Rear Disc Brake Conversion
For 5th generation Celica's

By Scott MDT

I have recently converted my car from an automatic to manual transmission. Since that conversion I have been thinking about what my next project would be. I have a 3sgte project in the wings but decided to beef up my brake system first. So I got my funds together and started looking at my options. I found a rear disc system under a '95 model Celica GT w/ ABS (I just cut the sensor wire off). I wasn't sure at first if it would work or not, so I pull my car in and measure a bunch of angles and find that the rear knuckles are identical. I also did a little research and found that there is no difference in the master cylinder and proportioning valve on disc and drum brakes. I looked it up in the parts department and the only option is with or without ABS. The master cylinder and valve is the same for disc or drum on non-ABS systems. So off I head up to the yard and end up getting the rear disc brake assembly, rear struts, and sub-frame for $150, and they removed it to my specs and delivered it to the dealership to boot. Can't beat a deal like that. But if you go and pull it yourself there are some things you need to make sure you take with you. First is to take all of the bolt home with you that you can salvage. Never know when you will damage one. The long stabilizer bolts especially. Make sure you take a good rust penetrate with you. Take the horseshoe clips for the brake lines also, they are a little bigger than the drum clips. But you can file and make the drum ones work.

Tools needed to remove the brakes are: rust penetrate, 19, 17, 14, 12, 10 mm wrenches and sockets, and a large screwdriver and a large hammer.

What I decided to do is to pull apart the rear assembly and prepare everything before I went to install anything. I installed new pads and cleaned up the parking brake shoes painted the knuckles and made sure the emergency brake lines were free and smooth, and that the hoses and bleeder valve are clean and clear. Once I have everything in order I pull the car in and rack it up, pull the rear wheels and away we go.

My baby ready to be reborn	Rear disc system ready to be installed

Next....Installing the system