Front Brake Upgrade

I've been looking for a way to upgrade the front brakes.

So far I've read about a few aftermarket parts upgrades but I'm confused about the WJ caliper JY upgrade.

Is it possible to just do the calipers or do yo have to replace the whole knuckle?

I have a 2000 Sport.

HawkZero said:

I've been looking for a way to upgrade the front brakes.

So far I've read about a few aftermarket parts upgrades but I'm confused about the WJ caliper JY upgrade.

Is it possible to just do the calipers or do yo have to replace the whole knuckle?

I have a 2000 Sport.

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You have to do the knuckles,the steering and the trackbar.Also in your case if you going to spend that much,Id ditch the LP at the same time!

RCP Phx said:

You have to do the knuckles,the steering and the trackbar.Also in your case if you going to spend that much,Id ditch the LP at the same time!

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I think the knuckles can be installed without changing the steering. The upper steering arm should clear. The reason I'm not going straight to OTK steering with a raised track bar yet is to avoid putting too much time/money into the LPD30.

RCP Phx said:

You have to do the knuckles,the steering and the trackbar.Also in your case if you going to spend that much,Id ditch the LP at the same time!

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Roger all that. Probably more than I wanted. Anyway, how about simple upgrades like rotors and pads?

HawkZero said:

Roger all that. Probably more than I wanted. Anyway, how about simple upgrades like rotors and pads?

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Summit sells cross drilled rotors for the front and you could upgrade to ceramic pads. The give off alot less dust that is grey instead of black and last longer.

The only time drilled rotors help is during high-speed deceleration when the brakes get hot and give out a lot of gases. Putting these rotors on your jeep will be bed because it actually decreases the footprint the pad makes on the rotor due to the holes. This causes the brakes to be less effective.

If you're looking to upgrade your brakes then i'd look more toward the rear ifyou're not looking at doing some modification. You can get ZJ brakes to fit by redrilling the backing plates (depending on your rear axle). Grand Marquis rear brakes work as well.

Just do some searching.

WJ booster/mc upgrade.

Don't use creamic pads on a trail rig because they can shatter. They also were rotors quickly.

Drilled rotors are a very bad idea if you are ever going to see mud on them. The mud expands due to the heat and cracks form.
Also the WJ booster/mc will do nothing for you. Only helpful if your XJ is older than a 95.

Well if its a 2000 as stated above the booster/master swap is pointless as it already has a dual diaphragm booster. A moog point idea but have you flushed your brake fluid. Brake fluid collects moisture and that moisture can build up and will hurt the brake performance. Moisture in the system lowers the boiling point of the fluid creating an vapor pocket(steam if you will when boiled/heater) which is compressible unlike brake fluid which is not. Being 8 years old if you haven't flushed it out I would just for piece of mind atleast. You will be surprised at the difference. I was but of course mine is an 89 and yes I did the booster/master upgrade from a 95. I flushed the system well after the upgrade so I did feel a difference with the new fluid.

I wouldn't bother with slotted rotor. As stated above they will do nothing for stopping power at any level except high speed stopping when cooling becomes an issue. For a DD/wheeler all they are good for (in my mind) is the mall crawler bling factor.

As far as pads go I have heard alot of good things about the "Hawk" brand pads. I have always had good luck with my Wagner thermoquiet pads though.

Make sure if you have drums now, that they are properly adjusted as that will effect the overall performance of the whole system aswell. You can also put disk on the rear if overall performance is what you are after.

I've got new fluid in the system after I replaced the lines while doing a lift.

I'm in a parts dispute with a JY for the ZJ brakes. Hopefully that will be resolved shortly.

I may elect to do new pads in the front.

I mainly see braking problems descending out of the mountains of the eastern Sierra. Funny thing...I overheat the engine going up and overheat the brakes coming down!

I'm running the Vanco setup on my 2000. Very happy with the results.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=103847&highlight=vanco