WJ REAR brake conversion

I've read some of the write-ups on swapping to WJ front brakes and am interested in doing this? My question is, has anyone performed the same swap for the rear axle? I've got a D44 out of an MJ and one out of a 2000 WJ and I was thinking about trying to swap some stuff. Have their been any writeups on the web?


Brent

One word: WHY?

Increase the braking power and fade resistance? Why does it sound like such a bad idea?

i would imagine using ZJ parts would still be much easier... especially the whole bolt pattern thing

The bolt pattern would be a non-issue if I swapped the front and the rear discs at the same time. I would just switch over to WJ rims. Nobody's ever tried the rear conversion, though?

MJ_Chubs said:

Increase the braking power and fade resistance? Why does it sound like such a bad idea?

Click to expand...

It's not a "bad" idea, just a lot of work, and it does change the wheel lug pattern, as cbremer commented. You didn't mention anything about also doing the fronts.

The WJ rear disks aren't all that big, and I seriously doubt they have any more braking power than the 10" x 2.5" D44 drums brakes. Fade resistance might be a consideration if you drive a lot in mountains with heavy loads or towing a trailer, but otherwise I don't see it as a factor.

I was always led to believe that discs of even the same diameter would be more efficient than drums. The WJ rotors are actually around 11" (or slightly larger) in diameter. With WJ front rotors ( around 12", I think) and the rears to match, I think this would be a great setup for a vehicle as light as the Cherokee.

I do a lot of stop and go driving in and around Detroit so good brakes are quite important to me. I have a the '91 ABS system, which sucks major ass, and I've been looking into some options for replacing it.

I was just trying to find out if anyone had actually performed this conversion.

Brent

Rotor diameter is only part of the equation. What counts in braking is "swept area." You can have huge rotors but if the pads are tiny, it doesn't help you much.

I had a '99 WJ and I wasn't all that impressed with the brakes -- except for the rapidity with which rotors warped, but in honesty the fronts were worse than the rears.

However, if I had stock 10" x 2.5" XJ/MJ Dana 44 drums brakes, there's no way I'd bother replacing them with WJ brakes. Not worth the effort. Stay with the drums and replace the stock ABS with non-ABS components so the brakes you have can work.

Sorry I haven't looked intpo swapping WJ brakes, even the ZJ rear brakes with thier little tiny calipers make a HUGE difference. I used to hate having to stop now I live to hit the brakes (almost) with 35" tires and probably an extra 1000+ pounds I stop at least as good as I did with drums, on top of that no brake adjustments anymore.

As to the WJ rear discs. Do some measuring I think it may be a bit easier than the ZJ swap as the WJ AL44 is a bit more of a D44 than the ZJ (no c-clips and you can actually get an ARB locker to work in one, but I hear it's a pretty monkey setup)

The WJ rear disc are just like the Explorer ones. I don't know why anyone would want to change to a 5 on 5" bolt pattern though. The WJ front conversion requires a spacer for proper hub/U joint offset and you can use XJ hubs.

Brent,
I haven't done the swap you want to do but if it was up to me, I would do the disc brakes in the rear for my XJ. Ever since my first set of rear discs I have loved the extra control while wheeling. No more real scary backing down hills, MUCH more braking with the rear discs. No more mud packed drums from going thru muddy water crossings. No more need to be constantly adjusting the drums so they will work.

If you have the parts already why not go for it. The rotors should be easily redrilled for the 5x4.5 bolt pattern. You might look for TJs that have done this with ZJ/explorer brakes, it might help you with what you'll need to do with your conversion.

mark
orgs mfg