TCP Products' Four-Wheel Disc Brake Upgrade - Slow That Horse Down

4 To assemble the rotor, it’s placed over the billet hub and the mounting bolts, which require a dab of red Loctite, are installed by hand, and then tightened in an alternating sequence (like tightening lug nuts) to just 180 in-lbs.

5 Next, the hub assembly is secured to the rotor assembly via these button-head fasteners. Again, a dab of red Loctite is used to secure the bolts along with 55 ft-lb of torque via your torque wrench in yet again an alternating pattern.

6 Finally, safety wire the rotor-to-hat mounting bolts with 0.032 stainless steel safety wire and safety wire pliers. Wilwood has a great tutorial on safety wiring parts on its website at www.wilwood.com/pdf/ds386.pdf.

7 The Wilwood caliper adapter is drilled for both the early Ford drum and disc brake spindle mount patterns, so there’s no concern over needing to have the proper spindles to bolt the brake kit to like some kits have. However, the Wilwood instructions do have you drill and re-tap said holes to 3⁄8-24 fine thread, which you can do at home with a well-equipped toolbox, or you can have it performed at any decent machine shop for a few bucks.

8 Once the caliper mount has been installed and torqued to 40 ft-lb with red Loctite on the bolt’s threads, the rotor assembly can be placed onto the spindle and the outer wheel bearing, packed in grease, can be installed.

9 Follow the bearing with the spindle washer and retaining nut. Seat the bearings by tightening the retaining nut to 12 ft-lb, and then back the nut off until it is just “loose” and then hand tighten. Do this while ensuring that the cotter pin hole lines up with a set of slots in the retaining nut. Finally, install the cotter pin as shown and thread the dust cap onto the rotor.

10 The front calipers can now be installed over the rotors and bolted to the caliper mounting brackets. Place two of the supplied shims under the heads of the mounting bolts for a starting point. Tighten the caliper bolts enough to seat the assembly.

11 View the rotor through the caliper’s pad area and ensure the caliper is centered over the rotor. If it isn’t, remove the caliper mounting bolts and add or subtract shims to get the necessary clearance, ensuring you have the same number of shims on both bolts.

12 When you have the caliper properly spaced over the rotor, apply red Loctite to the two mounting bolts, tighten them to 40 ft-lb, and then safety wire the two mounting bolts. Finally, install the disc brake pads and pad retainer clip. Repeat for the other front disc/caliper assembly.

1 To install the rear disc brakes, you'll first need to remove the rear axles from your axle housing. Locate and remove the four retaining nuts and then the axle bearing retainer, then slide the axle out of the housing. Place the new T-bolts through the axle housing end and slip the parking brake assembly over the T-bolts, followed by reinstalling the axle shaft.

2 Reinstall the axle bearing retainer and then reinstall the stock Ford axle retainer nuts and washers to secure the axle and parking brake assembly to the axle housing. Repeat these steps for the other parking brake/axle combination.

3 The one-piece rear rotor is drilled for multiple bolt patterns, so you’ll need to locate the proper bolt pattern and then slide the rotor over your axle studs. Secure the rotor on each side temporarily with three open-ended lug nuts or standard hex nuts.

4 Just as we did with the front caliper installation, the rear calipers are installed and measured to ensure they are centered over the rear discs.

5 Should the calipers need to be moved in or out, just subtract or add shims as needed, once again remembering to have the same number of shims on both caliper bolts. You don’t want the caliper mounted in a crooked or “cocked” position, putting everything in a bind. Add red Loctite to the mounting bolts and secure at 30 ft-lb, followed by safety wire.

6 Once satisfied with the caliper position over the rear disc, insert the disc brake pads and secure them with the included pad retainer clip. Finally, repeat the last few steps for the other side.