Camry rear disc conversion

[Brian]

I have a 1997 camry 2.2 with rear drum brakes. My car comes with the option for rear disc brakes. Lots of worn bushings and a rusted suffrage later, I’m told my local scrap yard has a disc surface setup for $150 and I’m going to install soonish. Anyone do this conversion before? I can’t even afford a down-payment on anything else, so I have to do this. It makes tons of noise and its squirrely on the hyway. It’s got me scared a bit.

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[Its me]

While I have never done what you are suggesting, I would think it would be relatively straight forward.

I would suggest you pull the brake proportioning valve from the donor car as well just to be on the safe side.

Good luck

Karl

[Brian]

The deed is done. Big problem I encountered, the doner car had the ebrake on and it sat so long that it rusted in place. I had to pound the disc off which ripped out the parking brake shoes. The stock ebrake cables do not mount to the new stuff. The doner car was a 2001 es300 Lexus with a v6, my car is a 4 cylinder 97 Camry. Very similar, but not quite the same. Nearly every major fastener for the subframe and the central mounts of the anti sway bar snapped off in the process. I can say that drill bits from Fastenal are way better for drilling thru steel than any brand if bits sold at all the chain stores.
For now, I left the ebrake cables loose on top the subframe until I get the coin to replace them. I’ll need the rear cables for the newer Lexus for sure. I also need fresh tires and an alignment.
This is all doable, especially if your car is not as Rusty as mine. The upgrade to the Lexus rear disc is very noticeable and welcome.

[Author]

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