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Where did you get the stuff to do the disc brake conversion?
I've been watching on ebay for awhile. I wanted the majority of the parts new. So only planned on starting with a used set of 98 backing plates. I got the pair on ebay shipped for $130. Next I was only intending to get a JY or used set of calipers to use for core charges. I got both again on ebay shipped for $40. The calipers came in better than I had anticipated ! No grooves on the slider rails and good clean piston bores. At this point I decided to rebuild both fronts and rears. So next I ordered new Wagner 66 Parking Brake Shoes. Then got a Wagner Parking Brake Hardware Kit. I put these together yesterday, and installed them today.
Newly rebuilt and just installed !!!
I opened up the backing plate center axle hole with a Dremel and a small grinding stone, 1/2" x 1/2" cylinder shaped round. Took maybe 10 minutes to do one side ? Plus I used a wire brush and small file to clean up the mounting area at the axle tube ends. My plates rocked when fitted, after cleaning, they sat flush. Before I cleaned the ends, I removed the old mounting plate lugs. I used a small ball pien held on the studs, then drove them out with a larger ball pien, so as not to damage the tube ends. I cleaned up and polished the inside of the tube ends with Scotch-brite pads. I fastened the plates with grade 8, 3/8"-16, 1.5" flangehead bolts, lock washers and matching flangehead nuts, using blue Lock-tite. The drum backing plates specs, are 32ft lbs torque. But at that amount, the whole bolt would still turn, in part, due to the filet on the back side of the mounting plate. So, I decided to increase it to 42ft lbs. That pulled them down nice and snug, they no longer turned ! I reused the bleeder valves. I bought new rubber slider pin dust boots and new mounting bolts for the calipers. As for rebuilding the calipers. I cleaned them, painted them with VHT paint. My front pistons were still good. I picked up a new set for the ZJ calipers at O' really's for about $9 ea. Then I bought new seals for the pistons on ebay. I still had right around $220 for the parts, not counting my paint. I could probably have saved money, maybe $40, by reusing the pistons, the mounting bolts, guide pins and dust boots. But I saved the old parts for spares. Most people on here are saving the ZJ rear OEM soft lines, and reversing or switching the sides. That provides a mounting point for the line. The rear lines are only about 8" long. I ordered new Centric Coated Rotors on ebay, $72 for both shipped ? I just felt, that this was the best route to go, you end up with nearly new OEM parts, easily replaceable! I am using 8" Inline Tube braided sstl soft lines with a smooth outer clear poly coating. I also used thier SSTL hard lines kit and ordered matching 18" soft lines up front. I used Russel brake line mounting clips and Inline Tube brake line hardware and banjo fittings. Good luck, have fun on the hunt ! Try BigDavid on here, I think he's been selling the kits on here again ? $220 shipped, is a good deal !!! HTHY
Last edited by CRLAMBERTJR; 08-28-2018 at 08:59 PM.
Didn't get a whole lot done. Installed the new axle bearings and seals. Started to install the LOKKA lunchbox, but my "C" clips wouldn't fit down in the cup side of the spacers !!! Out came the Dremel !!! Took care of that problem, 20 minutes later, in the house I went ! Too dang hot !!! Tomorrow should be better,,,
Another scorcher today ! I finished cleaning up and painting the differential cover. The I went ahead and installed the LOKKA !!! Then I wasted too much time fabbing up some brake line mounts. They turned out good. Next, I temporarily mounted the calipers, to see what options I have for running the lines out. It was one of those deals, where you just sit and look at for a bit, trying to decide the best way to protect the lines, and be able to easily service the brakes later. I never decided on anything permanent yet. Decided to just bend them for now. When I do my lift, I'll decide how I keep it. Got a lot of running to do tomorrow, don't know if I'll get a whole lot done on the Jeep or not !!! One more session, should be about it !
Ok, couldn't get to work on it yesterday. But today went well. I got all of the brake lines done. I was looking at the e-brake cables and decided to modify them to work. I think they'll work just fine ! I had previously removed the main cable adjuster, and cleaned it up. As it sits now, I have the main e-brake cable bracket mounted to the unibody. I removed the gravel guards from the ends of both cables. I have to pick up a couple of rope cable clamps, maybe 3/16" , bend the ends. Then adjust the shoes, then the main cable. Really a no-brainer! I see no reason to buy new cables. This should turn out good. If not, I'll get the new cables. Here's how I ran my brake lines,,,
Passenger side. 8\" soft line. Used short straight banjo bolts. Still used the line clamp on the axle. Repurposed the old rear sway bar mounts to hold my homemade brake line clips.
Another shot of passenger side.
Was going to use abutment clips on the pads. But there was no room or play ! The Akebono Ceramic Brake Pads fit like a glove in the rear. They have a spring tension clip, that loads the pads tite. I liked the way the rear pads fit the ZJ calipers, better than the fit of the front calipers. Had to use the abutment clips on them. I found two small hairline cracks, at the edge of the filler hole on my differential cover! I didn't have my glasses on when I was cleaning it to paint it. Anyway I painted it black. Decided to go ahead and install it to see what happens ? I have a good idea ! Someone has had to drive the plug in with a BFH !!!
Two small cracks in the differential cover ?!?!
I started to JB weld it,,, then thought about brazing it, but I don't have access to my tanks. So, this is the reason, I'll have to get me some fancy smancy $$$ aluminum covers !!! I've been looking for a cast iron cover from a Dakota or Durango. But I would really like one of those G2 covers in black or raw aluminum!!! We'll see what happens ? And of course, I'd have to buy the front one to match !!! LOL ! Tomorrow should be fun ! Just have to put clamps on the e-brake cables, adjust them. Put the wheels on and let her down. Top off the rear differential grease. Check the tranny fluid. Check the front end alignment. Fill and bleed the brakes! I did so many things at this time, may be interesting ?!?!
I haven't been feeling very good lately, having a hard time breathing. Summer chest cold with COPD is not to be triffled with, or so they told me in therapy ! The suggest going to the ER at first signs !!! Had a couple of set backs. The PO's mechanic, "if you want to call them that ? ", had installed the wheel bearing hubs for cast rotors. They didn't do the brakes. Just stuck the old composite rotors back on with really worn pads ! So, when I ordered my new hubs and rotors, I only checked the length of the existing hub studs, ie 1.5", and that is what I ordered. Cast rotors with 2.13" tall hat and 1.5 " studded wheel bearing hubs. Well, after I installed the new Akebono Ceramic Brake Pads along with the new tall, cast rotors, the wheels lock up when torqued ! 1/8" to 3/16" too long ! So I tried the shorter rotors that work for both the ZJ disc brake swap 93-98 and XJ pre 99.5 with composite rotors ,,, that doesn't fit, because of the taller height of the cast rotor hub !!! I got really disgusted at about this point !!! The PO, a one owner, non- mechanic, by the way,,, is oblivious ! After I find something that's been changed or fixed, I ask him about it, and he says, "oh, yeah,,, I 'm keeping that we had that done about 5 years ago ??? " To add insult to injury,,, the new ebay, handheld vacumn pump that I purchased to bleed my brakes came missing the rubber gasket that seals the storage canister, so no vacumn !!! Then I just went and bought a nice Powerade 20oz bottle and some 1/4" od clear tubing, and made my own !!! Now, all of the correct parts are on the way !!! All I liked being finished, was checking the front alignment and topping off the tranny fluid !!! Since I have to tear it back down to the axles up front, I went ahead and ordered a set of the really nice outer axle seals to put in while I'm in there!!! The OEM plastic slingers are sitting nowhere near the ends of my tubes. I've pushed them over several times, but they keep moving out. My axles are rusty and corroded right in that area. You can visibly see the smaller diameter of the axle shafts ! Some say that these newer style tube seals trap water ? The way I see it, right now, I'd be getting, water, rocks, mud, sand and dirt ! I'll take my chances with the water. I may even pull the trigger on some nice alloy axles, especially if I end up with 33s. So if I feel better tomorrow, going to install my XJWONDERS upgraded battery cable kit and my AutoPal Euro Headlights and the new harness. Then, jack the front end up and get everything ready to just install the new parts !!! Even planning ahead with these old Jeeps, still throws you curves !!! Will update tomorrow night. Anyways, here's a pic of my new wheels. American Racing AR23 15x7. Think I'm going to try a set of black lugnuts with these to see how it looks ? May tone them down a bit, look more interesting. If I don't like them, I'll just keep them for my second set of black steel wheels and tires for playing in ! I couldn't even find the picture i just took of my wheels !?!? So, I just stuck this one in there !!!
Been sick for nearly two weeks. Caught up to me yesterday ! Had an emergency Dr appt, then they wanted to put me in the hospital ! Been so dizzy, can't stand or walk. In bed mostly past two days ! I got more parts coming in every day ! Next week will hopefully be better !
American Racing AR23 15x7 w Hankook Optimo H724 235 x 75 x 15, hind end sagging a bit,,,
Ok, got her back together. Everything is doing great now. Tested the parking brake, may try to tighten it a bit more. But it will hold the jeep in gear, forward and reverse. The locker seems loud, but works fine. Maybe heavier grease and a thicker differential cover later ? I'm assuming it will calm down a bit either way ? Brakes are working good. SILKY SMOOTH !!! Nice firm pedal, bled them twice. Tried to bleed the master cylinder, cracked it, but nothing really came out ? Doesn't seem to pull right or left braking, straight ahead ! Tried to lock up the brakes, to check the proportioning valve, just got the back to chirp once. Haven't tried the oh **** stop yet ! Aligned the front end, checked it twice. Seems to be pulling to the right just a bit. If you turn the wheel left, it still keeps going left. I'll check it again. No more hopping around or popping when you turn or hit a bump. Everything feels solid and firm, yet not too tight ! Jeep rides great down the interstate. Need to center my steering wheel yet and tighten my sway bar up. I also installed a set of front outer axle seals. Got a Lube Locker to stick in the Dana 30 and change the grease. Need to revisit the old oil filter adapter gaskets again ! This time I ordered a set of the Crowns ? Need to flush my heater core and coolant system before winter. Have to install my upgraded battery cables and headlights and harness. Watching for transmission pan leaks !!! May hold off on the exhaust and lift for a bit ? I'm wanting to work on the door locks, door checks, fix the power windows. Then do the headliner, seat covers, floor liners and the stereo. A work in progress !!!
Last edited by CRLAMBERTJR; 09-08-2018 at 07:29 PM.
Glad you're feeling better, man. Looks like you've made some good progress... like them wheels!
Thanks ! It got kinda hairy last week. Doing better now ! Yesterday I installed my XJWONDERS Upgraded Battery Cable Kit, today I did the AutoPal headlights and upgraded harness. Went with Phillips Xtreme Vision 130%. Unreal !!! I can drive at night w/o glasses now !!! Highly recommended!! I'm just going to have to slow down I guess ? Keep biting off big chunks, like I used to. So I have a bunch of smaller jobs lined out for the rest of the month. Need to redo my oil filter adapter gaskets again ? Put the OEM valve cover torque spacer grommets back on with an even better rubber washer I found on ebay. They're not leaking, but just bugs me ! Got a set of hood lift struts to install. Got a new pinion seal for my Dana 30. I bought all new OEM bump stops and want to put those in till I do the lift. I have a bad headlight adjusting screw that was rotten ! Had to use pliers ! I bought two different sets of easy outs. Got one broken screw in my tranny pan, 10ft lbs torque !!! Go figure. Three of the four rear bump stops bolts broke, want to get them out and replaced. Need to clean my throttle body and IAC valve, so I bought a new gasket for thst. Got a Lube Locker for my Dana 30 and change the grease. Picked up a BAFX OBD2 scanner, been playing with it on my phone,,, cool !!! I swapped out older pitted plastic chrome headlight bezels for black ones today ! I cleaned the inside film in my new headlights today 3x, rinsed with distilled water, blew dry with air. Still needs more work to get it all out. Gonna see what kinda neat kitchen gadgets at Walmart that I can get to clean inside better. Gonna take my wiper arms off and paint them semi-gloss black. Need to fix the squirter in the rear. Ordered new lift gate bumpers. Got some heat shrink coming, to fix my wiring to the windows, door locks, speakers and hatch power lock. I want one of those little short black, flexible antennas ! I need to tighten my front sway bar bushings, to see how it affects the handling. Tweak the alignment a hair bit more. Pulls right just barely. Standing in front of my Jeep, it looks like one wheel is turned out further, depending on whatever direction you turned last, the leading wheel sticks out. Gonna check the air in my tires first, then switch sides, see if the reverses it ? My steering wheel is off center a lil bit, wanta adjust that.Need to flush my radiator and heater core before it turns cold and check my diverter door. Wanta pull all my taillights out and clean the contacts, hit em with dielectric grease. Been lookin for a phone holder I like, plus, maybe something to hold a tablet for off road navigation GPS use. I want to install dual, 1000ma USB ports in my dash and back of my center console. Redo my headliner, order some nice dog hair proof seat covers. New Husky floor liners throughout ! All new door checks and pins, w/new hardware. Need to find a nice drivers seat belt ! Hashin' round the idea of doing the cut and fold on my rear quarters , they're a little too far gone ! Just a ton, of little things bugging me ! Maybe I'm a bit OCD or **** retentive ?!?! Anyways, I think I'm gonna just cruise along and take it easy the rest of the year. This spring, 2-3" lift. New HD no-lift shackle relocating brackets.. JKS Boomerang Shackles. I got a set of the Moog CC782 front springs. Going to pair them up with JKS/ACOS adjustable spacer ! JKS adjustable control arms and drag link. BPEs all around. Still undecided on rear springs ? 1.5" Ranchos with JKS Boomerang Shackles or 3-3.5" OME leafs, HD standard shackles, no liftt. Maybe switch to OME coils up front ? Then redoing all of my AC before hot weather hits ! Then, 62mm throttle body and 784 injectors with Banks Revolver header and 2.5" exhaust with Magnaflow cat, Walker Quietflow SS muffler and new downpipe with no bend !!! It never ends ,,,
Last edited by CRLAMBERTJR; 09-13-2018 at 10:31 PM.
Today, I painted my wiper arms, cleaned the rear sprayer nozzle. Tweaked my alignment. Put some anti-sieze on my swaybar bolts and torqued them to 75% of the value. That helped with self centering Then I centered my steering wheel. Too hot to do much !!! Maybe cross something else off my list tomorrow? Before Before After After
I installed the upgraded battery cables, AutoPal headlights and upgraded headlight harness. Maybe install my homemade hood lift kit from ebay tomorrow ? New OEM underhood light. Using 4ga wire, you can reuse the cover at the positive connection on the alternator. Headlight harness relays. Old shtuff !!!
Changed the Dana 30 grease. Went with a brand from Rural King, Mystik JT7 75w90 synthetic blend, both front and rear. Took the cover off, cleaned and painted it. Cleaned up all the bolts and drain plug. Cleaned up the axle. Put it back together with a Lube Locker! Adjusted my belt tension with my latest new toy, a Gates Krikit Belt Tension Gauge. Gates Krikit belt tension gauge !
Getting too hot, had to quit ! But I did add a couple more stickers ! New stickers, 5hp each !!! Front end with black headlight bezels and AutoPal Eurobeam headlights! These thing kick butt for the money ! AutoPal Eurobeam lense close up! I like these because they retain the stock look !
Was going to install my hood lift struts, maybe tomorrow?
Adjusted my belt tension with my latest new toy, a Gates Krikit Belt Tension Gauge. Gates Krikit belt tension gauge !
Why didn't you buy a Krikit II? That one maxes out at 150 lbs. Pretty sure tension is 140 to 160 for a used and 180 to 200 for new. I mean it works fine with an old belt but.........
08-28-2018, 08:37 PM
Disc Brake Goodies !
