DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

I have searched for almost an hour now. No luck whatsoever.

What are all the parts necessary to swap my entire brake system in my GS to a GSL-SE system?

I'm looking to change out my current GS rear drums and axle to the GSL-SE LSD, 4 x 114.4 hubs, and bigger brake rotors. Will be doing the front as well. I absolutely cannot find the link guys, I'm sorry. If you guys either wrote the write up, know where to find it, or can help me out at all it would be awesome.

A fresh SE has come up for a part-out on CL near me and I plan on making a parts run and this swap is on the top of my list.

guitar_blues

your gunna need the diff (of course)
and at least the hubs and brake assemblys im not sure if the struts or control arms are any different someone else may know but id grab em anyways just in case worst comes to worse and you dont need them you have spares and you will need the se brake master
as far as i know off the top of my head that should be all but dont quote me on it

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

Since you have a 1984 GS, it came with drums with small axels. For the rear, you'll need the entire rear end because the GSL-SE and GSL are big axel. For the front, you'll need the front spindels and brakes.

You could also try the RESpeed big brake kit. Check them out to see what is available for your setup.

http://mrcmfg.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=112_22_73

Siraniko

iTrader: (13)

dont forget to grab the e-brake cable ends for rear disc brake. You dont need the entire package, just the ends on the frame rail. btw, you can still use your stock non-LSD 3rd member. besides, the GSL-SE 3rd member is weak and you cant really feel the difference between a 3.90 and 4.09/4.10 gears.

rx7lives

When I rebuilt the brakes on my SE, I replaced:
1) Master cylinder, new.
2) All four rotors with dimpled and slotted surfaces. Since you're going to an SE front setup this should be fine. You need new bearings and seals though no big deal. You also need to buy studs (and nuts if you don't have them for the front).
3) If you have an SE rear end, it's only two countersunk Phillips which holds the rotors on. The studs stay on the axle so you don't need to buy them for the rear.
4) I replaced all four calipers with new ones for cheap insurance.
5) I used Mazdatrix SS brake flex lines and it makes a difference in feel.
6) I used ceramic brake pads. They don't seem as sensitive to heat as metal ones do so you don't have to stand on the brakes until the pads are warm.
7) Proportioning valve. If you already had rear discs this might not matter. Since you have rear drums you should replace this. There are aftermarket adjustable ones available but I'd stick to stock since the rear end is already tail happy, miss-adjusting the p-valve could have unintended consequences.

While it's not hard work, it is tedious. Buy a brass driving tool to put in and remove the front bearings, it's well worth it to remove and replace bearings. I think I bought mine at Kragen, came with three of different sizes and was around 10$.

Siraniko mentioned grabbing the entire emergency brake setup which is an excellent idea.

I also used silicone brake fluid. It's not supposed to be hygroscopic, in other words, it doesn't absorb water. I've heard the nightmares about bleeding silicone but I've never had a problem. Buy a mityvac and things should be easy. I bought silicone more for the clutch hydraulics. I've rebuilt the slave cylinder at least twice on the road (I carry spares) (several times at home along with the master) and every time I've had to replace an engine I also replaced the clutch master and slave with new parts and used silicone there as well hoping it would allow the slave cylinder to not grind itself to destruction. I also used an SS line there.

It seemed to me that it took longer to replace the front bearings than anything else.
The manual's description of tightening the front hubs leaves a lot to be desired. I think it amounts to: Tighten the nut until you can't turn the rotors, then back off until you can and then instal the castle piece that locks the nut in place. I would prefer if they're have said, tighten to X amounts of pound feet, then back off but they don't.

I re tightened them after a week or so and it made a difference.

Do not forget the little copper washer that goes between the hose and the caliper.

I bought my rotors off of Ebay and they were much cheaper. I think I bought the master cylinder and calipers from Kragen as well. I don't have a problem with rebuilding them but the new ones weren't that much more.
Good luck

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

Did you mean your brake master cylinder here or your clutch slave cylinder?? Kinda scares the **** outta me. I have a working one on my car though and I just rebuilt my spare one - clutch slave cylinder that is. And I also rebuilt my master too.

I'm guessing this was a learned piece of advice, thank you

I am also looking into doing the same, I love eBay and am constantly price checking and such. So I will take this into consideration and use it well.

thank youthank youthank you

I needed your post right there, thank you so much.

So I should stick with my non-LSD pumpkin instead of swapping out the entire axle? Just wondering, and when I rip out the axle I'll keep the LSD 3rd member to rebuild it in the future

So my parts list as it sits right now, from the contributions so far.

PARTS LIST
1. Rear axle.
2. Spindles/brakes/basically the whole front braking/hub assemblies. (KCREPU)
3. Struts. (guitar_blues)
4. Control arms. (guitar_blues)
5. Master brake cylinder. (guitar_blues and rx7lives)
6. E-brake cable ends, leave the ends on the frame rail - don't need the entire cable from e-brake lever back. (Siraniko)
7. Brake lines.
8. Proportional valve. (rx7lives)
9. Wheels (rims and tires) - even if crappy, i could always use an extra set and I'll need a different spare than my 4 x 110 one I have now.

AFTER THESE PARTS (rx7lives)
1. New GSL-SE master brake cylinder (or rebuild kit, depends on condition).
2. Front and rear bearings and seals.
3. All 4 calipers for insurance and peace of mind.
4. Brake lines, hopefully old ones work but will probably go with a set of Mazdatrix SS's eventually.
5. Brake pads all around.
6. Brass driving tool for bearings.

Awesome guys, thank you so much. I tried to give credit where it was due with your usernames guys.

I am still extremely open to suggestions/hints/tips and the like, please keep chiming in guys!

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

PARTS LIST FROM O'REILLYs
Front Right $40.99
Front Left $40.99
Rear Right $72.99
Rear Left $72.99
Master Cylinder Rebuild Kit $61.99
Front Wheel Bearings $22.99 x 2
Rear Wheel Bearings $38.99 x 2
Rear Wheel Seals $8.49 x 2
Front Wheel Seals $7.49 x 2
Brake Lines About $40 for all of em I think.
Brake Pad (front and rear) $28.99 x 2

TOTAL COST WITHOUT TAX 02-07-2012 - $543.85

Ouch. That's without the necessary parts off of the GSL-SE.

PARTS LIST FROM EBAY
Front Right Caliper $48.38
Front Left Caliper $48.38
Rear Caliper Rebuild Kit $47.00
Master Cylinder Rebuild Kit $44.20
Front Wheel Bearings $21.18 x 2
Rear Wheel Bearings $19.43 x 2
Rear Wheel Bearing Retainers $17.00 x 2
Front Wheel Bearing Seals $7.72 x 2
Rear Wheel Bearing Seals $7.48 x 2
Front Brake Pads $24.12
Rear Brake Pads $22.47

TOTAL COST - $380.17

So $163.68 cheaper to buy the parts on eBay seems cool to me.

DMclean

if i'm planning on redrilling my gsl rear axles for the 4x114.3 pattern are there any considerations i should take into account?

do the SE axles have a different length or spacing that may cause the rotors and/or calipers to become misaligned?

also do the SE calipers bolt onto the GSL axles no trouble?

thanks in advance

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

do the SE axles have a different length or spacing that may cause the rotors and/or calipers to become misaligned?
The SE axels will work just fine in the GSL housing without issue.

also do the SE calipers bolt onto the GSL axles no trouble?
SE calipers wont bolt to the GSL axles. If your going to have the axels drilled, theres no need for thr SE calipers.

DMclean

the se rotors are vented making them thicker than the solid gsl rotors. what is the solution for the caliper if the se caliper doesn't mount directly to the caliper mount on the caliper bracket on the gsl axle housing?

my car is in storage now and i'm trying to stock pile parts, so i can't measure etc. and figure out what i'll need for the swap.

73rx313b

iTrader: (40)

add in all the ebay and paypal fee's and shipping and the local parts store may be cheaperlol

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

Haha actually this is the cheapest, I added in all of those! I'm an extremely frequent eBayer and the fees only apply to the sellers. When you sell you get gangbanged with PayPal and eBay fees. Something like this or but you're in the middle and you're not smiling. It's cheaper to buy on eBay than to sell, which is so sad. I causes people to skip selling because they know they'll lose almost like 20% of their profit.

rx7lives

It was the clutch slave cylinder. One time I replaced it and the aluminum piston was ground down at a 45 degree angle. I always carry a spare and you can change it on the side of the road in ten minutes, just carry a spare, it's cheap insurance,I put some wheel bearing grease on the piston before the rubber seal just in case. Use anti-seize compound on the two bolts that hold the slave to the tranny. Last time I replaced it (I used a new one for once) and one of the bolts was **iffy**.

I have no problem with rebuilding either the brake or the clutch master cylinder but if you look in the bore, you can see it's kind of nasty from the water in the system. You can hone them out maybe one time but I bought new ones just to start fresh, the price wasn't much difference from a rebuilt one.
When I was a mechanic, I always made the customer buy new master cylinders since I didn't want to be responsible for a problem.

You can tell the clutch master is bad by the fact that the pedal sticks to the floor. I've had it happen on two different RX7s. They're easy to replace if you don't count the mile long studs holding the nuts in place under the dash.

Your list looks complete. I bought my SS brake and clutch lines from:
http://www.mazdatrix.com/j-sslines.htm
http://www.mazdatrix.com/f-hydral.htm

rx7lives

The rotor hat won't fit the GSL axles either since it's a different bolt pattern.

DMclean

i plan on ordering new SE rotors because i knew the gsl ones wouldn't work.

so if i redrill my axles, i just need se rotors, and calipers?

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

Hitting the yard tonight for some of these parts. There's a GSL that I'll be taking the back end out of.

4x110 GS and GSL, so no need for the front end components. Just need the entire rear end setup. So:

PARTS LIST
$66.00 - 1. Rear axle.
$11.00 - 2. Master brake cylinder. (guitar_blues and rx7lives)
$05.00 - 3. E-brake cable ends, leave the ends on the frame rail - don't need the entire cable from e-brake lever back. (Siraniko)
$05.00 - 4. Brake lines.
$06.00 - 5. Proportional valve. (rx7lives)
$10.00 - 6. Shocks - New KYB shocks for $5 a piece, why not?

$103.00 before tax at the yard today with this list - if I'm lucky

JUST FOR COMPARISON

$35.79 - Master Cylinder Rebuild Kit - RAYBESTOS Part # MK1466
$11.00 - Master Cylinder part price from Junkyard
$46.79
vs.
$58.79 - Full New Master Cylinder - CARDONE SELECT Part # 1392214

I'll pay the extra $12 for a new one than to rebuild an old one - so I'm scrapping the idea of getting the old master cylinder and I'm going to get a new one instead.

OFFICIAL PARTS LIST FOR THE NIGHT
1. Rear axle.
1.1 Hubs, rotors, calipers, bushings, bolts, etc.
2. E-brake cable ends, leave the ends on the frame rail - don't need the entire cable from e-brake lever back. (Siraniko)
3. Brake lines.
4. Proportional valve. (rx7lives)
5. Shocks - New KYB shocks for $5 a piece, why not?

If there's anything I'm forgetting please post it up as I'll be with the car in about T - 6 hours.

Thanks guys!

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

in addition to the other info listed, be sure go grab the master cylinder from the SE. it is a larger unit and should be used when converting to the SE suspension and brakes.

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

Thanks! I looked into it though and I think I'm going to just get a new one to be safe - and the cost is only a few dollars difference. Would it be worth it or should I pull the old one and get a rebuild for it??

So... I pulled every thing off. There is ONE stuck bolt on the bottom most driver's side control arm, and the BRAKE LINES

How is it that the brake lines after the spot on the frame rail - where they are crimped in - come off?? Do you guys just mean cut them after that spot so I can use the ends on my current setup, or do I have to try to cut the frame away to get that stupid cylindrical area out? Errg, frustrating!

The rear axle is swinging above the ground right now by the brake lines. I paid my $2 admission fee, and spent 3 hours in there getting it all unhooked and ready to drop. Spins freely and nicely, calipers are free and look good, everything is a go. Just don't know if I should cut the brake lines and need to get a huge breaker bar to unfreeze the bolt stuck on that control arm. Maybe I can make it back sometime this weekend - if not it'll have to wait till next Tuesday.