Z32 Brake Conversion "How To"

[adrianstokes]

Parts you will need:-

1x pair of Z32 rear calipers
1x pair of Z32 rear disks
1x pair of Z32 rear pads
1x pair of Z32 backplates (including all drum handbrake parts)
Brake fluid so system may be bled on completion

AND some secondary handbrake cables that actually fit . I still believe that R33 GTS-T handbrake cables DO fit, but make sure you get R33 GTS-T cables and not some other bloody cable . (As you can tell I'm not speaking for experience or anything )

Tools you will/may need (in addition to normal):-

1x 36mm socket
1x 6ft breaker bar (strong 3ft breaker bar with steel tube may suffice - though I cannot recommend this for health and safety reasons)
1x Press - to remove hub from knuckle (though it can be done with a hammer too apparently )
1x suitably sized brake spanner

Okay, I'm sure I've probably forgotten something but I'll begin anyway...


Step 1

Get car on ramp/axle stands and remove rear wheels. Remove cotter pin as shown below...




Step 2

Remove locking ring from driveshaft and undo the 36mm hub nut using 6ft breaker bar. Judging by the way my breaker bar bent under the strain I'd say the bigger the bar the better.

Remove rear calipers, held on by 2x 17mm bolts IIRC. Remove rear disks; M8 bolts can be used to assist the removal if they are stiff.



And you should be left with...




Step 3

Remove the bolts that hold the upright/knuckle from the knuckle end, as the adjustments are at the chassis end. I personally left the ball joint connected as I was informed they have a habit of breaking.

[adrianstokes]

Step 4

Even with the ball joint connected you should now have enough movement in the upright to remove the driveshaft and you'll be left with something like...




Step 5

You should now have access to the 4 bolts holding the backplate onto the knuckle. These will require the use of a breaker bar to remove.




Step 6

Now remove the hub from the knuckle . Use whatever method you feel most comfortable with:

a) Smack it with a hammer till it comes out - this may take some time & swearing.
b) Use a press to push it out - much easier.

With either method it may be beneficial to remove the bottom arm so that the arm & knuckle assembly may be removed from the car. There are no adjustments on the two bolts holding the bottom arm onto the chassis so it won 't put your alignment out.

When that's all done you should be left with this...

[adrianstokes]

Step 7

Well, erm, basically you put it all back together (the same way you took it apart) with the new backplate and handbrake assembly and find the handbrake cable that you bought doesn't fit and decide your too angry/p*ssed off to take any more photos .

Steps to change handbrake cables are:
i) Back handbrake adjuster all the way off and release handbrake.
ii) Remove S14 cables.
iii) Install R33 GTS-T / custom cables.


Step 8

Change the calipers and bolt them back on . A brake spanner is useful for this job but you can always use molegrips (you may need to anyway if the nut is rounded).


Step 9

Adjust handbrake system at both ends & bleed the brake system .

(Can you tell that I lost interest when I didn't have any pictures)

[adrianstokes]

Step 10

When it is all done it should look something like this...



and I also did a 3000GT front disk conversion too which looks like this...



Hopefully this will be of some use to people looking to do this conversion. Nothing particularly difficult about the job just a very annoying and time consuming process - especially when the handbrake cables don't fit. If someone wants to take the missing pictures when they do theirs feel free .

Cheers,
Ade

[Cookie]

Nice , whats the 3000gt conversion exactly then.

C.

[Butuz]

Very nice - goddamnit why did i let Buffy have my rear brakes???

Once these new brembo disks i have wear down then i will do this upgrade for sure.

Thanks very much for taking the time to do a guide!

Butuz

[BenTaylor200]

Couple of points:

You can use cut down S13 backplates and handbrake assembly.
No mention of the large nut that needs to go on the back of the brake shoe pivot (or the fact that you need to fit the pivot for that matter).
If you remove the driveshaft by unbolting it from the diff you can get to all the bolts on the back of the hub and remove the hub and bearing carrier without removing the whole rear upright.

[Si]

Cool, another top guide i may well use in future Any idea how much it cost you in total? and have you felt the benefits?

Your car standas out as a proper stealthy street sleeper mate, liking it very much

[adrianstokes]

Originally Posted by BenTaylor200

No mention of the large nut that needs to go on the back of the brake shoe pivot (or the fact that you need to fit the pivot for that matter).
If you remove the driveshaft by unbolting it from the diff you can get to all the bolts on the back of the hub and remove the hub and bearing carrier without removing the whole rear upright.

Yeah, I presumed that the pivot and associated large nut would come with the other handbrake parts and it would be obvious where it needed to go during reassembly.

The handbrake assembly is kind of difficult to show without pictures I guess. So as an amendment don't forget to put the large nut on the back of the pivot when putting the handbrake assembly back together .

I like you're thinking with the driveshaft removal, a definate alternative. Although if you needed to use a press then you'd still need to removal the knuckle.

[adrianstokes]

Originally Posted by Midlands_si

Cool, another top guide i may well use in future Any idea how much it cost you in total? and have you felt the benefits?

Your car standas out as a proper stealthy street sleeper mate, liking it very much

Total cost for all the Z32 parts was approximately £170 - but the pads were good and the disks have plenty of wear left on them.

The handbrake cables that didn't fit cost me ~£20 IIRC and the cost to make custom cables based on the two sets of cables (i.e. the original S14 cables and the "unknown" cables) was ~£100 - but I wanted the car back on the road ASAP.

Total cost for rear conversion ~£300 and lots of time.

Difference is incredible it actually stops from high speed now and I no longer have to close my eyes and pray that the back end isn't going to swap with the front . It sits very level under braking and doesn't pitch forward even with the 3000GT fronts, just the way I like it .

Thanks for the kind comments .

[adrianstokes]

Originally Posted by Cookie

Nice , whats the 3000gt conversion exactly then.

C.

Basically it's just a caliper relocation plate, similar to the one in Bren's big brake conversion, with 3000GT (313mm) disks. The disks just fit in the caliper, certainly wouldn't like to try anything bigger in the stock caliper.

[Si]

Are the disks a straight fit then? and whereabout can you get the relocation plates from?

[SM]

Originally Posted by adrianstokes

Total cost for all the Z32 parts was approximately £170 - but the pads were good and the disks have plenty of wear left on them.

SteA has just bought a setup for £150
Mine was £95 + £18 cables, my disks look maybe 20% worn, pads maybe 10% worn.

For referance.
www.supercarparts.co.uk (AndyZ on here)
or
MGT-Racing - skyline breakers in Nuneaton

300/skyline - many share the same rear brakes 296*18mm

[adrianstokes]

Yeah the offset on the disks mean they are a perfect fit when using the appropriate relocation plate.

I bought them off a friend who ran them on his 300ZX. I believe he imported the plates but they certainly don't look difficult to manufacturer, might take one of mine to a machining shop and see how much they want to make another pair.

[adrianstokes]

Originally Posted by SM

SteA has just bought a setup for £150
Mine was £95 + £18 cables, my disks look maybe 20% worn, pads maybe 10%

Yeah it was the custom handbrake cables that rocketed the price up, but at least I know it's done right and I didn't have to wait 3 weeks and pay Nissan an extra £70 for genuine Skyline cables.

[SM]

Things I learnt today ....

Loosen the hub nut before you remove the disk/caliper with handbrake. So do it first, wheel off, pin out, hubcap centre out, wheel on, handbrake on & in-gear & somebody on the footbrake then loosen the centre hub-nut.

The hub nut is 32mm.

You can make 2" steel scaffolding banana shaped

Only back the 4 19mm bolts (holding the backplate on) off a few turns, then hit them with a lump hammer to separate it all.

Make sure you have all the bits (top pivot thing for handbrake mechanism)

You can drive with only 1 side done the handbrake still works for parking needs.

The knuckle isnt a knuckle really (ie not ball/socket) its coned shaped and the knuckle splitter made short work of it (but pushed out loads of grease). Grease gun is needed to refill the knuckle (I havent dont this yet).

Don't Trust Jon to do up your wheelnuts

[BenTaylor200]

Today I removed 2 hub nuts without any bother, you lot are obviously limp wristed....

[Jon]

Originally Posted by SM

Don't Trust Jon to do up your wheelnuts

Winge winge winge. I said there'd be some noise for the first few miles

And the knuckle is a ball joint, the taper is attached to the ball. That's what was spinning in the socket.

And pulling a breaker bar upwards is a lot more effective than jumping up and down on it, innit Kev

We had a fun day

[Columbo]

this thread could be useful in the useful threads section. ..........if it was put there.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by BenTaylor200

Today I removed 2 hub nuts without any bother, you lot are obviously limp wristed....

What's the knack ?
With the car on stands, wheel off, disc off, we'd stopped the hub from turning, but there was no way a normal breaker bar was going to shift the nut.

Eventually loosened the nut by putting the wheel back on the car and the car on the ground. This was after a LOT of WD40 and a small fire.
If we'd tried the wheel on the ground method first, I don't think the nut would have come off. The banana scaffold proved that.