did dodge ever put rear discs on the 2nd gen? i know 3rd gen has them. im looking to do a disc conversion this winter when i have my truck tore apart. my first thought was to put a durango rear end in it, will that work?

 

My '04 has rear disc brakes (came stock). The backing plates for the drum and disc brakes are interchangeable on our rear axle assemblies. Meaning, you can just swap out disc/drum assemblies on your current axle tubes. I know this for a fact as I replaced mine (rear axle assembly) about a month ago. I replaced my rear axle assembly with a rear end that had drum brakes. My disc brake assembly bolted right onto the newer assembly. The only thing you'll need to change if you're wanting to convert is your bracket for your parking brake.

**Edit**

I'm pretty sure mine is a 2nd Gen. Same body as yours. Also, I spend all of my time in the 2nd Gen of this forum... lol
I've seen different references for specific generations, but broadly speaking, mine is 2nd.

 

thanks! the drum brakes just work for ****!!! i do a lot of towing and country road driving. 55mph then stop or turn then 55mph. repeat for 142 miles a day.

 

You're welcome. I'm glad that I could help. It's nice to know that my trial-and-error-knowledge can come in handy

By the way, what do you do with your truck that has you driving so much?

You're best bet is to literally look for the used rear disc assemblies. You can even get rotors for our trucks for relatively cheap if you look at aftermarket.

The swap out is super easy and you'll be able to knock it out in a couple of hours (including a lunch break lol). You'll need to bleed your brakes afterwards. A haynes manual should be able to shine further light.

As far as I know (I may be wrong and anyone is welcome to correct me if so), the axle tubes are the same between the different motor sizes so that shouldn't be an issue when looking for the rear disc assemblies.

 

97-04 are technically 3rd gen Dakotas.

and to answer your question, yes you can do it, all 03+ had rear disk, and i think some late 02s, everything before that got the drums.

You will need more then just the brakes, but also the boosters, assembly brackets for what Rantz said.

Just go find a 03+ dak and go to town on ripping parts off it.

 

I think they only did it for the 2003 is what I have heard, but I guess the early 04's might have had them too. I have them on my 03. They are great. I have the V6 so not the strongest engine I have had but gets the job done, but it will stop the quickest. I can tell a big difference when they kick in more. They don't seem to kick in a lot in normal driving but towing I can feel them kick in and it is amazing.