Pinion Brakes

W

wilmesbm

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Joined
Apr 12, 2010
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362
For all you 2wd drag racers, can you post some pictures of your pinion brake setups? Any kits out there for the Dana's?

My initial thought is to run a separate master cylinder off of the factory clutch pedal and to use the pinion brake only for staging. That would leave the factory brakes unmolested and usable for coming to a stop.

Any good literature out there as far as how to properly set one up?
 
No idea if I'm even close with this thinking but, what about just running it in series with the regular brakes, but setting up a line lock for it?

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J-Pipes said:
No idea if I'm even close with this thinking but, what about just running it in series with the regular brakes, but setting up a line lock for it?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
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You could definitely do it that way, and it would save you from having to install an additional master cylinder, but, I think I would prefer to run mine off of a third pedal. In theory, I think you could just use the pinion brake, operated off of the clutch pedal, to launch and then use the brake pedal for normal braking at the end of the run and/or while driving on the road.

I do not know this for a fact, but I'm thinking you would not need to touch the OEM brakes while staging, if you had a good pinion brake. I could be wrong on that though, and was hoping that someone with some firsthand experience would chime in.

If I recall correctly, Black's Diesel was using a setup similar to what I'm describing 5 or 6 years ago. I never personally talked to him, but it seemed like it worked extremely well for them.
 
Trouble is with pinion brakes they don't load the drivetrain all the way to the wheels so wouldn't there be a shock load when the pinion is release
I could be wrong tho
 
J-Pipes said:
No idea if I'm even close with this thinking but, what about just running it in series with the regular brakes, but setting up a line lock for it?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...



You can run it off the factory master but you loose volume as well as need to run a proportioning valve etc. The ones I have seen setup this way always drag!!
 
We run my pinion brake off a seperate master with a hand lever. Will be adding a line lock to it soon so can apply lever push button let go of lever then release button to leave. This way should allow pressure to release faster.
 
bd7c0c35d9d7147e9cf30da4fa3e38f6.jpg
 
pushlar84 said:
Trouble is with pinion brakes they don't load the drivetrain all the way to the wheels so wouldn't there be a shock load when the pinion is release
I could be wrong tho
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No, I think you're right about that, and that is a big concern of mine. From what little I know about them, that's probably the biggest downfall. I'm not sure, if you could come up on boost in stages to help combat that shock load or not. Again, hopefully someone can chime in on their experiences with trying to make on work.

I know that little s10 that firepunk used to run had one. That's the most recent one that I have seen in person. Maybe they can speak on the abuse that the rear end took?
 
CREED1 said:
We run my pinion brake off a seperate master with a hand lever. Will be adding a line lock to it soon so can apply lever push button let go of lever then release button to leave. This way should allow pressure to release faster.
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@Creed1 what rear end are you running? Any pictures of the rotor/caliber setup? Feel free to PM me if you'd prefer. I'd greatly appreciate any help/insight your willing to offer.
 
wilmesbm said:
@Creed1 what rear end are you running? Any pictures of the rotor/caliber setup? Feel free to PM me if you'd prefer. I'd greatly appreciate any help/insight your willing to offer.
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I can snap a few tmrw for you. Truck currently has a 9" in it so pretty easy to find a kit they are all bolt on. As for kits for the dana's shouldn't be to hard to find either just need to look for what kits the offroad guys are using pirate4x4 might be a good source to search.
 
CREED1 said:
I can snap a few tmrw for you. Truck currently has a 9" in it so pretty easy to find a kit they are all bolt on. As for kits for the dana's shouldn't be to hard to find either just need to look for what kits the offroad guys are using pirate4x4 might be a good source to search.
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Thanks man, I appreciate it. I've been looking at some of the off road stuff, but it seems like most of them build their's off of the transfer case to help protect it some. I'll keep searching though.

Is your pinion brake the only thing that you use when staging/launching?
 
It's much nicer to have both wheel brakes and pinion brake when trying to hold a manual brake vehicle like the s10. There wasn't any extra shock load to the rearend because there wasn't any slack in the drivetrain. A 11.44" diameter pinion brake alone isn't enough to hold the torque of a diesel.
 
wilmesbm said:
Thanks man, I appreciate it. I've been looking at some of the off road stuff, but it seems like most of them build their's off of the transfer case to help protect it some. I'll keep searching though.



Is your pinion brake the only thing that you use when staging/launching?
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No we run dual caliper setup on the rearend as well.. Thats why the pinion brake is on a hand lever as well. Allows you to powerbrake normally while staging and use the pinion brake for that extra help.
Sorry no pics today got busy with other projects. I will be up underneath it tmrw so I promise I will get some then.
 
Thanks for posting those @Creed1.

Just an update, I've been talking with Wilwood about selecting the correct caliper/rotor and have come up with an idea to mount the rotor similar to how they are mounted on the Rockwells. We'll see how it works out.

I'm still planning on running the pinion brake off of a seperate master cylinder operated by the clutch pedal. My thought is to run a rod from the clutch pedal to the brake pedal that will depress the brake pedal simultaneously as the clutch pedal is depressed. This will allow you to use the factory brakes without using the pinion brake. I'm not sure how well it'll work, but I would like to try it that way.
 
Cummins12Club said:
Does anyone know if a pinion brake kit is made for a dana 70?
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Yes, and no. Here's what I found. If you're wanting to install on a 4x4, then yes, there are some kits out there that will bolt to the back of the transfer case. All of the off-road guys put them up there to protect them and help with ground clearance.

If you're wanting to install on the rear end, then no, there aren't any "kits" out there that I found. I spent a ton of time talking with Wilwood about how to make one work, and I have all the part numbers that I was planning on using if that's something you'd be interested in seeing.

The way I was planning on doing it would require fabricating a bracket that would bolt to the back of the yoke and then bolt to the rotor. I was going to make my bracket two piece that way the yoke wouldn't have to be removed. You would just have to pull the driveshaft to put the rotor on. If you're having a hard time visualizing it, Google how they're setup on Rockwell's and it'll give you an idea.
 
Here's the part numbers of what was selected for my setup:


Forged Dynalite Caliper – Part No: 120-6818
Brake Pad Part No: 150-8850K
Steel Rotor – Part No: 160-3202
MasterCylinder No: 260-6765

They actually recommended a thicker rotor to help dissipate the heat, but since I wasn't planning on using it to slow down at the end of the track, the thinner rotor was a better fit.

Also, obviously, the brake pads will differ if a different thickness rotor is selected. The caliper listed above can handle a plethora of different pads to accommodate experimentation with different rotors, but depending on how thin you go, it may require a spacer to be installed in between the caliper and the pad.

I was planning on running two calipers and controlling the pinion brake off of a third pedal, so depending on what you decide to do there you may or may not need an additional master cylinder. My truck still sees a decent amount of street use, so I didn't want the pinion brake operational during normal driving, hence the third pedal and the additional master cylinder.

Also, I should add that when I bolted a 27 inch tall slick on my truck it wouldn't build any boost without doing a burnout. Even with getting them sticky, 12 psi, at the dragstrip, and the drums as tight as I could get them, it would spin the tires immediately. Then I bolted the 31.5 inch tall 420s on it and it would build 15 psi before spinning. So keep in mind that tire diameter does play a role in braking force.
 
FYI pirate4x4 would also be a good reference if you need info on this mod.
 
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