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tsm mfg.. disc brake kits..

yes. I used to run a TSM conversion on a Scout D44. IMHO, you can get discs on any axle cheaper than you will from TSM, and without some of the associated headaches. First off, most of their systems utilze a custom rotor (they buy blanks and drill them themselves -- $$$). Second, when I bought my kit they included the wrong spacers, so I couldn't get my calipers lined up. They would not ship me the right parts, and would not acknowledge their error, unless and until I showed them the parts. Since my rig was disassembled in Cheyenne, WY, and they are in Castle Rock, Colorado, that wasn't going to happen. I ended up paying another $50 for some emergency machine work in Cheyenne to get back on the road. So in a nutshell, I thought their customer service sucked. Finally, all their systems utilize Cadillac Eldorado calipers, with an integrated parking brake -- In my experience, the parking brake plane sucks. Save yourself some dough and do some research on Pirate or here - no matter what you are working on, there is an OEM/Junkyard solution. (I'm running an Isuzu D44 now with stock discs and integrated drum parking brakes...). Just my 2 cents.
 
xj-grin, what is "Pirate"? I'm looking to do a rear disk conversion on my '97 XJ, too, and any additional info would help.
 
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What axle are you going to put the disc kit on??? I put a kit on my D-35...it uses stock lincoln discs...not redrilled or custom....I used Monte Carlo calipers....no parking brake....I use my Heep for playing in the mud and since I have a auto trans and there is no vehicle inspection here, i didn't need parking brakes. I didn't use the "junkyard" swap because of the weenie little parking brake shoes that would get packed up with mud and fail in a week anyways.

The instructions were kind of vague, but not too hard to follow....all in all, if I wasn't putting a 8.8 under my "new" MJ....I would buy another kit.
 
xj4life said:


What he said. To be fair, I have a buddy who runs a TSM setup on his 79 Ford Truggy on a D70, and he has had no problems. Since my experience with the Scout kit, it may well be true that TSM's XJ kit doesn't use any custom rotors, I can't speak to that... As far as "Junkyard swaps" go, if you are using stock XJ axles, it is fairly easy to get disks using ZJ parts and Ford 8.8 parts - search for both on here and you will find lots of info...
 
I know part of my response isn't going to be entirely relevant. I am not sure why you are pursuing rear discs, but maybe consider a better front kit first.

Marcus in Australia designed a kit that swaps onto the D30 with little fuss. http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoFordBAdiscs1.htm I don't have this kit, but I do have dual caliper WJ brakes on my D30 and the difference between before and after is a much stronger stopping power feel.

I previously installed discs on my rear Dana 44 and they did help overall stopping power. But since then a few alternatives for better front brakes have appeared and it seems to me that the stronger front brakes make a larger difference than replacing the rears.

Marcus has a couple other articles the have to do with replacing rears with discs as well if you peruse his website.
 
Marcus is a great contributor here!! Have you seen his killer air filter set up?
 
MudDawg said:
Marcus is a great contributor here!! Have you seen his killer air filter set up?

Yeah. I just don't know where he finds the time and energy. Its great to have a source like him that has a wide span of tech articles. Whenever I am thinking of something new, I hit his website first to see if he invented the wheel for me.
 
MGrobe said:
I know part of my response isn't going to be entirely relevant. I am not sure why you are pursuing rear discs, but maybe consider a better front kit first...

I previously installed discs on my rear Dana 44 and they did help overall stopping power. But since then a few alternatives for better front brakes have appeared and it seems to me that the stronger front brakes make a larger difference than replacing the rears.

There is some truth to this, except I really like having discs if I know the wheeling is going to be wet or muddy, since they self clean and fade less. That said, I had a much bigger impact on braking in my old '91 when I swapped to a dual diaphram booster than I did from the discs alone...
 
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