Is it a straight bolt on? I have a 405 GR rally mule with rear drums that I want to convert to discs. I got an entire 405 Mi16 rear beam with brakes as a spare that I can bolt on, but if I can only swap the brakes I would prefer to do that.
405 GR rear beam, swapping drums with disc brakes
- Thread starter ThanosK
- Start date
The beams would be the same in terms of bolting up to the car, But the stab axles in the arms will be different Disc vs Drum. Its probably easier to swap the whole rear beam assembly vs trying to get the Stub axles out of the arms without damaging the Arm bearings. Come to think of it the beam will more than likely require rebuilding at this age.
I’ve done this converting diesels to disc.
Yeah, swap the whole setup. The lines are different but very easy to swap. There’s unions under the right front on the chassis rail where you can swap the lines to the back from. They follow the same path to the back of the car and will work. The master cylinder is different but I’m not sure the difference. I drove mine for a year or so with the drum type cylinder running the discs.
Yeah, swap the whole setup. The lines are different but very easy to swap. There’s unions under the right front on the chassis rail where you can swap the lines to the back from. They follow the same path to the back of the car and will work. The master cylinder is different but I’m not sure the difference. I drove mine for a year or so with the drum type cylinder running the discs.
Thank you. Just to clarify, I leave the rear beam in place, take out the drums and install the discs, or do I take off the entire rear beam and install the beam that has the disc brakes?
I should also say, while the disc brake setup is out, it’s a good time to go over it… there are some common things that wear out, mainly the bearings on the trailing arms, if you get into these early you’ll be better off, and also the rear brake caliper flexible lines often collapse internally. There are 2 each side so best fit new ones. You probably realize the handbrake cables to the calipers are different, but they connect in to the original center cable the same.
Also, it’s easy to swap out torsion bars and anti roll bars while it’s apart. In mine I ended up with a berlingo anti roll bar and S2 MI16 torsion bars. Depending on what you use the car for, there are a few options that fit.
Also, it’s easy to swap out torsion bars and anti roll bars while it’s apart. In mine I ended up with a berlingo anti roll bar and S2 MI16 torsion bars. Depending on what you use the car for, there are a few options that fit.
Thank you for that. Yes, the plan is to service the trailing arms with new bearings . My mechanic leaves the old ones in (he pushes them further in then skips the plastic and installs the new ones) and also attaches grease nipples. He said that it is like having a long, extremely resilient bearing that is frequently serviced with grease. I do have the hand brake cables and I am getting Goodridge brake hoses all around. I am hunting for Berlingo torsion bars and ARB. I am also told that 306 torsion bars fit if you shorten them 5 mm, so that too is an option. The car will be used as a rally mule, so I plan to get it as close to a rally car as possible.