Troubleshooting Converting Surge Brake Actuator from Disc to Drum Brake Pressure for Dico Aero 6000

Question:

Ok as usual Ive made more work by trying to save a buck. My trailer has the dico aero 6000 with drum breaks. Its on a 2000 baker boat trailer. The breaks stopped working and I found there was a lot of rust in the reservoir. Because of its age and trying to make things simple I just decided to replace the whole thing. I was trying to find the exact same part but it appeared it was not made anymore. I did find a brand new old stock part but when I got it I found it has a tag that said for disc breaks only. What is the difference in the disc vs drum actuators? Could I just change that part? Obviously there are some different directions I could take this project what do you think of the options? Thank you

asked by: Doug M

Expert Reply:

I completely understand, it's always nice to try to salvage what you have before purchasing again. I can explain the difference to you, and might have a possible solution for you.

Drum and disk brake actuators use different pressures for operation. Drum brake actuators typically produce 1000-psi pressure while disc brake actuators produce 1500 or 1600-psi pressure.

The higher pressure of a disc actuator could blow out the wheel cylinders of a drum brake assembly so you cannot use the higher-pressure disc actuator with drum brakes.

Depending on your actuator you may be able to install a pressure reducer value to drop the pressure from the 1500-1600 range down to 1000-psi for drum brakes. In other instances you can install a new master cylinder (meant for drum brakes) into the disc actuator. For example, if you have a Titan Model 60 actuator for disc brakes you can replace it's higher-pressure master cylinder # T4820000 with the unit for the drum brake version, master cylinder # T4395100.

I have linked the above mentioned parts to this page for your convenience.

expert reply by: Jackie C