Brakes aren't balanced...?

Well, I threw 4 wheel discs in and all was well, at least as far as I could tell. Went with ZJ components - old calipers, new friction, on my 8.25
Didn't do the prop. valve because I'm broke (I know, wrong hobby) and all, thought I'd see how it went.

Front brakes, according to the scales at the yearly safety, are doing 80+ percent of the work.
Right side is up a third on the left for work performed.

Any ideas?
Tire inflation, alignment, tire wear, warped rotors, glazed pads... anything else to check?

I'd start with that proportioning valve
Billy

What year ? I removed the o-ring in the prop valve on my 98 and it made a big difference. Otherwise the ZJ brakes felt similar to the original drums.

I swapped out the spring w/ o-ring. The ZJs prop spring is smaller by ~1/2".

Yeah yeah yeah, I'm lazy / poor, I should put in an adjustable valve or swap in the ZJ guts or remove the o-ring.
I know. Just as soon as I feel like it or have a few bucks for the Jeep. The advice is appreciated, though.
What about the side to side business? I think I spotted some uneven tire wear, looks like the front two are worn more to the outside. Lost my tire gauge moving, I'll have to check that next...

any pics on removing the o-ring? i'd like my vic discs to do better.

I used this link. http://www.lunghd.com/Tech_Articles/Suspension_Steering_Axles_and_Brakes/Proportioning_Valve_Mod.htm

Not much fluid escaped when I pulled mine.

Are you saying that the right rear is doing more work than the left rear?

I was disappointed with the rear ZJ disc swap until I swapped a ZJ prop valve in. HUGE difference.

About the side to side issue:

Used calipers, especially if they came from a junkyard might be seized or binding.

Where the sliders clean and lubed?

Crap in the lines or caliper?

"Are you saying that the right rear is doing more work than the left rear?"

Yep. Right side is doing more work in general if the scales are to be believed. Considering the age of the front braking components I don't think it is far-fetched to believe there is more than one factor at work here. One possible thing is that the left rear had 2 (or was it 4?) lbs more pressure in it than the right rear. Corrected that, dropped all tires (30s) to 34 lbs. I haven't noticed any braking difference but then I didn't notice it pulling in the first place - it just came up on the safety inspection. In any case, the ride is much smoother at 34 vs 38 lbs.

"I was disappointed with the rear ZJ disc swap until I swapped a ZJ prop valve in. HUGE difference.
About the side to side issue:
Used calipers, especially if they came from a junkyard might be seized or binding.
Where the sliders clean and lubed?
Crap in the lines or caliper?"

The caliper pistons weren't hard to retract to put the pads in but the soft lines are from the junkyard and I didn't rebuild anything. Like I said - I pulled a "goofy" and did this as quick & dirty as I could with the limited funds and time available.

I'll plan on doing the ZJ prop valve ASAP. I also plan on putting new friction in the front, new calipers and braided stainless soft lines in the rear - as money allows.

if there's a side-to-side bias originating from the front, check the slides on the calipers. chrysler cheaped out on their components by not having any slider hardware to go over the knuckle, where the caliper rides. over time the areas where the pads ride will wear into these surfaces, causing all sorts of concerns. i saw recently that a couple of companies have remedied the situation by engineering slides that go over the knuckle...

z_lindig said:

if there's a side-to-side bias originating from the front, check the slides on the calipers. chrysler cheaped out on their components by not having any slider hardware to go over the knuckle, where the caliper rides. over time the areas where the pads ride will wear into these surfaces, causing all sorts of concerns. i saw recently that a couple of companies have remedied the situation by engineering slides that go over the knuckle...

Click to expand...

Mine had grooves in them so I welded them and used a grinder to flatten them back out, Good as new!