10" drums, worth the effort or not?

Well, the DJ5 parts jeep that I brought home turned out to be a '74, so it ended up having 10" drums on it. I wanted everyones opinion on whether or not I should bother swapping these over to the M38a1, or should I keep on looking for 11" drum stuff? I mean, they would at least be slightly larger than the original 9-inchers, and they would be SELF ADJUSTING as well. Howzabout going to 11-inchers or discs on the front and 10-inchers on the rear?

On a related note, could I use this stuff on my front Dana 27?

Thanks,
Don

 

The 74 postal Jeep should have 11" brakes on it, are you sure there 10". I left my 10" rears after putting a dana 30 with disk under the front end, they work fine.

 

Mike,

I measured the ID of these, and they are all 10". My parts Jeep is a DJ5C, and it has 10" drums, as per the service manual sections on AAA motors' website: http://www.postaljeep.net/servicemanuals.htm

Just a 'heads up' for anyone who might be out scavenging: dunno if you guys are aware of this or not, but if you're looking for 11" drums from a Postal Jeep, you need to look on a '75-'79 model (DJ5D, F, or G).

Don

 

Well I learned something new today then. I thought all Jeeps starting with the 72 model had the 11" brakes on them.

 

I upgraded to the 10" on the front and am very happy with them. Ofcourse, I've never driven one with 11" brakes on it...

 

Speedbuggy, I've got the stuff here to put 10-inchers on all fours. I'm just wondering if it'd be best to "use what I already have" or keep on looking for 11" drum or disk stuff.

 

IMHO (and realize this is coming from someone with a pile of parts, not a running JEEP), use watchya got, and just keep your eye out for a set of 11" drums to swap in later. Of course 10" isn't as good as 11", but it IS a noticable improvement (from what I've read) and worth the effort.

 

I thought the main problem with the 10" brakes, other than 11" is better, is that the parts are hard to find. If they are 10" Bendix or Delco, you might want to keep them. Otherwise, the 11" Bendix (cable self-adjuster) are too common to settle for less. JMO.

 

I did the upgrade and am very pleased. Krage carries the parts for them as well, so it isn't a big deal if you need something. If I stumble across a set of 11's, I'll pick them up...but I am not looking for them because the 10's are WAY better than the 9's. YMMV

 

If you run tires that aren't much bigger than stock (up to, say, a 31") - I think the 10's would be fine.

If they are in good shape, I found that they worked well.

 

Tim, the 10" brakes are common, they are not an oddball and were used on a ton of different vehicles. The shoes are stocked at Autozone and such along with the small parts, its the drums that are getting harder to find, still easy to get but not carried at Napa and such anymore, at least not in the 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern. Mine are the factory self adjusting type also.

 

i'd look for 11" brakes i have a 1970 and when i went from 10 to 11 in the front it made a difference. can't wait ti li go to 11 rear as well.

 

Well I guess that settles it then. If I find a set of 11's before I get a chance to get these installed then great. Otherwise, I'll go ahead and use the 10-inchers.

 

I went with the 4-wheel parts 11" setup and am extremely happy with the change. Remember too that the 10" set up is 2" wide and the 9" set up is 1 & 3/4 inch wide. More sruface area - all the way around - so to speak.

 

after i rebuilt my 10" fronts i'm happy with them so far. course i haven't had to go down a steep cliff hanging trail right after fording a stream.... but i can lock em up if i have to.

napa had everything i needed for a decent price. by 8 am the next day (napa also gives a discount to AAA members)

just couldn't find the replacement springs. but the old ones cleaned up and sounded fine.

no longer pulls to the driver's side either!