The J-Body Source : MultiGenSSBNeonRearDiscSwap

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This how-to was compiled by James Cahill
This is compiled from 3 different threads on 2 different boards. I tried to get all the Q&A in here. Everything in quotes is either a question or has been contributed by someone other than me.

This is a semi How-To for swapping Dodge Neon rear discs (using the factory J bearing) onto your car. This doesn’t require welding, however it does require a machine shop or access to a milling machine. I would give this 4/5 wrenches. Its not basic stuff, and it does require fabrication skills. I spent about $350 when all was said and done (all the parts except the cables came from the yard). I used Brembo rotors and Hawk HPS pads, but there are literally hundreds of pad/rotor combos out there. Since it retains the factory J bearing, you can keep your ABS if you want. My biggest disclaimer is about the proportioning. I have no idea if this will work with the factory master cylinder. I am using a bigger Bonneville unit with externally adjustable proportioning. All I can say is once someone tries it, please let everyone else know if it works, or what you needed to do to make it work.

I used the brake setup from a 1996 Neon Sport-
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Needed parts
The setup is the same from 95-02, so any year should work. To do what I did, you will need-

caliper bracket
caliper
backing plate/dust shield
rotor
ALL internal park brake hardware
balancer for park brake cables (inside car)
new park brake cables
new brake lines to go from hard bent to caliper

Prices




To start, remove all the J body hardware (drum, shoes, bearing, backing plate, park brake cables, etc). (There has already been talk of using the factory J park brake cables with the Neon caliper brackets. I have no idea if this will work, so please don’t ask. Try it and find out.)

Plumbing
You will need to figure out the brake plumbing. This is entirely up to you. Some info- the Neon uses a 7/16” banjo bolt, so your options are pretty open. I used these∞ braided lines and these∞ banjo fittings. At the unibody side, I used this∞ adapter to get back to hard bent.

Some other options-
use the Neon hose and adapter from the salvage yard
install the adapter I used on the axle and use a shorter braided line
or, something entirely different, the options are pretty unlimited here

Park brake cables
You will need to run the park brake cables. I purchased new cables from Mopar. They are part #05273636 (2 req’d). There are 3 different cables available, I’m guessing for the sedan and coupe variants, but I’m not positive. The cables I used were the perfect length for 2nd gens. As I mentioned earlier, there is one other swap I know of using another Chrysler disc setup with the 2nd gen J cables (88ragtop).

This is the Neon cable-
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I drilled a 1” hole for the cable grommet to go into-
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The grommet does move on the cable, and there is a little clamp holding it in place. It was in the perfect spot and I didn’t have to move it for my car.

This is the balancer from the Neon. It is not available from the dealer without buying the entire park brake handle, so get it at the yard-
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You will need to build a bracket to hold the cable ends. I used ½” steel angle-
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I had to shorten the arm on the Cavalier lever to take up the slack since I couldn’t move the bracket any farther to the rear-
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Caliper brackets
You need to have the Neon caliper brackets machined. This can be done at home, provided you take your time and make sure the center hole is dead on. I had it done at a machine shop for $60.

These are the Neon caliper brackets before machining-
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You will need to have the center hole reamed out and the four bearing bolt holes drilled, as well as some clearance cuts made. This is what it should look like after machining-
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Assembly
Assembling this is not much more difficult than replacing the wheel bearing. The factory bearing bolts can be used with no issues. It’s a tiny bit more difficult to get them in with the park brake shoes on, but they fit. Once you’ve got the bearing bolted up, you need to figure out a way to shim the rotor out so it doesn’t rub on the backing plate/dust shield. I used a 1/16” thick washer on each stud until I get some plates made to fit. I thought about this problem for awhile. You could space the bearing away from the caliper bracket, but that would leave even less thread on the bearing bolts. It is only about 1/16”, so I’ll leave the decision up to you, but the rotor DOES need to come away from the plate, or it will drag.

Finished

Heres some shots of the finished assembly-
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I think the best thing about this is that all the wear and tear items can be directly replaced (rotor, caliper, pads, bearing) with factory or aftermarket parts.

Here are some dimensions for the machine work/drilling (I did these with my trusty digital calipers, and they are just rough dimensions to +/- .001", but as long as the center hole is good, the other holes can be filed to fit) (sorry about the blurriness, I'm not too swift with PS, and I had to call my tech support person just to get this far)-

These are the dimensions for the holes-
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And for the milling/grinding (the horizontal dimensions are centered on the center hole, the vertical is .270" above the top of the center hole, sorry I forgot to put that one in)-
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In this picture, you can see the washers I used to space the rotor out, as well as my cut down dust shield/backing plate and where the rotor was rubbing (which is why it needs to be spaced)-
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I would say- if you're going to print these out and bring them to someone, also print out the pic in the first post that shows the brackets already machined, that way, whoever it is can see what the finished product has to look like.


Now on to the Q&A



I don't know on both counts. I haven't had the car on the road since I did it due to suspension problems (I towed it to the Bash). I tossed all the drum hardware before I installed all this, but I can weigh it when I take it all back off in a few weeks to finish up the detail work.


Hmmm. The car I stripped had all the hardware inside the car and the bracket to hold the cables was spot welded to the floor. It was a sedan. That might be the reason for three different cables.


They are 10.67” (270mm). This will work on the Beretta axle. It is about 3/16" (each side) wider than the drum setup, so depending on tire width, there may be some rubbing since the Beretta axle is wider already.


I thought about that too. The bracket is almost 1/4" thick throughout and the weakest spot is the "arms" where the caliper bolts to. Since there really wasn't any machining done near the arm ends, I didn't think it would be too much of a problem. You're right about opinions :lol:


That was my original plan. A custom spindle that fit in the factory hole in our axle, and used the four bearing bolt holes. I was even going to have the shop make a few extra sets to sell since it would almost be a direct bolt on then. It fell through when the steel stock didn't show up in time.

A pic of the idea-
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The Cav hub sticks out .250" through the rotor without the spacers installed. It sticks out .160" with them in, but that dimension can change depending on what you do for spacing.


The PT Cruiser probably uses the same caliper and rotor as the Neon (as well as pretty much every Mopar with rear discs- Stratus, LeBaron, Daytona, etc), but when I did the research, the only thing the bracket was available on was the Neon, so I have no clue if a PT caliper bracket will work.


Yes. There are several people doing the swap right now.


I guess you really don't have to machine out the center hole, but it makes life easier. If you didn't, you would have to get dead-on measurements for the four bolt holes.


I thought about doing that at first. All you would really need to do is get some longer bolts, since the caliper bracket is already thicker than the Cav backing plate, and you're left with maybe 1-2 threads showing when its tightened down. I kind of ditched the idea because it was hard enough getting the bolts through the bearing, bracket, and axle (due to having the park brake stuff on there at the same time) let alone lining four things up to do it. I'm going to have a .125 (maybe different, I have to get a good measurement of the rotor/dust shield interference) spacer made for the outside of the bearing with the five stud holes and the hub hole in it.


They're just a bolt in a threaded hole since the Neon uses a stub-type axle. You'll need a 15mm socket to remove them. They may be pretty stubborn, but they will come out.


It looks exactly like a drum brake. Hold down pins, return springs, star wheels, etc. The only difference is the lack of a wheel cylinder and the addition of a lever to apply the shoes.




Yes. As long as the center hole is centered, the rotor will be centered in relation to where it would be on the Neon. I hope that doesn't sound too confusing.


I think I understand what you're asking. You're asking if the two horizontal centerlines (the top hole and the bottom holes) need to be parallel to the ground right? No. Not necessarily. Mine were actually a bit off since the part of the bracket casting where the park brake cable sticks out would have hit the top of the bearing flange on the axle. He did the center hole, then set the bracket on the axle where it would clear the top of the flange, and marked the four holes. As long as the center hole is centered, you can rotate the bracket in any direction however far you want and the rotor will still be centered.


Yup. When was looking at Whitecavys car at the Bash, the top of the bearing flange looks to be in roughly the same position relative to the axle as on my car. I had to do a tiny bit of grinding on the top of the flange to get the center holes to line up, but it wasn't too much.

I hope that explains it a little better. I will be pulling it all apart this afternoon or tomorrow, and I will take some more pics with some dimensions and some details of where the holes go.


The rotor hits the backing plate/dust shield by maybe .010" or less when the wheel is torqued down. Its just enough to drag. You won't see/hear/smell/feel it until you get the car on the road. I drove it around the driveway with no issues, when I got it out on the road, it smelled/felt like the park brake was dragging.

Now that I've thought about it some more, I think you should try it first to see if it drags. I had everything powdercoated, so it may just have been the coating that was too thick (pictures tomorrow). I never got a chance to measure the overall distance from the inside of the bracket to the outer face of the bearing with either setup. If anything, it can't be more than .020 or .030 difference.

Here are the 3rd gen pics-

Grinding needed on the top of the axle-
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Bracket after drilling/grinding-
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Bracket/caliper/rotor mounted-
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About the only differences between 2nd a 3rd gens would be the brake plumbing and e brake system. Everything else is the same.


I used all custom stuff. See page one for links to hardware. This is the most decision making you have, since there are tons of ways to go about it.


Yes. The rotor will rub the backing plate/dust shield without one. The washers I used were just basic 1/2" washers, they measure .090" thick. I still have to get a good measurement of rotor to shield interference. I'm guessing its somewhere around .030-.050".


Yup. Everything else is based off that hole so it needs to be dead nuts.


The caliper bracket is different, but the caliper and rotor are the same. I have no idea if an Intrepid bracket will work.


The hub is on there with a big (maybe 28 or 30mm) nut. I'm pretty sure the bracket is four 15mm bolts. I know theres no Torx anywhere though. You should be safe with all metric tools. Its been a while since I took it all apart.


Yes, the axle/spring/shock is, but the bearings/brakes are exactly the same, front and rear (92+).


The Highlines came with discs also. As long as it has discs, its all the same. The Neon is the only car that specific caliper bracket came on. One from another car may fit/work, but I can't give you any ideas, since I never measured any others myself.


No. All the hardware is the same between ABS and non ABS cars. The sensor is screwed in from the rear of the caliper bracket, and the reluctor wheel is on the outside of the bearing. Similar to the stock front ABS sensors on a J body.

Anyway, I bought some Disc brake 2psi valves and replaced them and all is good, no slide on the repeat test.

2nd gens don't have them. It wouldn't be a problem for me anyways since I ran all new brake lines and switched from split diagonal to split F/R.

All brake systems have an inherent amount of residual pressure, or every time you stepped on the brake, the pedal would travel quite a bit before the pads/shoes actually applied (because of the air gap between them and the rotor/drum). This is the first I've ever heard of resiudal pressure valves only being needed in hi performance apps. I'm guessing the shops you went to were more for sport compacts? (which would stand to reason, since many 50s, 60s and 70s cars, especially ones with front drums, came with them from the factory, and I wouldn't expect a Gen X builder to know that :) )




I've sometimes wondered why cars have RPVs when they don't really need it. The J body MC is well above the 4 corners, so its a mystery to me what the engineers were thinking.

The 3rd gen MC is the same part as the 2nd gen MC (with the exception of the reservoir- for that matter, I'm not 100% sure of the difference between the ABS and non ABS MCs. They both have the same port layout and use the same reservoir. It must be a valving difference).

I've seen some cars (mostly 70's, similar to the VW picture) with an external residual pressure valve/proportioning unit attached to the MC. I don't know if any cars ever had a RPV built into the MC or not.

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