Can Spacers Be Used to Align Disc Brake Caliper When Converting from Drum to Disc Brakes

Published 12/24/2014

Question:

I purchased a set of Kodiak disc brakes for my 2001 Magic Tilt boat trailer to convert from drum to disc. In order for the caliper to fit over the rotor and attach to the brake flange, I had to add spacers between the brake flange and the caliper mounting plate to extend the caliper out approx. 1/4 to 3/8 in. further. Is this a problem youve heard of before? Are axle brake flanges located differently for different applications? Thanks.

asked by: Duane S

Helpful Expert Reply:

First, thank you for your purchase from etrailer earlier this year.

I checked with my contact at Kodiak about your issue with alignment of your disc brake calipers with the rotors after converting your boat trailer from drum to disk brakes.

He advised that it is not a problem or safety issue to add new material to provide the extra 1/4-inch or so spacing you needed to align your calipers with your rotors. They key is to use steel washers (if you used washers) and grade 8 bolts. If you were able to find or fabricate a 1/4-inch steel plate, rather than washers, that would be even better.

An alternative method to achieve the same result would be to weld on new brake flanges that would give you the same required dimension.

If you still have your old hub/drum assemblies you might inspect the inside surface of the drum, and also the drum brake pads, for any signs of uneven wear, as this might indicate if there was an alignment issue with the trailer's original brakes due to the placement of the brake flanges.

expert reply by: Adam R