Sterling disc brake swap w/ Ruff Stuff brackets

I just finished my Sterling disc brake swap, so I thought Id do a quick write up for anyone thats curious about these brackets.

Here are the Ruff Stuff caliper brackets. They are made with 3/8 '' steel and come pre-drilled and threaded for the caliper bolts.


This is everything needed for the swap...Ruff stuff brackets, front calipers from a '87 GM 3/4 ton 4x4, pads, caliper bolts, banjo bolts, rear rotors from '96 E-350, and new brake lines. Total cost from the local parts store was about $450 (getting the calipers from a JY would save about $120 or so).


First I pulled the axle shaft, hub, and backing plate.


Then I bolted the Ruff Stuff bracket to the back side of the backing plate mounting surface (oriented the way they are in the first pic) and reassembled the hub and axle shaft.


Then I slid the rotor on over the hub, and attached the caliper. I found the best way to do this was to place the brake pads in the caliper and slide it into place while holding the rotor flush against the hub with your knee. Then I anchored it into place with the caliper bolts.


You can see here that the bracket positions the caliper so that the leaf springs do not interfere with the caliper bolt removal.


All that's left now is to attach the brake lines. I had the flex lines made at a radiator shop. For hard lines, I just cut and re-flared my existing ones.




I'm waiting to weld the tabs for the hard line/flex line connection until after I cut and re weld my spring perches, but the conversion itself is done.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the setup. I was sure that I would have to make or modify something, but everything bolted in place perfectly. Once I got the driver side figured out, the passenger side only took me about 15 minutes. Hope this helps anyone with questions about how these brackets work.