Hey all, just finished up an 8.8 swap. I rebuilt the e-brakes because they were trashed, and adjusted each of them until it was slightly harder to put the rotors back on over them. I got the cables made for XJ/8.8 and they are awesome; I adjusted the nut that's close to the handle end until I couldn't quite pull the handle all the way to the top of its travel. Unfortunately, the e-brakes won't hold the XJ on a steep hill - I've got one right near my house, and did a complete stop on it; starting on it with a 5-speed is a little challenging already, but imagine my surprise when I discovered the e-brake did almost nothing to hold it there. XJ is on 35s but otherwise shouldn't be that much heavier than stock - surely the e-brake should be stronger than that. Should I adjust those little things inside the e-brakes themselves more?

Thanks all!

 

I wouldn't trust a parking brake alone to hold any vehicle on a steep hill, in a manual transmission vehicle I turn it off and leave it in gear or use a wheel chock along with the parking brake if I need to leave it running. Adjust the brake shoes until you can't turn the wheel by hand the back off until you can just turn them by hand with a little bit of resistance.

 

I have an 8.8 in mine on 35s as well. Adjusted about like you did with yours. I used east coast gear supply cables for a 8.8 swap. My Ebrake power is about as you describe. If on a steep hill it will slowly roll no matter how hard I pull the brake. It did get better after new ebrake shoes and adjusting the shoe spacing though not as solid as I would like. Maybe its just an 8.8 thing.

 

If I remember correctly, the Explorer Sport-trac (maybe some Rangers too, fx4?) had large drums on it's 8.8. Not an easy solution, If you found all those parts, you might be able to get better brakes than a stock XJ, and a good parking brake. Of course the early Explorers had drums too.

 

Thanks for the input, all - I think I'll give one more shot to taking off the rotors and tightening them up, then just live with it the way it is. Got my regular brakes sorted out so it's not quite as hugely important as it was

 

Hey all, figured I should update this thread in case it could help someone else. 8.8 e-brake is working great - it won't hold on a massive hill, but it functions as I expect any other e-brake to do. Took me a little while to get enough tension on the handle, and I imagine things needed to break in a little too. But once it's adjusted it will e-brake!