Bought a lifted and modified 94 XJ...has rear disc brakes?? any info?

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and fairly inexperienced with off roading jeeps.
Just moved from the east coast where I was able to do alot of trail riding with a close to stock Cherokee and Xterra compared to here in Southern California. Alot more trails and rough terrain out here!

So I picked up a used 94 Cherokee as the 3rd owner, and the owner before me knew very little about the rig and it was a great price at $1400 because it had one of those "rockhard" rear bumpers and swing out tire carrier, and I know those cost like $900 new. Didn't get to really inspect the lift when I got it due to inexperience, but I did some research after. I'm not even sure how high it is lifted. I've identified it has all Rough country shocks, i assume their springs are from a lift kit they sell, extended leaf spring shackles, adjustable track bar with drop mount(so i assume it is on at least a 4.5" lift), dual shock steering stabilizer, and extended lower control arms. I installed a new set of BFG A/Ts 32x1150x15 on 15x8 wheels, pro comp lifted leaf springs(the ones that came were almost flat) and started installing new polyurethane bushings everywhere I can.

One thing i noticed was that the rear has disc brakes. I am not sure if the entire rear axle was replaced since it did have some nice upgrades on it when i got it, seems like the first owner knew a thing or two. But I am not sure how to identify particular axles.

My main concern here is that there is no emergency brake lines and is missing the equalizer that splits the rod to attach the cables to go to each wheel side. I need to find a replacement equalizer(or make one) and get the correct brake lines.

Is it possible that this is a rear axle from a different style jeep that comes with discs and not just add on disc brakes? Is it possible to identify which axle and brakes I have by model #s or serials, or pictures and help from member here?

I'm going to take some pictures of the rear axle and get them up ASAP, any info or points in a direction would be very appreciative!

Get some pictures of the rear differential, could be an easy fix for e-brake! Common to swap 8.8s in, but there are other ways.

Here is how you tell what rear axle you have: http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/rear-axle-identification-37002/#post424649 look at the pics in post #4.

The discs are most likely either a ZJ rear disc set up or maybe a Liberty, that is if you have either a Dana 35 or Dana 44. Either of those set ups still have a drum brake for the parking brake. If I remember correctly, The ZJ uses emergency brake lines that are the same length, where as the stock XJ ones are longer on the passenger side.

When I did my Zj rear disc swap, I bought the rear lines form the ZJ. I then got rid of the equalizer and used some cable clamps to hold everything together.

Pics might help though.

not sure of the size of this lift??

what size lift does it look like? its on 32" tires

You have to measure from the center of the wheel to the bottom of the flair if you want to go that route. Stock is about 17 inches.

Otherwise, you can measure from the top of the rear axle tube to the bottom of the unibody rail,stock is 6''.Up front from the top of the axle tube to the unibody is average 6.75''.

Oh, and because someone is going to say it, search. All of these things have been covered before.

Rear axle with discs

here are some pics for the set up, and the Chrysler markings on the differential.

This is all that is left of the parking brake...i need the equalizer, nut and brake cables.

jdbwrx said:

You have to measure from the center of the wheel to the bottom of the flair if you want to go that route. Stock is about 17 inches.

Otherwise, you can measure from the top of the rear axle tube to the bottom of the unibody rail,stock is 6''.Up front from the top of the axle tube to the unibody is average 6.75''.

Oh, and because someone is going to say it, search. All of these things have been covered before.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, measures 24" from center of cap to flare in front and 23" in rear so based on what you say thats about 6" lift.

I realize i could have looked a little more for the answer to this, but my main question is the axle and brakes. I've been searching for a while on this one, just figured I'd throw the lift question in there while im at it.
Thanks again jdbwrx!

broclirobb said:

Thanks for the info, measures 24" from center of cap to flare in front and 23" in rear so based on what you say thats about 6" lift.

I realize i could have looked a little more for the answer to this, but my main question is the axle and brakes. I've been searching for a while on this one, just figured I'd throw the lift question in there while im at it.
Thanks again jdbwrx!

Click to expand...

I'll try and get some pics of my e-brake set up. That might help.

Oh, and it looks like you have a Chrysler 8.25 for a rear axle.

OK cool, looks like the original 94s came with 27 spline 8.25... and it is common to put ZJ discs on them?

do you have a picture of this set up?

Looks like you've got a 27 spline 8.25 rear with ZJ discs.

Yup, 8.25 with ZJ discs. 94 would be 27 spline, but obviously you would want to pull one and check before ordering a locker or chromolys. I used to have the same setup on my jeep before I swapped in an 8.8 for the 4.10 gears. The ZJ brakes are a widely accepted swap.

As for parking brake cables, I tried all the homebrew meathods, but could not get them to work to my satisfaction. With a MT rig, the parking brake has to work, otherwise there's just too much cranking in the day. I got lucky when I pulled the 8.8 out of a Cherokee in the junkyard, as the previous owner had put a Lokar parking brake kit on it, and it works perfectly.

The best way to learn more about your jeep is to make some friends. Post up and introduce yourself in the SoCal chapter, plenty of folks near you to help/hang out.

That being said, once you begin to make real use of all the info here, consider becoming a formal member, as a large part of the donations go to keeping trails open, and the lights on around here. If you still need convincing, come on out to SoCalFest, April 27-29 in calico ghost town.

Thanks for the advise! I will be donating and contributing to this forum as well. I really do use these types of forums for all my hobbies and get alot out of them. Calico looks awesome! All this terrain is so new to me, im not used to the desert! I need to get this brake set up before I can do any sort of event, but im sure as hell interested! My wife is all about it too!

I need to get some sort of cable on there though... So are you saying that ZJ e brake cables wont work? are they too long/short? what about how the cable attaches to the brake (end loop)?

the lever on the brakes looks like this: (what is the part called?)


On the stock drum brakes there is a little clip i circled in red that holds the cable on... i dont have that on these brakes or it is now gone:


And i still need to get the equalizer... anybody use of from another car? are they somewhat universal?

The ZJ ones might work, I didn't try that route.
There is a way of using the stock XJ ones and cutting the spring off of the end, then wrapping it around the actuating arm (circled in yellow) and using a small cable clamp to hold the two together. This method never worked to my satisfaction.

You might try a Junkyard close to you, as you could get the equalizer/nut and cables pretty cheaply.

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I have the same set up and did this:
http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100735
Alternativly you can order the correct cables of the shelf from NAPA Part numbers: 95969 and 95963. oe at least you could.
good luck with it.