need help..brakes on a ford 8.8

hey everybody

well me and a friend both got out ford 8.8s yesterday, and everything so far is going pretty well. today we stripped them down to just the housing, with everything else off, and are beginning to clean them. i understand setting the pinion angle, welding the perches, etc. only thing im not understanding is:

what am i supposed to do to hook up my current brake system to the ford 8.8. will i need new parts, new brake lines. not worrying about e-brake at all at this point..just the hydraulic lines

thanks

you will need to make some new lines or go to your local parts store and buy some assorted lenghts and bend them youself. I paid about 4 bucks for 4 different lenths, and I used the ones that fit the best. As for the flex line from the body to the axle, I'm using the one rubicon sent me with the 4.5 kit. here are a few pics...if you can see the lines

ok...well not trying to be dumb, but the axle i got came with those hard lines, so could i just bend them a little on one end, and then weld the mount to the axle. mainly i was wondering how im supposed to get the brakes from my jeep to go to the 8.8. (if you got any pics of the other end that would be great)

Use the "T" brake line that comes off your frame. Then use two hard lines on the axle. Weld two new tabs to secure the hard lines to the soft lines.

You will need to buy another ford explorer passenger rear brake line to make this setup work.

did your 8.8 come with brakes....mine came with disc's....I just used them and changed my prop valve......Is there a reason why you want to use ones on your jeep?

Justin

sorry...it came complete disks and all. im just wondering how to hook my brake lines up to the fords brake lines...sorry for the confusion

the only problem I had, was i cut the flex line when i was at pick a part....realized i should have just unsrewed the hard line to it. If you have the flex line still on there, I think it's long enough to just connect to the hard line on the jeep.

Justin

I made this post in a prior thread, I have just refined it a little...


Get 2 Passenger side hoses (for the explorer, not the jeep).

Get 2 lengths of hard line with the same thread, one about 12", the other will need to be a 48" line cut to fit and re flanged. You can get tools to do this at most parts stores.

Use the factory Jeep hose (with the T fitting).

Basically, looking from the rear, the order would be:
Drivers side Caliper - Passenger hose -12" hard line - T fitting- custom hard line bent over diff- Passenger hose - Passenger side caliper

I will also add this for the E brakes:

All you really need is 2 small cable clamps!

You can actually use your existing lines. The PITA is you have to cut about 4-5" of the outer sleeve off without cutting the cable itself.
The sleeve is winded steel, so I found you can basically unwind it.

Next, adjust the e-brake cable so it is as loose as possible. This is important or there will be too much slack when done.

Once you get the sleeve cut, insert the cable in it's location. Then wrap the cable around the lever and secure with the clamps. (this should make sense once you look at it, I'll try to get pics of the next one we do)

Next tighten the cable, removing any slack, till the levers just start to move. Then test the brake and re adjust as needed.

I don't have any pics of the ebrake, but here you can see the main lines, this is of a TJ, but the brakes are the same.



Good luck!, XJs are an easy swap.