seen the threads on rear disc upgrades and I could handle that easily, however I have abs and want to keep it. has anyone ever converted one of those to 4 whl disc? if so what more would I need? thanx joel

 

I wouldn't waste money putting disc brakes on a Dana 35. Swap an 8.25 and put discs on it, abs is terrible so it's no big loss to get rid of it.

 

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Is this a bad ABS or do you not like ABS on general principles?

 

I don't like it in general but the system Jeep uses isn't very good either.

 

not gonna lift it, not going off-roading, discs are better than drums, strictly a winter driver, so any abs I would think is better than none

 

Winter driving is one of the reasons I don't like abs, you pull up to a stop sign or redlight and slide a little bit, the abs kicks in and you loose breaking power. I don't like it for off road, gravel and dirt roads or in the rain either.

 

"Loose" rhymes with "goose". And the only breaking power that ABS loses is the power to break things when you can't stop.

ABS improves braking power.

 

we got it you don't like abs, many of us do.... now back to the original question please

 

I am kinna in the same shoe as you do, but I am throwing in a set of 8.8 with abs, my task of getting abs works should be easier.

Basically the idea is having some place rotate to have the tone ring, and a sensor above that. The rest of the abs system can remain. I believe you have the same D35 as I do, which has 2 tone rings on each end of the rear axle. You can try to find way to extract the tone rings from current axle, and put it in the 8.25. probably some machining to get the tone ring fit, and some bracket welding to hold the sensor... Is there any 8.25 abs axle exist?

 

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/di...on-abs-121724/

 

ABS does not improve your breaking power in any way, the whole point of ABS is to keep the wheels turning by limiting the braking force when the wheels start to skid. ABS has almost caused me to wreck several times, now I pull the fuse on anything I have that has ABS, my XJ came without it.

 

You don't understand ABS or braking. ABS prevents lockup. If your tires are locked up, you have LESS braking (not "breaking") power than if your wheels are still turning.

I have actually watched this happen when a stoner rear ended me. I saw his front end dip as he applied the brakes, and then when he locked up, his his front end LIFTED as if he had removed his foot from the brake pedal. But, he hadn't. He applied maximum brake and kept it there. ABS would have pulsed the brakes and he probably would not have hit me. (It was a light tap.)

While it's true that early ABS systems weren't as good as today, and a trained, skilled driver could beat ABS in a stopping contest, even the first production systems would stop better than the vast majority of drivers. Modern systems cannot be beaten by any human.

 

Having done a disc brake swap on more than one axle, I will say that you don't really get much of an improvement in braking ability. You don't stop any faster with disks than you do when you have properly adjusted drums so don't expect huge gains in stopping power.

That being said, drum brakes are horrible at staying adjusted properly. Disks are much better in that regard. Discs are also easier to inspect, and changing the pads is much easier. So there are distinct advantages to going with discs.

If you really are keeping your XJ stock height with stock-ish size tires and you never beat on it, the Dana 35 will hold up just fine. The link above seems like it would be a good way to source the parts off a ZJ and make it work. Though it's very much a DIY project but as long as you're comfortable doing the work it should be pretty straightforward.

One alternative that I can think of that maybe could work is to find a Ford 8.8 out of an explorer with discs and ABS. I don't know how easy it would be to make that work but it would give you an axle upgrade while you're doing the work and still let you keep the ABS.

 

I fully understand how ABS works, In theory its a good Idea but based on my experience and driving style it does more harm than good. I have had few close calls where the ABS has kicked in and caused me to loose braking power, It used to happen all the time in my truck, until I pulled the fuse, however I have yet to be in a situation where I benefited from having ABS. There are times that I want my wheels to lock up and times that I don't, I can control that with my right foot don't need a computer to do it for me. Keep in mind I am also one of those crazy people that drives around in the snow with lockers and mud tires, which is a dangerous thing to do according to many forum posters, yet I have never had a problem with mud tires or lockers in the snow, maybe I drive different than most people.

 

please get off my thread. your opinion wasn't asked for and now you just being a pain. please start your own thread