Disc Brake Conversion

[mcdonaldroadcapt]

I know that there has been discussion on this before but was wondering if there is a plug and play kit available.

Want to convert my 2008 Motortrike Trog from drum to disc. Can anyone help with info on possible kit?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[FLTR2008TRIKE]

No plug and play kit available. The problem lies in the the type of rear end MT uses on the Trog, its a C-clip Ford 8.8 and to convert it would require you removing your axle from the trike frame and dis-assembling the axle housing to pull the axle shafts out to swap over to disk brakes. Because MT uses a proprietary housing its not like a standard Ford 8.8 pumpkin witha cover we cant easily access the third member.

If you were to swap it over then you would have to buy a mounting plate after pulling the axle shafts and removing the backing then you either buy a mustang gt or thunderbird small rear caliper brake setup.

I have a Mustang GT setup in my garage and one day I will decide to swap it out. For now I'm going to keep the MT Trog axle and drum brakes as it is

 

[mcdonaldroadcapt]

My reason for wanting to change is that sometimes one of my rear wheels will lock up when braking hard. I have tried to adjust to compensate but one never knows which side will do it. I have never had an emergency to depend experience this problem but I have discovered it in recent hard braking tests. Any advice on adjusting?

 

[FLTR2008TRIKE]

As per MT service manual for Goldwings with drum brake ( would be the same as ours ) you should jack up one side at a time, look on the back of the backing plate at the bottom you will see a oval rubber boot. Pop that boot out and using a brake spoon for drum brakes locate the slack adjuster and turn the adjust out till the wheel will spin 270 degree ( 12 to 9 ) then pop the boot back in and do the same for the other side.

I have done it this way MT says to do it, but for me I like to remove the rear tire pull the drum off and turn the slack adjuster out slightly by hand. I open the slack adjuster up enough that when sliding the drum back on I have push in slightly on the shoes to get the drum to slide back on. Doing it this way I have found I get fairly even braking.

Also a FYI, if you ever need brake parts you can get them at any auto parts store just tell the parts person you have a early 80s Ford 8.8 rear end with drum brakes

Heres a article about converting a Ford rear end from drum to disk brakes with a list of parts needed >> http://www.northracecars.com/4lugreardisc.html

 

[mcdonaldroadcapt]

Thanks for all of the info on the brake discussion. Will do an adjustment and see if it clears things up.

Jim

 

[FLTR2008TRIKE]

If you send me your email address I will send you to PDF files you can save to your computer for reference for adjustments or to work on your MT Trog trike. Just post Motortrike in the header of the email

Tom
imhthomase@yahoo.com

 

[Lonerbtw]

Just for $hi*s and giggles try finding a pretty good grade with no traffic and pull up a ways then role back down and stand on the brakes hard. Do this several times and hopefully the self adjusters will take care of your problem. Works for me.
Lonerbtw

 

[mcdonaldroadcapt]

I tried that roll back thing the other day and could not feel any improvement. When I first got the trike converted, my son added a pressure valve on my rear brake line which maintains 10 lbs of pressure on the shoes. This keeps the brake pedal up without having to pump when adjustment is needed. I am thinking about removing it and see if that is the culprit.

 

[gympy]

If you are having that problem with your brakes I would advise you take the drums off and get them machined on a brake lathe. Out of round drums cause your brakes to grab when putting brakes on. No amount of adjustment will rectify that problem. When I put my Lehman trike together I had the same problem with brand new brake drums. They were out of round. On a car weighing a couple of tons the amount of them being out of round would not make a difference but a trike weighting at a thousand plus pounds it does. I had to get the drums turned to round them off. Put them back on, ajusted them and all ok.