Switching My Electric Drum Brakes to Hydraulic Drum Brakes on Dexter 10k Axles  

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Expert Reply:

We carry disc brake kits for the Dexter 10K Standard Duty axle. Unfortunately, there is no disc brake kit available through our venders that fits the Dexter 10K Heavy Duty Axle.

You could upgrade to a hydraulic drum brake system from your electric drum brakes. You will need Dexter Left Hand Hydraulic Brake Assembly # 23-404 and the Right Hand Brake Assembly # 23-405.

If your drums need to be replaced, you will need Brake Drum Assembly # 9-27-1. You can remove your hubs off your current drums and bolt these EXISTING hubs to the new drums. When replacing the drums you should examine the wheel bearing to see if they need to be replaced. If you need to replace the bearings and seal, you will need # 395S inner bearing, # 387A outer bearing, and grease seal # 10-56. If you need to repalce the hubs, which include the bearings and seals, you need # 8-214-5UC1. The replacement hub to drum mounting bolts are # 7-103.

You will also need a hydraulic brake actuator installed on the trailer to activate the drum brakes. There are two types of actuators that can be used for this application. A surge drum brake actuator, I recommend the Titan Hydraulic Brake Actuator w/ Drop and Lockout # T4854010, replaces the trailers coupler. The coupler will activate the brakes by using the forward stopping motion of your tow vehicle.

The second type of hydraulic actuator is an electric-hydraulic actuator, like the Hydra-Star Electric-Hydraulic Actuator # HBA-12. This brake actuator is a self-contained unit that mounts to the trailer and uses the electric signal from your tow vehicle's brake controller to activate the hydraulic brakes. I recommend this type of actuator over a surge coupler because you get a faster response time that provide smoother and more effective braking.

You will also need to install hoses and brake lines to connect the the disc brakes to the actuator. Depending on your application, they sell these kits by the number of axles you will need to connect.

I recommend using both rubber hoses to connect to the drum brake wheel cylinder and steel line when plumbing the rest of the hydraulic system back to the brake actuator, like the Hydra-Star Hydraulic Brake Line Kit part # HS496-252 which is for a tandem axle setup.

I attached a link to an article that will explain all the parts you will need in installing hydraulic drum brakes.

expert reply by: Jared P

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