Getting the XJ ready for towing duty

[evmoius]

Hey all. Haven't been on here in almost 8 years now and my XJ has about 200k on the original motor and trans...wow...where the hell does the time go!

Recently my wife and I have been considering getting a popup camping trailer. It will weigh ~ 2000lbs. My XJ currently has a cheap 3.5 budget lift installed and the rear axle is leaking on the right side, so when I get in there to fix that seal I'm thinking about upgrading the rear brakes to disks and replacing the shitty lift blocks with some proper leaf springs.

I have the Chrysler 8.25, I'm not really interested in hacking something together and would prefer to install a new disk kit. Thinking about this one.

Are there any other alternatives I should be considering? I also see that you may need to modify a valve up by the master cylinder although I'm seeing some people don't do this and have no issues...thoughts?

As far as other towing stuff goes, currently the XJ has a class 3 on the back as well as a transmission cooler installed. I'm guessing I'll need to put a brake controller on as well.

Finally, what leafs should I be considering? I'd like to keep my current height about the same.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Jeep Driver]

Buying your own parts is not a hack. The only thing that came from the JY were the backing plates.

Certain mine was half the cost of that 'kit'.



I doubt your popup will come with a brake axle.......however, if it does, get a P3 controller, do not cheap out here.


Proper springs- Call General Spring.

 

[evmoius]

That's nice and clean!

I should clarify by "hack" I meant pulling and grinding used parts and re-purposing. Not at all opposed to piecing something together, would just prefer it all to be bolt on.

Buying your own parts is not a hack. The only thing that came from the JY was the backing plates.

Certain my was half the cost of that 'kit'.



I doubt your popup will come with a brake axle.......however, if it does, get a P3 controller, do not cheap out here.


Proper springs- Call General Spring.

 

[Jeep Driver]

What I'm pointing out is that '03 KJ brakes are bolt-on. No grinding or cutting or...........

The only thing I did that most don't is weld on tabs for my soft/hard lines.


That's OK, not knocking the kit.

 

[evmoius]

What I'm pointing out is that '03 KJ brakes are bolt-on. No grinding or cutting or...........

The only thing I did that most don't is weld on tabs for my soft/hard lines.


That's OK, not knocking the kit.

Ah got it. Thanks for the info!

 

[cherokeefan_1]

If you are in hilly areas I would highly recommend upgrading to Wj front brakes. Stock Cherokee front brakes fade real easy towing in hills and that is dangerous. At the very least get some black magic brakes or equivalent. If you are mostly flat towing you may be fine.

 

[waxer]

Buying your own parts is not a hack. The only thing that came from the JY were the backing plates.

Certain mine was half the cost of that 'kit'.



I doubt your popup will come with a brake axle.......however, if it does, get a P3 controller, do not cheap out here.


Proper springs- Call General Spring.

If you wheel that thing hard, the chances are high you are going to hit those brake lines that are mounted in front of the axle tube. Also, on my XJ, the shock mount on the passenger side is in FRONT of the axle tube, not behind it. The Driver side is on the back side of the axle tube.

 

[CorneliusRox]

Definitely pull the proportioning stuff out of the distribution block by the master cylinder if you're going to calipers, just because of the volume difference needed to operate them. The best thing would be to toss a manual adjuster to help you dial it in.

I'd recommend doing a trans flush if you haven't in a while.
If you're worried about your clutches, I use Case IH HyTrans in my diesel truck and it holds more torque (backed that up on the dyno too!). The up side is it holds torque and is cheap, the down side is it lowers your stall a little (which isn't that bad in 4.0's since they're pretty torquy down low).

You don't need a brake controller for 2000lbs because they don't typically have brakes until you get a lot heavier than that (somewhere in the 7000lbs ballpark).

If you're up for it, I'd recommend upgrading to an 8.8 or D44 to pick up limited slip and the brakes at the same time. I hate towing with open diffs because as soon as you hit a hill in the rain or snow, you'll be spinning a tire if you're not in 4WD.

As for leafs, I doubt you'll have a ton of tongue weight (obviously make sure you have enough to tow correctly), but you'll likely be just fine with your blocks. If you wanted, you could add a floating ladder bar (hooks up at two points on the axle per side, then one point at the chassis separated by a shackle, this will keep pinion angle correct without any binding and still allow for axle articulation). That'd give you the best of both worlds. If you beef up the leafs, you're going to have a very stiff rear and will loose some articulation off road as well.

 

[Trouble]

+1 on the prodigy P3. I use it on my off-road trailer it's 1300 lb empty 2300 lb loaded. You will want brakes on any down hill with a trailer over 2000.

Electric brakes are a cheap upgrade if you don't have them on the trailer. Some states must have brakes on anything over 1500, and then must have a break away system.

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

If you wheel that thing hard, the chances are high you are going to hit those brake lines that are mounted in front of the axle tube. Also, on my XJ, the shock mount on the passenger side is in FRONT of the axle tube, not behind it. The Driver side is on the back side of the axle tube.

i think you missed the fact that the axle pictured is spring under. much more protection offered to those brake lines. and i dont know for sure... but that application may explain the shock location.

 

[waxer]

i think you missed the fact that the axle pictured is spring under. much more protection offered to those brake lines. and i dont know for sure... but that application may explain the shock location.

I certainly did, thanks!

 

[evmoius]

Hey thanks for all the info guys. I've considered doing a swap to a D44 but I really don't offroad much. Usually it's just out far enough to jump on my KTM.

I live in San Jose CA, so there's some hills around here but nothing crazy. We will probably want to take it up to the Sierras though and, well it's big tall mountains hah.

Still not 100% sure what direction to take here. Sounds like the ~2000lbs isn't that big of a deal for these XJs. I've done lots of towing but it's all been smaller dirt bike trailers and the like. Half the time couldn't even tell if there was anything back there.

 

[cherokeefan_1]

I'd still recommend the wj brake swap for the front. I tow a 700 lbs utility trailer quite a bit and the stock brakes with zj rear disc and a 96+ booster are surely lacking, especially on roads around the PNW. The worst are steep windy neighborhood roads where they brake fade with little use. The trailer has no brakes due to size, wish it did. I had a wj setup ready to go on until I was T-boned by a semi, now the jeep is dead.

I am not a fan of marginal brakes. My muscle cars all get big brake upgrades with rear discs. Brakes help keep you out of trouble.

 

[evmoius]

I'd still recommend the wj brake swap for the front. I tow a 700 lbs utility trailer quite a bit and the stock brakes with zj rear disc and a 96+ booster are surely lacking, especially on roads around the PNW. The worst are steep windy neighborhood roads where they brake fade with little use. The trailer has no brakes due to size, wish it did. I had a wj setup ready to go on until I was T-boned by a semi, now the jeep is dead.

I am not a fan of marginal brakes. My muscle cars all get big brake upgrades with rear discs. Brakes help keep you out of trouble.

Is this a bolt on to the D30?

 

[Jeep Driver]

Is this a bolt on to the D30?

No, it's not.


If you want bolt-on, check out Vanco brakes.

 

[RCP Phx]

No, it's not.


If you want bolt-on, check out Vanco brakes.

What's not bolt-on? I just did this few months ago!

 

[dan1977p]

What's not bolt-on? I just did this few months ago!

Welding the spacer to the knuckle isn't exactly a bolt on affair.

Cal just posted about some caliper and rotor upgrades to the rear ZJ setup, I think, that would do well. Black magic pads and rotors will also do you well. I never had issue towing a 600lb trailer loaded with lumber through the passes and twisties around my house in Utah with ceramic pads front and rear with a ZJ disc rear and D30 front. I engine brake in the mountains anyway so that may be why I've never smoked my brakes.

 

[Jeep Driver]

Neither is the steering and track bar.

There is thread after thread after.............on this matter.

 

[RCP Phx]

Welding the spacer to the knuckle isn't exactly a bolt on affair.

Cal just posted about some caliper and rotor upgrades to the rear ZJ setup, I think, that would do well. Black magic pads and rotors will also do you well. I never had issue towing a 600lb trailer loaded with lumber through the passes and twisties around my house in Utah with ceramic pads front and rear with a ZJ disc rear and D30 front. I engine brake in the mountains anyway so that may be why I've never smoked my brakes.

It's also not a requirement to weld the spacer, that's done for convenience for those that frequently tear into the axle!

 

[RCP Phx]

Neither is the steering and track bar.

There is thread after thread after.............on this matter.

I didn't do the steering/trackbar since I only needed the braking benefits!