Disk brakes off a 75 Scout II Dana 30

Any Idea if these would work on my 75 CJ5 Dana 30 front Axel ? I believe I have a Dana 30. Would the caliper mounting brackets simply bolt on to my otter Knuckle or is it more complicated than that ?
Thanks,

 

I thought a 30 was a 30, didn't matter who's it was.

 

The Scout uses 8 studs/nuts to hold the caliper bracket and spindle onto the knuckle and Jeep uses 6. You can redrill the knuckle for the 8 studs. Done it many times. You will need to make sure you "clock" the caliper properly before drilling or you will have clearance issues. You will most likely need to grind some off your drum brake knuckles also to clear the caliper.

 

Since we have the expert's attention ... how about replacing the whole knuckle at the ball joints?

 

Problem is the steering arms on the Scout 2 knuckles are very loooonnnngggg and they use a different taper than Jeep tie rod ends. They will physically interchange on the housing at the ball joints, even use the same ball joints, but unfortunately it opens up a whole 'nother can o' worms.

The Scout 2 used a pitman arm that was close to twice the length of the Jeep version and a different steering box that mounted outside the frame, and the pitman arm went forward instead of towards the rear, hence the need for the longer arms on the knuckles for the proper turning ratio/radius and also to clear the oil pan on the IH engines. The IH Scout 2 tie rod even had a kickout built into it to clear the oil pan as well.

 

Thanks for the good information, seems doable but not a bolt on application. I think the Scout wheel bolt pattern is 5 on 5 1/2 like a Jeep so wheels are not an issue.
When you say 8 studs vs 6 does that mean I will need to drill and tap 2 holes per side or 8 per side ?

 

I know two of the studs line up directly across from each other. The biggest issue is on drum brake knuckles the studs are "clocked" different from the disk brake knuckles. Disc brake knuckles have two studs that are at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock position and on those you can use those two studs to line everything up. The drum brake knuckle studs are offset from this. You may have to redrill all 8 holes. I've only done this on disc brake knuckles so it could be an issue on drum brake knuckles.

There would be no tapping of the knuckles. The studs press into the knuckle from the inside out.

 

Disc drakes were common on wagoneer's of that era, I'm guessing they would be the correct 6 bolt bracket. could you use the Wagoneer brackets with the CJ rotors and calipers to retain the 5 on 5 1/2 wheels ?

 

They are all Dana 44s. Pretty sure it won't fit the 30.

You can put Ford 5-lug hubs on a Wagoneer 44 though.

The 30 was used for a few years on the Wagoneer, but it had closed knuckles.

 

Yup you can. The same rules apply as using those brackets for the closed knuckle disc conversion. The biggest thing is because the drum brake open knuckles "clock" the bracket wrong you still have to drill either the knuckle or the bracket. The bracket is easiest to do. If you don't re-clock the bracket you can run into clearance issues between the bracket, caliper, and shock mounts, inner "C"s of the housing, etc.

 

So if I understand, since I am going from drum brake knuckles to disk brake caliper brackets there is no direct bolt in application. If I use the Scout brackets will I need to stick to the Scout calipers and disks or can I mix and match Scout brackets with Jeep rotors and calipers. If these parts are readily available I don't see that as a problem but when I worked in a FLAPS in the 70's International parts could be a problem.
The reason I keep coming back to the Scout Dana 30 is there is one available locally complete from disk to disk for $20. That brigs another issue, will my 6 bolt lockout hubs work ?

 

Oops. Read bracket, thought knuckle. Never mind.

 

The rotors are the same as '77-'78 CJ and are readily available. The bearing hubs and bearings are the same as disc brake CJ. Your 6 bolt locking hubs will work fine.
It's possible the Scout 2 30 may have 6 bolt brackets and spindles but I doubt it. I do know all the Scout 2 44's with discs had the 8 bolt units. I also know the open knuckle 30's with drum brakes used a 6 bolt spindle with the same dimensions as a disc brake CJ spindle but used a seal on the back for the outer axle just like a CJ drum brake 30.
The calipers on the Scout brackets are the same as the '77-'78 CJ calipers. The only real difference between the Scout 2 discs and the CJ thick disc brakes is the Scout used 8 studs to retain the spindle and bracket and the CJ used 6. All other parts interchange.

 

Wasn't the disc brake on the Scout II only on D44 '74 and on? All the D30 were drum brakes weren't they?

 

Nope. Most Scout 2 30 fronts were drum brakes but they could ordered with the heavy duty brake option which were disc brakes. Most Scout 2's from '72-'74 were drum brake 30's unless ordered with the discs. late '74 to early '75 with the 44 were disc brakes. I've seen some '74 and '75 Scout 2s with the 44 and drum brakes that were bone stock. I think it depended on what they had in stock at the time and what was ordered. I'm pretty confident that by '76 all were Dana 44's with discs.

 

It is more then worth the $20 for the rotors and wheel bearings!

 

I agree! Locking hubs, stub axles which are the same as disc CJ but use the larger Dana 44 u-joint (Spicer 297/760x), thick rotors, disc bearing hubs, and you could sell the rest.

 

Locking hubs, stub axles which are the same as disc CJ but use the larger Dana 44 u-joint (Spicer 297/760x) whoa , are we talking NT or WT diffs here . If I'm in the junkyard and I find a scout II,,, certain axles have the bigger 760 u-joints? spline counts same on both sides and will the go in the hole . cheaper upgrade /spare than good axle shafts.but NTor WT

 

Nt or WT doesn't come into play here.

Stub axles are the outer axles. The Scout 2 inner axles are larger diameter, longer, and more splines than a 30. The outer axles are dimensionally the same as the 30 open knuckle CJ outer axles except the yokes are slightly larger and machined larger for the larger U-joint. They will fit through the hole in the CJ knuckle.

 

Seems having the heavier stub axles wouldn't be much help if the larger u-joints won't fit into the Jeep inners. Or will they?