for bling bling effect. That is just my experience and my 0.02 cents. Scott That's is absolutely correct, the main reason for doing the rear swap for me is i cant stand the look of drum brakes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerocell5688 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 That's is absolutely correct, the main reason for doing the rear swap for me is i cant stand the look of drum brakes! i'll admit it i'm lazy and to be perfectly honest i can't figure out how the !!!! to get the rear drums off... i know f'n newbish.. i've had the car for like 7 years and we've NEVER done the rear brakes and i've been spending the last 3 weekends in here and i just haven't gotten to sorting it out. Drums are a freakin pain in general to deal with thats why i want to convert it cause i'm a damn lazy american and i wanna sexy lookin disc setup in the back! so i guess convienence and asthetics are my primary motivation. I have to get larger rims than the stock steelies to fit the 240SX calipers don't i? I can't 'member off hand. ~J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 The drums may be seized on the hub. This is a pain to take off. Do some searching around, people have employed various strategies to removing it. Most of them involve a torch and a big hammer. Dont know if its an option for you or not but I took both struts with the suspension arm, to a reputable machine shop. I had them press out the brake drum as well as the spindle pin. It saved me a lot of time and was pretty cheap considering how much of a hassle it must have been for them to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerocell5688 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 The drums may be seized on the hub. This is a pain to take off. Do some searching around, people have employed various strategies to removing it. Most of them involve a torch and a big hammer. Dont know if its an option for you or not but I took both struts with the suspension arm, to a reputable machine shop. I had them press out the brake drum as well as the spindle pin. It saved me a lot of time and was pretty cheap considering how much of a hassle it must have been for them to do it. oh wow i just so happen to have a big Sledge hammer and a Big Torch i borrowed to do my u-joints.. hm.... I've heard of the nightmares of the spindle pin.... i'm not sure what it is or what the deal is but i imagine i may find out when i put in my Tokicos. I try to do as much as possible on the weekends so i can drive to work all week and make the money to keep putting it together. Its my only car so i have to be kool like Fonzi with her but i may end up having to go hat way. so you just took off the whole damn control arm off and took it to them? thats pretty kool! i'l just try beating and burnin it off. I wanna get those adjustable control arms for the rear from M-M but i'm a broke fool and thats totally not happening this weekend. anyways thanks for all the advice its really helping! This is why i keep on HBZ! ~J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Stuck drum If you don't want to keep the drums, carefully drill the drum around the hub overlapping each drill hole until you go full circle. I did this on my first 240Z with stuck drums and was careful not to run the drill into the hub or to drill too deep. Once I drilled all the way around the hub I whacked the drum from the back side with a 5lb hammer and the drum came off. There was no damage to the hub. I also tried all of the other techniques for stuck drum removal, but this was the only way to get the drum off without taking the whole strut to a machine shop. I just did the 240sx rear breaks after screwing with drum brake maintenance for 7 years. Free at last. No more drum maintenance. The 240SX rear upgrade is not a great performance upgrade IMO. The car stops about the same, just less maintenance. Miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerocell5688 Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 Stuck drum If you don't want to keep the drums, carefully drill the drum around the hub overlapping each drill hole until you go full circle. I did this on my first 240Z with stuck drums and was careful not to run the drill into the hub or to drill too deep. Once I drilled all the way around the hub I whacked the drum from the back side with a 5lb hammer and the drum came off. There was no damage to the hub. I also tried all of the other techniques for stuck drum removal, but this was the only way to get the drum off without taking the whole strut to a machine shop. I just did the 240sx rear breaks after screwing with drum brake maintenance for 7 years. Free at last. No more drum maintenance. The 240SX rear upgrade is not a great performance upgrade IMO. The car stops about the same, just less maintenance. Miles Yea drum maintainance is a pain i'm so not into dealin with it anymore. So the conversion is more for ease of use than performance? I can dig it that alone is worth the investment. My time is money and the less time i'm spending screwing around with car and the more time i can spend ACTUALLY using it and enjoying it is priceless.... for now... till the totals for pricing come in for everything lol than i can give ya'll an exact number. Did you have to change your rim/wheels when you upgraded the rear Miles? ~J ~J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 My 15 inch Eagle wheels and a new set of 15 inch Ansen Sprint slotted wheels both fit over the 240SxX calipers with room to spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerocell5688 Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 My 15 inch Eagle wheels and a new set of 15 inch Ansen Sprint slotted wheels both fit over the 240SxX calipers with room to spare. wow yea you've got great clearance. but i've got the regular stock 14" Steelies with Z Hub caps on mine :burnout:lol Think they'd clear or would that just be too damn close? i like the clearance you have on your 15's and your runnin on 205/50R15 tires right? ~J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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