Disk brake upgrade for Eagles

[tomhamrick]

Check out the Parts Special at   http://www.silvereaglebus.com  Not cheap but sounds interesting.

Tom Hamrick

[luvrbus]

Tom,the price is not that bad when you consider that a drum brake type upgrade for a Eagle can cost 7000.00.The 37ft Eagle that Southern Oregon Diesel had for sale with 2 axles was advertised has having 9000.00 worth of upgraded drum brakes.there is a 05 in Eagles Int group that has disc brakes that he bought off a wrecked truck and installed them on his bus.no telling how much the labor would cost to change them over but i would like to have them

[TomC]

About disk brakes- they sound good on paper, but Freightliner has not approved them yet.  Mainly-the clearance of the brakes to tires is very close-to close for sufficient cooling, or another way to put it, might overheat the tire on extreme braking.  Also, even though Europe is using disk brakes in their trucks, the trucks in Europe have a 80 kph speed limit which is about 50mph, they don't have the long driving distances, and most importantly, they aren't subjected to the severe dust that can and does distroy disk brakes.  We've found that the service life out of the linings is only in the 50-80,000 mile range.  Considering that many over the road truckers regularly get over 200,000 miles (I got 300,000 miles out of the brakes on my trucks), the disk brakes are not cost effective yet.  Instead, Freightliner is going to increase brakes from 15 x 4 to 15 x 5 in front, and from 16.5 x 7 to 16.5 x 8.  Also there are numberous brake pad composition that are very specific to your application.  For instance, on my transit bus, the brakes don't work well until they are heated up-a semi metallic lining suitable for multiple stop and starts a day.  On my old truck, I had softer linings put on that worked best when cold, since I wanted them to work well after a couple of hours on the road when coming off the highway when the brakes are more or less cold. 
My suggestion- instead of paying for disc brakes, upgrade your drums to the best drums (like Centrifuse, Meritor Steelite, etc), reline with the best lining, and rebuild the S cam bushings.  The brakes then will most likely last the lifetime of the bus (especially if you have Jake Brakes).  Good Luck, TomC

[Dreamscape]

My opinion on the disk brakes for Eagle is that I don't think a company would recommend something without knowing the liabilities, especially brakes. If I could afford them I would buy them. Has to have better stopping power than drum brakes. And when your trying to stop or slow down 40,000 lbs every little bit helps. 

Paul

[belfert]

I've seen various things on the Internet about air drum brakes being better than air disk brakes for vehicles like RVs that sit a lot.  I have no idea if this is true or not.

[luvrbus]

Paul, i agree with you on that part just wish they would have came out sooner but after spending the money on my upgrade for the drum brakes i hope they last me like Tom said

[Dreamscape]

This is just a question for those that know.

Could a fella install them on the front and leave the rest alone?

Paul

[Busted Knuckle]

Well I can tell from FACT that Disc brakes have been being used on commercial buses in the US since atleast 1995! I know this how? Because I own a 1995 SETRA S217 HDH that has them! I also have a friend who owns a 1997 Van Hool (DROOL I was told by a Setra mech @ the FL Setra shop), a 1998 H3-45 & 2 1998 MCI Rennisance Coaches with them! Personally I love the way they stop/work and so does Bobby! Now as far as how long they'll last I personally can't say because I haven't had them that long! But they sho do say WHOA, whoa , Hey der stop big fella alot better than what I was used to!
Of course just about anything stops better than throwing out an anchor and praying that it'll catch on something strong enough to stop you soon! LOL!
 BK  

PS Paul mine and the ones on the Van Drool are steer only the others are all the way around! bk

[niles500]

Paul - In a word 'Yes' - my bus has ABS air/disk on steer and tag w/ drum on drive - Now how YOU would engineer YOUR brake system to do this? I do not know - HTH

[tomhamrick]

Just out of curiosity..do you adjust them the same as drum brakes or is it done differently??
Tom Hamrick

[luvrbus]

Tom, the ones i have seen are self adjusting like you car

[TomC]

Air discs generally have the same air can and self adjuster as the drum brakes do.  Good Luck, TomC