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D44 Rear brakes

I just did mine, I'm pretty sure they are 10.5 x 2.5 on the shoes and the drumms. The drums were $50. a piece. Good luck.
 
They are 10x2.5, but just buy brakes for an '87 XJ with a D44. Any parts house will have that listing.
 
The NAXJA giveaway XJ rear will have bolt-on discs...that use XJ front calipers and rotors! I am waiting for set #2 or 3 for my rear 44 :D I have a pile of XJ rotors and calipers looking for home.

If they work good enough for gummint work, I'll have a 15k set of MJ 44 drums/backing plates/innards for sale.

Stay tuned to this station...
 
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ok here comes the real newbie statement of nonunderstanding maybe....The brake shoes/ rotors on the D35 are 10X2 and 10" respectively, why can't I just use those?
Woody, were are you and what kind of dollars are we talking for your pieces/parts?
Thanks
 
you can use the D35 brakes on the 44...

CheapXJ...with a name like that you think you'd be more inclined to be diggin the 44's 10x 2.5 inch drums....:)

depending on tire choice, they will be plenty....

I am swapping a 44 into my '99 and while I long for the simplified maint of the discs out back, I'd rather spend my time and money on a locker right now....so I'm keeping the 44's drums. Will I go to disc? Hell yeah, but with 31's it's not a huge concern....
 
TOZOVR said:
you can use the D35 brakes on the 44...
Click to expand...

Not exactly.

The backing plates have a different offset. If you try to use the D44 drums (10 x 2.5) on a D35 axle, the back edge of the drum contacts the backing plate before the drum is fully seated against the hub. The reverse would mean that a D35 drum (10 x 1.75) used on a D44 axle would not extend all the way to where it should to fully cover/sweep the shoes.

However, if you have a D44 with drums you can use the D35 1.75" wide shoes in it -- but I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that, since you're giving away braking power, and the early XJs need all the help they can get in that department.
 
ok thanks for all the input I will spend the next few hours trying to digest it all. I have the complete D35 axle and brake set up(It's on the jeep now) I have the D44 with only the backing plates. It kinda sounds like unless I want to half a** the brake job I should go ahead and get teh new D44 brake parts to match the backing plates that I allready have. If anybody has all that stuff they are willing to sell cheap, I'm interested.
Thanks again
 
I figured he was gonna swap the plates too...my bad!


Eagle said:
Not exactly.

The backing plates have a different offset. If you try to use the D44 drums (10 x 2.5) on a D35 axle, the back edge of the drum contacts the backing plate before the drum is fully seated against the hub. The reverse would mean that a D35 drum (10 x 1.75) used on a D44 axle would not extend all the way to where it should to fully cover/sweep the shoes.

However, if you have a D44 with drums you can use the D35 1.75" wide shoes in it -- but I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that, since you're giving away braking power, and the early XJs need all the help they can get in that department.
Click to expand...
 
I can and will swap the plates whatever it takes. I even got a pretty good deal on the D44 parts through a buddy of mine around 150 for everything I need, but If I can get away without spending that 150 I would like to????
 
Sure, if you want to swap the D35 backing plates onto the D44 then everything should line up and you can move on from there. You're brakes won't be any better than D35 brakes, but they won't be any worse.

What you'll be saving is the cost of two D44 brake drums. The trade-off will be the labor to make the swap. How good are your mechanical skills, and how much do you value your time? If you're doing a brake job, you should be turning the drums. Before doing anything I'd check the D35 drums to see if they have enough material left to be turned safely. If they are already at the limit, you're facing new drums anyway so you might as well get the D44 drums and save the work of swapping backing plates.
 
Yeah, I sure wouldn't mess around with those D35 brakes. since you're already upgrading the axle, part of the upgrade is the bigger brakes. You're going to have to buy something for the brakes either way, so you might as well do it right. Then, you don't really need to upgrade to discs later on, those drums will work fine.

Personally, I think much of the talk of upgrading to rear discs is overdone. Most that have done it, if you ask, don't notice the difference anyway. In most cases it's just another cool upgrade rather than a necessary one, if you already have decent sized drum brakes.
 
TOZOVR said:
CheapXJ...with a name like that you think you'd be more inclined to be diggin the 44's 10x 2.5 inch drums....:)
Click to expand...

because the D44 stuff is:

1. Still drums (I hate drums :mad: )

2. Worth its weight in gold

I've already got the big drums... it's like polishin' a turd. so damn unreliable. plus, 'round here (50 mi from Harry's u-pull it), I can buy the ZJ stuff, do the work to make it fit, and have better brakes that will cost me less in the long run.

the cost to braking power ratio by going to discs is much better than throwing money at drums, which no matter how much money I throw at them, they will still be drums... and they will still suck ;)

There's a fine line between saving money, and just being a Cheap bastard... I like ridin' on that line :D
 
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