Karlo Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I blew out my original rear end from my '92 6-cylinder 2WD Comanche with about 214,000 miles on it and am replacing it with the rear end from a 1987 4WD Comanche. Aside from the gear ratio being different the main difference seems to be in the brakes: the '92 has much wider brakes and drums than the 1987 but the drums to the 1987 are ribbed for better heat dissipation and even though they're narrower (viewed from the top) they have a wider diameter. Should I go to the trouble of moving over my old brakes to the replacement 1987 axle or are the 1987 brakes a better design? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkbruin Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Drums came in 10x 1 3/4"; 10x 2 1/2"; and 11x 2" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJRemi Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Welcome Karlo! I'm the guy that emailed you about the axle in San Diego and told you about Comanche Club. I don't mean to hijack but can someone tell me what exactly to measure to determine drum size? I'm getting ready to replace all the components on the D44 brakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyc Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Inside diameter of the drum and the width of the brake shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave92cherokee Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I'm in the middle of replacing everything in my 44 as well. When you're looking at parts online you've got the 10" x 2 1/2" rear brakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlo Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 Thanks for those who've replied (and hi MJRemi thx for letting me know this place existed!) but I still don't have an answer to my question: which are the better brakes? I'm inclined to think that 1992 engineering would have taken into account more information than 1987 engineering and therefore later brakes are going to be better, all else being equal, but there's really no reason that has to be the case. Probably more important is that if I keep the brakes that were original to the truck then in the future when I or someone else changes brake pads we're less likely to pick up the wrong set at NAPA. But most important would be the braking capacity before fading, I'd like to know next time I'm going down a mountain heavily loaded that I picked the better brakes. Okay maybe I'm obsessing, the front brakes take most of the load anyway yada yada but I still would like the better brakes on the rear since I have a choice. HELP! :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Go with the bigger brakes. There won't be that much engineering improvement and the wider drums will equal the heat dissappating fins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave92cherokee Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 It sounds like the 87 had the 10x1 3/4" brakes and the 92 likely has the 10x2 1/2" brakes. What axles were being swapped are they both 35's or was it 35 to 44 or what? I would probably use the 10x2 1/2" brakes to simply have the extra contact area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlo Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Well it turned out the deciding factor became the axles, because to change the entire brakes includes changing the brake backing plates and the axles have to be pulled out to do that. Takes a special axle puller hammer tool which I don't have and the Haynes book I have sort of suggested there are clips inside the pumpkin that have to be released too and I already had it sealed up with new synthetic gear oil in it. So I went with the older 1987 brakes already on the replacement 35 rear end which use a wider diameter drum that is however less in thickness but the drums do have vent fins on them whereas the '92s didn't. Testing them hard they seem to work just as well as the old ones so apparently there's not a lot of difference in their functionality. Sure would be nice to have discs on the rear though :wrench: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJRemi Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 That's the great thing about owning Comanches, we never run out of future projects! :wrench: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Sure that didn't have the D44 with those big drums? They were pretty common in '92 when they were burning up stock. Also, what is your serial number on your '92? Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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