Vehicle is stock except for the tires (they are the 30 x 9.5) and has ABS. I still have the drum brakes in the back and they have the issue of stopping hard with slight pressure to the pedal when wet.

I have known for a few months that I was going to be needing to do all of my brakes soon. Been trying to hold until tax time to do them, so I have only been driving short trips to the grocery store etc. A few days ago during a recent rain fall I had to go to the store. When braking the rears would stop hard as usual, but this time I also heard and loud thud coming from the back end. Noise was similar to what it sounded like when my shocks were bad and I would go over a bump but louder. My question is do I have another problem aside from the brakes needing done? Also, for those that have done the rear brake swap, was this an expensive swap to do? Figured I would look into it since I have to do some work back there anyway.

Thanks again as always everybody.

 

Your `99 brakes should be identical to my `97. When I replaced my front pads I removed both rear drums and adjusted them so the drums would just fit. The net was excellent braking all around. Prior to the adjustment I had frequent rear wheel locking on gravel roads.

You could try removing the rubber plug and adjust from the backing plate, I had no luck.

As to your "thud", not a clue.

 

Thanks for the reply Hermit. still looking into the "thud", no luck yet. found one similar thread/question, but the guy never got an answer.

 

I never have a rear brake lockup issue when wet, are the pads cracked or old? I do keep mine well adjusted though & shoes and drums are about 1 yr old.
The thud can be the slip yoke in the rear drive shaft, rear shocks or the read door.
good luck!

 

Thanks Scott. I haven't looked at the rear brakes yet, was waiting til I could actually do something with them.

Looks like I am going to have to park the XJ for awhile tho. Something came up and tax money will have to go elsewhere. Thank you everybody for the responses.

 

When you get around to doing your rear brakes I suggest that you buy a complete hardware kit, have the drums cut or replace them. And, check the wheel cylinders for leaks; it's a good time to replace them. If one is leaking, replace both...unless you like doing drum brakes.

 

I've got two XJ's and they both lock up the first 2-3 times braking when it's wet out. First time it happened it put me into the back of a dumptruck... While I've adjusted to it I'm grabbing the parts for a rear disc swap so it will no longer be an issue. You can switch it to disk brakes for less than $100 if you shop well. Check out the writeups on here...

 

Thanks, I was considering this swap. Will look into it when the time comes. Any idea if the ABS is an issue when considering this swap?

 

Missed that you have ABS. Not sure if rear disc swaps work for that.