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89 brake question

bcmaxx

NAXJA Forum User
I have an 89 xj had brand new everything except brake steel brake lines and I could never get the rear brakes to lock up, now I swapped in a 8.8 ford, the pedal feels firmer but the rear brakes still don't and won't lock up. Normal for a single diaphram?
 
will a dual diaphram help or just need bigger brakes??? anything simply bolt on the front off anything else??
 
I have a rear dana 44 with stock drum brakes.

I have a WJ master and booster, and a stock XJ prop valve.

I can lock up my rear 35" tires at 75 mph and keep them locked hard until they go flat.

With the stock single diaphram master and booster I had to use both feet and downshift to stop at red lights.
 
bcmaxx said:
I have an 89 xj had brand new everything except brake steel brake lines and I could never get the rear brakes to lock up, now I swapped in a 8.8 ford, the pedal feels firmer but the rear brakes still don't and won't lock up. Normal for a single diaphram?
the answer to the question you should asking is " get a smaller smurfpee bottle/pump" that's all i needed to do in my 89 to make the wj booster work besides the normal stuff with brakelight switch and plumbing adapters. you know it's the right thing to do. just go ahead and do it.
 
or a booster and master from a 1999-2004 grand cherokee

i did the swap on my 89 and the brakes are great. i have 31's and can stop on a dime.
 
cumorglas said:
the answer to the question you should asking is " get a smaller smurfpee bottle/pump" that's all i needed to do in my 89 to make the wj booster work besides the normal stuff with brakelight switch and plumbing adapters. you know it's the right thing to do. just go ahead and do it.


.... what?
 
cal said:
.... what?
up here in western new york windshield washersolvent is not optional. gotta clear that salt spray from the windows to see. I took your advice from someone elses post awhile back and loved the wj booster upgrade. but once it was in i discovered that the stock bottle wasn't going to go back in. i suspect post renix xj's may not have this trouble. or was it the reference to smurfs that was confusing? gargamel collects that stuff straight from the septic in in the smurf village. at least that's what i tell my kids. ;-)
 
Shorty said:
"smurfpee", blue water, washer fluid...... smaller washer fluid resovoir will make room

--Shorty


On a renix era rig, you can fit a WJ master/booster without having to move the washer resevoir.
 
cumorglas said:
up here in western new york windshield washersolvent is not optional. gotta clear that salt spray from the windows to see. I took your advice from someone elses post awhile back and loved the wj booster upgrade. but once it was in i discovered that the stock bottle wasn't going to go back in. i suspect post renix xj's may not have this trouble. or was it the reference to smurfs that was confusing? gargamel collects that stuff straight from the septic in in the smurf village. at least that's what i tell my kids. ;-)

If you do your lines right, you can put the bottle back in the stock location on a renix era rig. I dont have a washer bottle at all on mine (i used that space for other stuff), but I'll see if I can get one of the guys I've convered to snap a picture tonight, if you want.
 
cal said:
On a renix era rig, you can fit a WJ master/booster without having to move the washer resevoir.
mine definitely did not fit. as it comes closer to winter i remember that i miss the 1-1/2 gallon capacity. the one i have now holds about 3/4 gallon. that means refilling twice as often. it is possible that i had a different reservoir, but i just can't imagine jeep making different sized ones in the same, but it certainly wouldn't be the stupidest they had ever done. i still have the old setup. and if their pic shows a better way it's going back in before snowflies.
 
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I would put it up there with the 13 gallon gas tank that offered no more clearance. ;)
 
or the single diaphragm booster in the first place. ;-)
 
At the time that I bought my jeep, my DD was a 1962 Ford F100 4x4 with manual 4 wheel drum brakes and 32x11.5's.

Don't knock the single diapram booster until you've gone without it. =)
 
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