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1986 720 brake upgrade questions


MISTER_Gunnz

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Hello,

I've got a 1986 Nissan 720 (K/C Z24 carburetor - 5spd), originally purchased from Newport Nissan on 11/09/1985.  The brake calipers are sticking and I'm looking to upgrade my setup.

 

Been searching here and on google and haven't found much info that applies to my truck so I'm hoping someone can chime in and steer me in the right direction.

 

On with the questions:

 

Any recommendations on a performance low dust ceramic pads, braided lines or slotted rotors?

 

When searching for parts online would it be best to search for parts compatible with a 1985 720?  Several places seem to list different parts for 1985 and 1986 720's.

 

And if I can upgrade:

 

Are there 2 piston calipers that will bolt on directly?

 

I'm looking to order some parts in the next day or two, and any relevant info would be greatly appreciated!

_Luke

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See if you can find some D-21 Hardbody calipers and rotors for VG30 powered trucks. They are dual piston.

 

Unless racing, carrying heavy loads in the mountains or making repeated high speed stops, exotic compound pads aren't worth it. Ceramic pads will wear or the rotor faster than the pads. Some pads work best when warmed up.... not much time for that when having an accident. By a pad suited for the driving you do.

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Thank you very much for the reply, datzenmike!

 

The D21 V6 rotors/calipers will bolt up to my hubs/spindles without modifications?

 

I drive on the freeways of Southern California.  There is a lot of quick braking from 80mph to 15mph.  With that said, I drive this pickup around 5k miles a year...so the tradeoff of increased wear would be acceptable if I can gain a little more brake control.

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A friend of mine told me I can use some brackets that allow me to use passport rotors and z32 front calipers on my '84 720...

 

MAYBE you can use them as well, but your front brake set-up just might be different.. Or it may be the same, I'm not too sure..

 

(the brackets I speak of gotta be floating around somewhere on this forum, at the moment I just don't know where)

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I THINK I have heard that the dual piston ones work on the 720 but I never found anything out for certain. Best bet would be to hit up a junk yard and see if it'll work. It'll be cheaper than going 100% new.

 

I may go that route later in the summer since I will be towing a car...

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Hopefully, someone has some recent experience with this.  It would be good to have this info available in this section of the forum.

 

The stock caliper(single piston) for your truck were used from 1983-97, so lots of interchange there.

The rotors however have a production date change in 11/85. The trucks produced after 11/85 have an interchange of the 86-97 model years. So check your production date.

 

Here is where I am going with this. 

My experience with this is from converting a couple of 620's to disc brakes.

I have been using the D21(hardbody) spindles/hubs from a 4cyl truck, then adding rotors and calipers from a D21 V6 truck. Calipers and rotors are wear items in my eyes, so I get those at the auto parts store, whereas the spindles/hubs can come from the Junkyard.

 

Here are the benefits of the D21 V6 stuff. I think it is worth it.

The 4cyl rotors are 250mm(9.85") dia and 22mm(.867") thick when new. Centric part # 12142030

 

The V6 rotors are 259.6mm(10.23") dia and 26mm(1.024") thick when new.  Centric part #12142028

 

The 4cyl calipers are a single piston caliper. 

 

The V6 calipers are a dual piston caliper. The 2wd V6 calipers are the same calipers as used on most of the 4x4 D21 and the Pathfinders.

There is one variant of 4x4 calipers that I have seen pictures of, but have not seen in person yet. And it depends on the rebuilder, some of them dont even list the different calipers. But the rebuilder that do list the differences list them to change in 1/92 production.

 

Here are some part numbers for the V6 calipers. Raybestos right front caliper RC3649, and left front caliper RC3650.

 

With all that information, check your production date and if you are after the 11/85 change, I think you have a super easy upgrade available to you. If you are before that production date, well it is still an easy upgrade, but you might need to change the spindles/hubs also. 

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Thanks for all the responses and the great info, yello620!  It seems to all come down to what spindles/hubs are on my truck.  I'll be sure to check the production date and go from there.

 

Any information/recommendations on braided brake lines or performance brake pads would be much appreciated. :thumbup:

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Any information/recommendations on braided brake lines or performance brake pads would be much appreciated. :thumbup:

 

I am not generally a fan of "Performance" brake pads for street use. I understand that the idea of better stopping performance is desirable, BUT most performance pads need to be good and warm before the perform properly. I.E. repeated hard stops. Street use does not get them to the point of their optimal performance. And they generally stop worse than normal pads until they are up to temperature. In other words, you have less braking ability until they warm up(which doesn't always happen in street use).

 

I good quality stock pad is usually just fine. I have had good luck with Centric pads.

 

I have not researched a source for braided brake lines, but will be watching to see what your research comes up with. :sneaky:

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I hear what you're saying about performance pads.  Pretty sure I'm going to try a set of EBC Green Stuff pads.  Reviews seems favorable.

 

As for the lines, I've been looking into Goodridge braided lines.  But, I've having trouble finding a part number for a V6 2wd D21.

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I hear what you're saying about performance pads.  Pretty sure I'm going to try a set of EBC Green Stuff pads.  Reviews seems favorable.

 

As for the lines, I've been looking into Goodridge braided lines.  But, I've having trouble finding a part number for a V6 2wd D21.

 

Ok, this is by no means confirmed information, but I recall something about my conversion that 2wd 4cyl hoses might have been used on the V6 calipers. They mount to the frame in the smae location and mount to the caliper in the same basic location with the same size mounting hardware if I remember correctly. Might be something to look into.

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  • 1 year later...

Old thread, but I figured I'd post my findings after doing the v6 caliper swap on my '85 ST.... As yello620 stated above, the v6 rotors are 4mm thicker. So what happens is that you lose 4mm of clearance on the back side of the rotor where the caliper bolts to the spindle. To compensate for this you need to have the caliper brackets machined down 4mm for them to bolt on correctly. Also, since there is a change in diameter, you lose wheel clearance so you may have to up-size your wheels. But the good news is that the mounting spots are in the same position so they do (with a little help from a friend at machine shop) bolt on directly.

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After looking at the v6 rotor specs that yello620 posted, I decided to check. I measured 260.3 mm diameter and a 26.9875 thickness. So the amount on the caliper brackets to be machined would be closer to 5mm

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