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Wheel size for WJ brakes?

O

obaa-xj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
PNW
I've been thinking about doing the WJ brake upgrades, so have been poking around doing some research. I know search is my friend, but I must have pissed him off, because he's not telling me very much....

I'm looking at swapping in some '02 WJ brakes into my '90. I gather that the 6 and 8 cylinder WJ's have the same brakes. I'm definitely grabbing the master cylinder/booster, but don't know if I want to swap the front knuckles/brakes. I've got 15" wheels, and I think the WJ's came with 16" wheels. Will 15" wheels fit over the WJ brakes?

Thanks!
 
what size tire? the wj booster and master swap on my 89 with 31's gave me all the braking power i need. if i was running 35" tires, than i would look into the wj knuckle and calipers
 
i am planning to do this swap over the summer when it's a bit warmer out, and i have 15" cragar soft 8s and anticipate those to work just fine. i've heard that some alloy rims may not clear, if they don't have enough backspacing, but a steel rim with ~4" backspacing will do just fine.
 
I have the akebono calipers and 15x8 4.75bs steel wheels and clear with about 3/16". But.....I also have the warn hub kit, which effectively puts my back space at about 4".
 
I've got some Eagle alloys. IIRC, they are the 589 15x10, with 3.?? backspacing. I'm currently running 32" GY MT/R's, and the brakes are horrible. I'm fairly certain the rears are doing no work, as the shoes never appear to wear (even after flushing lines, changing cylinders, etc.).
I think the booster is starting to go, because the brakes are losing pressure much faster after I shut off the engine than they used to. I started hunting around for the WJ master, and found a complete WJ being parted out. Eventually, I plan on adding the ZJ rear discs and prop valve...
So you think simply upgrading to the WJ booster, and perhaps the rear ZJ discs will be sufficient? I'm sure having rear brakes which actually work will be a significant improvement. I'm not looking for sportscar brakes, but not having a heart attack during sudden braking would be nice....
 
DO the booster/MC upgrade first. It's the quickest, least expensive mod to do.

Then if you need more braking, procede to the others.
 
asp387 said:
i am planning to do this swap over the summer when it's a bit warmer out, and i have 15" cragar soft 8s and anticipate those to work just fine. i've heard that some alloy rims may not clear, if they don't have enough backspacing, but a steel rim with ~4" backspacing will do just fine.
Click to expand...

I had alloy 15x8 Canyon wheels (4.75" BS) on the back when I put in the rear disks and they would not clear the calipers. Switched to Ravine alloys with the same BS and they cleared the caliper fine. The problem with the Canyon wheels was their construction; the center section tapered in more than the other alloys.
 
no problems with my 15" rims.

6b0379c4.jpg
 
Wow; that's really tight clearance! What happens when mud starts packing in there? Also, you're not running a backing plate with this?

Thanks!
 
backing plates are one more thing to break/get in the way/hold mud in. when mine fell off i didn't put them back on. they don't get you anything.

and so what if mud or snow gets in there. it's mud, not setting concrete.
 
For the OP, I'm running Soft 8s in the 15x8 flavor (4" of BS) and clear my Teeves calipers just fine. I believe they have more clearance then the Akebonos however.

As for vegas_baja...how are you running high steer with the WJ knuckles (unless you just meant OTK)?

And Anthony...I don't remember the last time I had dust shields lol.
 
MoparManiac said:
And Anthony...I don't remember the last time I had dust shields lol.
Click to expand...

mine came off over the summer. i had only one on there for a while because i had to switch a unit bearing out so i took it off then and then never really had a reason to pull the other one.

MoparManiac said:
As for vegas_baja...how are you running high steer with the WJ knuckles (unless you just meant OTK)?
Click to expand...
he could have a driver's side export knuckle... that's what i'd LOVE to do and then just run an inverted T set up...
 
MoparManiac said:
As for vegas_baja...how are you running high steer with the WJ knuckles (unless you just meant OTK)?
Click to expand...


OTK-----ghetto high steer.

I originally planned on using an import knuckle on the driver side.
After I read about the ackerman effect and tire scrub with true high steer on wj knuckles I decided on otk.
(I'll change my sig to otk to stop the confusion) :D

http://www.muller.net/mullermachine/docs/ackerman.html
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=918113&highlight=scrub
 
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