2000+ Blazer 2wd dual piston caliper opinions

[FullThrottle87]

I'm looking at upgrading the brakes on my '87 G.N. I'm running stock sized wheels, and am installing a G-body vacuum power booster & master cylinder. I've located a 2wd Blazer in the junkyard with the correct dual piston calipers/hubs for the swap. A couple of questions for those who have done this swap... Is it really worth the price of admission??

My main holdup is that I'm a little leery of swapping to a large sealed front wheel bearing. They cost a few hundred dollars for a pair of premium quality bearings, which don't come with the standard lifetime warranty due to premature failure rate (1 year warranty).

How long should I expect these bearings to last on a street driven GN? Is the overall braking upgrade worth the cost? Is this the best option for a guy who wants to keep his factory steel 15" wheels on the car? I can get factory G-body performance slotted brake rotors, premium pads, calipers and all new inner/outer bearings, for less than what the sealed Blazer bearings cost!

Any advice, ideas or heckling on this would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mommasGN]

interested also

 

[cruzn57]

well considering my wife put well over 100K mi on her blazer ,with no wheel bearing problems.
I cannot see why it should become a problem now.

 

[novaderrik]

personally, i'd just keep your stock spindle.. make the rotors into hubs, cut the caliper mounting ears off the spindles and tap the heat shield bolt holes bigger, make a simple adapter out of some 1/4" steel, and mount up some LS1 Camaro brakes. they fit under 15" aluminum Monte SS wheels so i can't see why they wouldn't fit under GN wheels.. your stock spare wheel will even clear.

 

[lhbarrett]

The SS Camaro brakes push the front wheels out. This caused me to increase my back spacing on my 17 wheels with 245-45 to 5 inches. As it would rub on the ps.

 

[turbojd]

I did this brake swap a few years ago, the Blazer dual piston caliper setup It's pretty much a bolt in swap
The car brakes a lot better then the stock brakes .

 

[ttypewhite]

The Blazer option is well worth the price of admission. If done properly with SS brake lines and a good vacuum source on the motor to the master cylinder the difference is night and day. Direct bolt up that doesn't push the wheel out. Best bang for the buck.

 

[lhbarrett]

FYI
Blazer spindles can also accept bigger calipers. Contact Tobin at Kore3.

 

[turbojd]

FYI
Blazer spindles can also accept bigger calipers. Contact Tobin at Kore3.

True about being able to use bigger calipers with Blazer spindles, but then you will need to upgrade to bigger size rims also if using stock size 15" rims.

 

[Steve V]

Have these on 2 of my buicks and yes it is worth it.

 

[turbojd]

The Blazer option is well worth the price of admission. If done properly with SS brake lines and a good vacuum source on the motor to the master cylinder the difference is night and day. Direct bolt up that doesn't push the wheel out. Best bang for the buck.

X2 And it can be done fairly cheap compared to other options.

 

[scojack_2001]

I did this to my GN three years ago. Got the spindles with hubs out of the yard for $100. Made brackets to use LS-1 F Body 12" brakes. I used EBC pads and rotors and remanned parts store calipers.

Had to put longer wheel studs in the hubs. No big deal. And run a 7mm spacer to clear my 16" GTAs. Works well and the car stops nice. And everything you need should you have to replace something is readily availible. I just replaced both the wheel bearings. Cost me $96 for the pair from Amazon for bearings from Detroit Axle. They seem to be nice and quiet and for the money you can't beat them.

If you just want to install and go, get the complete spindles off the Blazer, bolt them on, go to the alignment shop, and you're done.

 

[turbojd]

I used the Detroit hub bearings also, no problems at all with them.

 

[Shawn N]

I'm looking at upgrading the brakes on my '87 G.N. I'm running stock sized wheels, and am installing a G-body vacuum power booster & master cylinder. I've located a 2wd Blazer in the junkyard with the correct dual piston calipers/hubs for the swap. A couple of questions for those who have done this swap... Is it really worth the price of admission??

My main holdup is that I'm a little leery of swapping to a large sealed front wheel bearing. They cost a few hundred dollars for a pair of premium quality bearings, which don't come with the standard lifetime warranty due to premature failure rate (1 year warranty).

How long should I expect these bearings to last on a street driven GN? Is the overall braking upgrade worth the cost? Is this the best option for a guy who wants to keep his factory steel 15" wheels on the car? I can get factory G-body performance slotted brake rotors, premium pads, calipers and all new inner/outer bearings, for less than what the sealed Blazer bearings cost!

Any advice, ideas or heckling on this would be greatly appreciated!

I've owned my 99 GMC Jimmy since 2000 and have gone through 3 lh hubs and 2 rh hubs since i've owned it. It has 195k on the odometer. They are however very easy to replace but expensive at $175 ea with a 3 year warranty. As for the calipers I'm still on the factory set so they seem bulletproof.

 

[FullThrottle87]

Basically to sum it up, the dual piston calipers is a nice bolt on upgrade if you're keeping stock 15" wheels.
A noticeable braking improvement, the bearings are pricey but do their job, expect replacement 50,000-100,000 +/- miles.
I'm thinking that if I do end up picking up the wrecking yard hubs/rotors/calipers, I will do a before & after comparison/numbers write up to help others decide which direction to go with their brakes.
Great information, thank you everyone!