WJ Knuckle/Crossover steering and brakes

[MGrobe]

Thanks for reiterating the issues with the spring bucket. I intend to remove the factory axleside trackbar mount. So moving up the trackbar will definitely happen. I'll have to wait and see which Pitman Arm I use, I have the factory one and a (ZJ?) one that gives roughly an inch of drop. With those pieces I will see if a lower frameside trackbar mount is necessary or not.

Speaking of OTK... With my little lift, does anyone have any guesses if my draglink and tie rod both can be OTK or not?

Or should I consider some other configuration?

 

[gcurtis]

Thanks for reiterating the issues with the spring bucket. I intend to remove the factory axleside trackbar mount. So moving up the trackbar will definitely happen. I'll have to wait and see which Pitman Arm I use, I have the factory one and a (ZJ?) one that gives roughly an inch of drop. With those pieces I will see if a lower frameside trackbar mount is necessary or not.

Speaking of OTK... With my little lift, does anyone have any guesses if my draglink and tie rod both can be OTK or not?

Or should I consider some other configuration?

Yes, you can go OTK at your lift. By doing so and having the trackbar dropped at frame side, your steering should be dead on (trackbar to drag link angles).

If you are going to run a steering stablilzer, don't do it above the OTA bracket, but instead look at doing it on the face of that bracket or elsewhere.

I'm running a factory pitman arm on that set up at 5" of lift. I've found that the JKS drag link is a touch long, so I'm going to turn it down and retap it in the coming weeks.

 

[FLV8Jeeper]

I want to do this swap also mainly for the biger,better brakes. I have a 1998 ZJ. From reading all these posts I've seem some people are using the WJ ball joints and others are using stock XJ ball joints wich I belive the stock XJ and ZJ ball joints are the same.

Which are the correct ball joints to use for the WJ knuckles?

 

[RidgeRunnerXJ]

Use WJ ball joints. I beleive the lower ones have a slightly different taper to them.

 

[FLV8Jeeper]

Use WJ ball joints. I beleive the lower ones have a slightly different taper to them.

OK Thanks. Yeah I just did a search on Advance Auto Parts site and looked up ball joints for XJ,ZJ,WJ and the XJ,ZJ upper and lower are the same part #. The WJ upper is the same part # as the XJ,ZJ but the WJ lower has a differant part # than the lower XJ,ZJ.

 

[imprezkid]

WHy do some talk about a 1/4" spacer for the calipers and some don't, is this for using the older knuckles with the newer calipers?

 

[FLV8Jeeper]

WHy do some talk about a 1/4" spacer for the calipers and some don't, is this for using the older knuckles with the newer calipers?

From what I have found/read the spacer spaces out the hub from the knuckle to achieve propper axle u joint to ball joint alignment. I belive the spacer has to be used on all WJ knuckles older and newer, the knuckles are all the same, in 2002 they updated to Akebono calipers, from what I have read the Akebono calipers are longer and have longer pads. The older calipers were shorter and took shorter pads which was causing rotors to warp.

 

[foxwar71]

sounds like hes talking about spacing the caliper, not the hub bearing. some people end up having to space the caliper out to get in to line up correctly on the rotor, i believe these people are using WJ rotors redrilled to 5x4.5. I used 01 Sport Trac 4x4 rotors and didnt have to touch the caliper mounts, simply a single large washer on each lug stud to just barely push the rotor hat out a little bit.

 

[ocean_jet]

Hi. I already have a cross-over tie rod that fits my XJ knuckles (with heim ends).

If I change to WJ knuckles, can I use the same Tie-rod? Or, will the new knuckles require a different length tie-rod? When the knuckleas are installed, are the steering arms on the XJ knuckles the same distance apart as the steering arms on the WJ knuckles?

Thanks.

 

[praetorian]

You'll have to check out the taper of the tie-rod compared to the taper of the WJ tie-rod. Also you'll just have to mock up the knuckles and measure the length to get the distances.

 

[Destroyer]

It should work. The WJ kunckle arms are clocked slightly lower than the XJ's but otherwise the same.

 

[South_La_XJ]

The Chevy high misalignment drag link ends are Moog# ES2026R and ES2027L, they have 7/8" x 18 threads and the big taper pins. I don't remember the # for the tie rod ends. Dodge TRE's moog# ES2847LT and ES2848LT have small taper pins (same as jeep) and 3/4"x16 threads.

Most people seem to use the WJ TRE's (metric threads) and JKS links, but some said the JKS DL is a little too long.

You can either re-drill WJ rotors or buy 2002 Explorer Sport Trac 12" diameter rotors that are already 5x4.5 pattern.

Contact Mike Rollins (MJR on this board) for calipers - he has a bunch of Teves calipers (take offs) that he's selling for around $50 pair. Those should fit on 15" rims with maybe a little grinding, the newer Akebono calipers mean you get to buy 16" rims in addition to spending alot more than 50 bucks for calipers.

Here are some links with WJ swap info that I had bookmarked:
http://www.4x4wire.com/jeep/tech/brakes/xj_wjbrakes03/knuckles/index.htm
http://65.42.106.152/forums/showthread.php?t=668383
http://65.42.106.152/forums/showthread.php?t=667802&highlight=wj+knuckle
http://65.42.106.152/forums/showthread.php?t=660940&highlight=hub

The rotors are from a 2002 sport trac postal truck, they work but as I read in the post you do need to space the caliper breackets 1/4 inch off the knuckles to get proper clearance. I purchased four 12 x 1.50 x 50 bolts from Lowes a few packs of washers and lock washers, stacked 3 of the washers between the caliper bracket and knuckle, and used a washer and lock washer on the back side of the knuckle and there were no clearance issues, without the washer and lock washer on the back side of the knuckle the end of the bolt came in contact with the inside of the rotor. Also the Dadge part number for the claiper crush washers, which you need 4 of are j3237672,

 

[truck7575]

Using washers for spacers is not a good idea... The jks hub spacer is needed because it supports the inner lip of the hub which is very much load bearing... Washers wont cut it and is unsafe...

 

[Destroyer]

Use the WJ rotors and 1999.5+ XJ/TJ unit bearings ([FONT=&quot]PN 513158 or TIMKEN PN HA597449) and you won't have any spacing issues. The hat depth of the Ford rotors is 3mm different and causes problems.
[/FONT]

 

[bmsmalley]

Not sure if this has been asked and I have searched only a few different threads and found no answer.

Can you use the unit bearing out of the WJ instead of the 2000/2001 XJ to get the bigger bolt pattern (5x5.5 I think is what it is) so that wheel options would be better?

 

[cal]

Not sure if this has been asked and I have searched only a few different threads and found no answer.

Can you use the unit bearing out of the WJ instead of the 2000/2001 XJ to get the bigger bolt pattern (5x5.5 I think is what it is) so that wheel options would be better?

The WJ is 5x5, not 5x5.5 - thre aren't many axle/rear end options to match the bolt pattern.

Also, the Xj/Tj stub shaft is a little too short for that bearing, while you can phsyically bolt the hub nut on, there aren't enough threads left to get the cotter pin installed.

Its not a good idea.

 

[MGrobe]

Not sure if this has been asked and I have searched only a few different threads and found no answer.

Can you use the unit bearing out of the WJ instead of the 2000/2001 XJ to get the bigger bolt pattern (5x5.5 I think is what it is) so that wheel options would be better?

I'm 99% certain you can. It's been close to 7-years since I last contemplated this, so I could be misremembering.

If existing bolt pattern means nothing to you (and I am uncertain if you quoted the right one for WJ); as you would be happy getting new wheels to accommodate the change, and change the rear as well, or run two different patterns...

You could get WJ unit-bearings, which are more robust than the XJ's as the whole bearing component is of a larger diameter. Add a set of WJ rotors and Bob's your uncle.

For me when I was assembling the parts, I had a new set of XJ unit-bearing hubs with a lifetime warranty. Plus I was locked into the XJ pattern of 5 x 4.5" due to having two sets of wheels.

In order to use the larger WJ bearings, I would have had to remove the existing studs, then re-drill the hub flange. Suffice to say all of this was enough of a deterrent.

 

[MGrobe]

The WJ is 5x5, not 5x5.5 - thre aren't many axle/rear end options to match the bolt pattern.

Also, the Xj/Tj stub shaft is a little too short for that bearing, while you can phsyically bolt the hub nut on, there aren't enough threads left to get the cotter pin installed.

Its not a good idea.

Cal may very well be right about this. I'd swear I had seen a write-up somewhere in the past that did use WJ hubs... Might have been from Bill Ansel or Jeepwire, or ORGS/JKS or somewhere else. Or I might be thinking of something else entirely. But I don't think so.

Regardless, I think I listed enough reasons to avoid using them. But if you're still interested I would go to an auto parts store where you can compare the two hubs and do some measurements. Otherwise you may be able to get ahold of mrblaine and ask him if he knows if it will work. If anyone knows it should be him.

 

[REDDOGG.XJ]

I used the WJ unit bearings.

WJ's do have a 5 on 5 pattern. At the time this wasn't a problem because I wanted to run WJ wheels (they only fit if you use a wheel spacer).

WJ unit bearings with the JKS spacer and the XJ anti-lock brake shafts (270 u-joint?).

The brakes are all WJ also, the plan was to run as many off the shelf parts as possible. The calibers will need to be spaced out to center on the rotor.

At the time I also installed a rear 44 so I got new Moser shafts and he drilled them 5 on 4.5 and 5 on 5 just in case I changed my mind. Now I wish I had gotten 5 on 5 and 5 on 5.5 as I want to upgrade to a front 44 with lock-outs. Can't say enough about Moser, he did the dual pattern for free, A+.

Tie rod and drag link ends are also WJ and OTK using a right hand drive drag-link. If new then what I know now I'd go high angle chevy. The WJ's don't flex much and wear quickly.

Pitman arm is a WJ. It's the only way to get full lock to lock and equal turns per side though it helps to drop the sway bar an inch or so for clearance.

Rear disk are front WJ rotors turned down to fit Eldorado calipers which were a mistake because my late model XJ master cylinder doesn't have enough volume to push them. I've got a full WJ rear set and master cylinder waiting to go on as soon as I get the courage to tear it all back down again.

Probably a lot more than you wanted or needed but it's a lot of what I learned by trial and error.