steamin53

94 xj 4x4 2 door with 9" drum brakes on the rear. I've spent a fortune on the brakes so far. The front disc system is totally new and the shoes and drums on the rear are low miles and not glazed. Wheel cylinders are new and the brake cables and hoses are too. Adjustments (repeatedly) have been made by a couple of shops and seem fine in all regards. I do have one of the aftermarket cup holders installed on the center console which reduces park brake lever travel to 3 or 4 clicks but getting to the 4th click requires a significant effort and two hands so the cable is clearly tight.



The "service brakes" are generally satisfactory for my needs but the park brake absolutely sucks. I can't hold my 15' aluminum boat and trailer on even the shallowest grade boat ramp in the area and I'm tired of having to have an assistant to put a chock block behind the wheels to launch or recover the boat. The park brake does hold the vehicle just fine in 1st gear in forward motion against engine torque and will stall the engine in reverse on a level surface. But of course being rear drum brakes it sucks in reverse on a grade. COULD IT BE THAT I AM LOOSING PARK BRAKE SETTING LEVERAGE BY HAVING THE CUP HOLDER LIMITING TRAVEL OF THE LEVEL AND HAVING HAD TO ADJUST THE PARK BRAKE CABLE TIGHTER TO COMPENSATE? I think the book recommends 7 clicks for full set of the parking brake if I recall correctly; I get 3-4 at most.

Given that I'm satisfied with the brake stopping power of the disc/drum combination on the vehicle when driving motion I must ask the question of those who have done conversion to discs in the rear. Do you realize a significant improvement in the park brake function with the disc conversion. I am toying with the idea of either converting to discs or perhaps finding a 10" system from a Dakota or Comanche to install. The conversion to 10" brakes will logically be a significant improvement but if the disc parking brake is better than the 10" brakes that may be the cheaper and better choice.

I need feedback from those who have done the conversion to discs.

cruiser54

I would ditch the cupholder as a trial. 2 screws.

Bugout4x4

Does that year have a parking brake cable slack adjuster underneath on the subframe? I have had to tighten this up a couple times now on my 97 because they stretch and wear the housing sheath over time. This brought my throw travel back into specs and proper pull length.

steamin53

Thanks for your replies. Removing the cup holder and going back to spec setting for the lever is in my plan since the rear brake hardware, cables, and cylinders and of course the most recent adjustments have been done since the cup holder was installed. Regarding Bugout's question about the adjuster mechanism yes there is an equalizer to which the two brake cables attach and where the cable adjustment is performed. It appears to be sitting at the correct 90 degree angle to the two cables so as to apply equal force to each.

Today I've been brushing up on mechanical engineering principals for lever induced torque (force) and clearly force is dependent on the angle of the lever to the object to which the force is applied. In this case the lever to the cables. The nearer to perpendicular the angle the greater the force is my conclusion but my forte is not mechanical engineering. It does seems logical that since the lever initially applies a force nearer to parallel to the cable run(s) that farther (higher) the lever is lifted to set the brakes the closer it moves to a perpendicular angle to the cables. I'm hoping changing back to the spec will apply more force to the cables and thus the shoes.

I still would like some feedback on the change in park brake effectiveness from someone with experience with the brake conversions (to 10" drums and to discs).

Bugout4x4

That adjuster needs to be tightened to shorten the main pull cable from the brake handle. But there us a proper way to do this... (this is for everyone reading in case you already know this)

Block front tires so that it won't roll, Put the gear selector in neutral.

Release park brake all the way to the bottom.

One at a time Jack up and adjust rear brakes until they are tight, using a second tool like a long skinny probe or phillips push in the lever on the adjuster ratchet wheel while backing off the adjuster wheel just enough to where the tire will turn free with "slight" drag. (Tightening it all the way up centers the brake assembly in the drum first before backing it off free again).

Leave the second tire jacked up so that you can spin it to check your park brake adjustment next.

Then tighten the adjuster rod on the main park brake cable just until all "slack" in the cable is gone when you pull down on it with your hand.

Test park lever to make sure it is trying to pull the brakes tight just as soon as you start to pull it and return it back to the bottom.

Back off the park cable adjuster "just enough and a slight bit more" to allow the tire to spin free when the lever is all the way down in release position.

At this point it should be trying to apply the park brake as soon as you start to pull the lever but still be completely free and released in the full down position.

Now you should be able to put your cupholder back and use it as an indicator when your rear brakes really need to be adjusted as regular maintenance.

When it hits the cupholder again they need to be adjusted...

Note: If you have a rear limited slip or locker diff both sides will need to be jack up and supported to do this.

cruiser54

Here:

Bugout4x4

Thank you Sir! That visualization was definitely missing for backing off the adjuster wheel.

cruiser54

ALWAYS feel free to save and use my stuff.

Bugout4x4

Grabbed it!

steamin53

Thanks Cruiser for the recommendation. That process has been done no less than 4 times.