There has been previous discussions on a couple of brake upgrades for the '98 1500.

The front seems straight forward and a no-brainer by swapping in the larger piston calipers from the 2500LD.

The back however seems to have two decent options.
One being a simple swap to the larger GM slave cylinders.
The second being a swap to the '02 1500 axle with disc brakes... and having to move the spring pads and shock mounts.
There are other aftermarket disc conversions out there, but the P-brake hookup becomes an issue, and they're not cheap.

Other than the typical disc vs drum benefits, is disc going to give any more practical stopping power than the GM slaves?... after all, there is only so much brake you can apply before lockup, regardless of brake type.
Is it worth the extra expense and effort to swap axles?

 

I went from 1500 to 2500 disc all around. As you know th. Rear disk are about the same size as the little front 1500 discs. I had a massive increase in braking ability. but as I said. I am different from your situation.

With the same amount of work as swapping the rear axle you could swap a 2500 axle and not have parking brake issues.

 

2500 brakes are a LOT larger than the half-tons.

I think, in your particular situation (OP), just doing the rear wheel cylinders is going to have the best cost/benefit ratio.

 

Seen a few threads about this. I just have one question. How do the large single piston 2500 LD calipers compare to the dual piston 1500 calipers?
Sorry if I hijacked the thread lol.

 

Not at all... a valid question, and in keeping with what this thread is about... this thread is for comparing upgrade options/benefits.
The technicalities of actually doing the upgrades have been covered in other threads.

 

Dual piston calipers can more than likely develop more clamping force, trouble is, they don't fit on the older axles. The LD 3/4 ton calipers are a direct bolt-on for any truck with a single-piston caliper. I think in 2000, or 01, they went to the dual piston caliper on the half-tons. That's about as good as you are going to get on those.

 

On most (parts) sites, items seem to be simply listed for 2500's with the assortment of engines, but I don't see anything specifying 2500 LD or HD... it's just 2500.

How do we distinguish 2500 LD parts?

 

I found it Napa website. The 2500 LD was only offered a couple of years. Think I searched 1998, dodge truck, and it listed the 2500LD. I'll double check

 

Parts stores have some of the same issues..... When I went to get bleeders for my truck, I had them whip out with a caliper, so I could get the right size. Imagine my surprise when it was a two-piston caliper...... The single piston fellers are supposedly for the LD 2500's, but, my sticker on the door frame says 8800 pounds, and I do indeed have D60's front and rear..... It's kinda/sorta mix and match I guess.

Not sure what year they actually transitioned to the dual-piston calipers on the HD 2500's, I suspect it was in 98, or so..... but, most parts books do not reflect that.

Best bet is to call, and ask.... On nebulous parts of this nature, I prefer to just go to my local parts store, and buy. That way, if they are wrong, it's a simple matter to take them back, and there is no shipping charges, or several day wait for the correct part. Not to mention, the advance auto here, will price match online stores as well.

 

So trying to do this from my phone I'm coming up short, on my way to a off road race prerun. Don't remember how I found it yesterday.