Hey all - sorry, new to the game. Just picked up an 8.8 out of a 96 Exploder to put into my 95 XJ. There truly is a ton of info on the 8.8 swap out there, including specific brake information, but my crap understanding (so far) of brakes is still leaving me scratching my fat head.

Here's my questions - on all the XJ 8.8 swap videos I can find, there are no hard brakes lines to be found. But, they're all over mine:



Including on the very spring perches I wanted to grind off before I bring it to be regeared/welded up. The hard lines are also really close to the spring mounts I need to grind off.



What do I do? Do the hard lines need to come off so I can grind everything? I've read several times that two passenger side brake hoses from Exploders will be important in hooking everything up (though honestly I don't know yet which hoses they're talking about, figure it should be clearer later on).

Thanks a lot, all - I truly appreciate the help!

 

Those hard lines look pretty rough, I would remove them and replace with the copper brake lines.

 

Thanks for the reply, 00t - it would also make everything easier to get the lines out of the way before grinding/welding.

Sure appreciate it!

 

I took them off and tossed them. You can get replacement hard and soft lines. I got mine here: https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-49...-line-kit.html

ETA: you can also get a cover for the ABS hole and really anything else you need. The 8.8 swap is pretty popular.

 

Haha - I've got the same exact page open right now!! Seems like the clear solution. Thanks sharpie!

 

Just FYI the hard brake line is just a length of tube. It's not bent to fit any specific way. Mine came coiled up.

 

OK - can't be that hard to bend it the way it needs to be, right?

 

I haven't done it yet, but seems pretty straightforward. You can use a coat hangar or something first to get the pattern right, then just follow it with your actual brake line.