WJ brake upgrade for a 2001 XJ... Simplified?

Give these guys a call, I ordered my bolts from them.
12mm 1.25 pitch grade 12.9 in any length you want.
In stock, ships the same day.

http://www.metricspecialties.com/

jdbwrx said:

Yeah, the more I thought about it, the less I liked the idea of only using the grade 8.8. 10.9 in that size/pitch are hard to find, as Mcmaster among other places didn't have them.
Mcmaster did have grade 12.9 in a 12mm 1.25pitch, but it has an allen style head. I just went with those. Brakes are not an area I want to scrimp on bolt strength. I don't think the 10mm allen head size will be an issue. I think there will be plenty of shoulder on the bolt to work in that spot.

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As long as you can get the torque it shouldn't matter. Plus Allen heads are stronger anyway. I even use them for wheel studs in my rear 9"

woodkrawler said:

Question for you guys: Do I need to get the WJ Caliper brackets and bolts from the JY WJ along with the knuckles or do the Caliper brackets and bolts come with the new parts?

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What new parts are you planning on purchasing?

I bought my WJ calipers/brackets new from the dealer ($165 pair) and they came with the bolts to attach the brackets to the knuckles. They also came loaded with pads and had 4 copper washers for the banjo bolts. I had to purchase the banjo bolts seperately.

I also discovered that my XJ hub to knuckle bolts were about 1/2" longer than the same WJ bolts, so I reused them instead. This is key to note, because the addition of the JKS weld-on spacer increases thickness of the knuckle area, requiring the longer bolt.

seanyb505 said:

Does redrilling the rotors weaken them at all?

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I'm not a engineer....but I say no, if you do it right.

XJEEPER said:

What new parts are you planning on purchasing?

I bought my WJ calipers/brackets new from the dealer ($165 pair) and they came with the bolts to attach the brackets to the knuckles. They also came loaded with pads and had 4 copper washers for the banjo bolts. I had to purchase the banjo bolts seperately.

.

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You happen to have the part numbers on that at hand and is that the total price or for each side?

multmigs said:

You happen to have the part numbers on that at hand and is that the total price or for each side?

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my guess is 05093174AA

From here:
http://www.wjjeeps.com/brakes.htm

i believe it is for the pair, as XJEEPER said

i want to do this mod so bad, but there are no pick and pulls anywhere near me, and i would have to score the whole front axle to get all the bits from a "they pull it".... -10 points for michigan

XJEEPER said:

What new parts are you planning on purchasing?

I bought my WJ calipers/brackets new from the dealer ($165 pair) and they came with the bolts to attach the brackets to the knuckles. They also came loaded with pads and had 4 copper washers for the banjo bolts. I had to purchase the banjo bolts seperately.

I also discovered that my XJ hub to knuckle bolts were about 1/2" longer than the same WJ bolts, so I reused them instead. This is key to note, because the addition of the JKS weld-on spacer increases thickness of the knuckle area, requiring the longer bolt.

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I think you answered my question. I have both WJ knuckles and steering but I do not have the caliper brackets or bolts. I plan to buy the new loaded Akebono caliper kits like you did and I didn't know if the brackets and bolts were included.

Also, I assume that I need 2 of the JKS spacers, one for each side?

Just curious, why the need to weld them on if there sandwiched between the unit bearings and knuckles and held in place by the 3 bolts? Are they really going to move? Maybe I'm missing something:huh:

dgrigorenko said:

i want to do this mod so bad, but there are no pick and pulls anywhere near me, and i would have to score the whole front axle to get all the bits from a "they pull it".... -10 points for michigan

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There are no pick n pull yards where I live either. I went through http://car-part.com/. Found the knuckles at a place in Denver (as close to local s I could find). They shipped them to me. I think they were $150 or so. That was the only part I got used. Everything else was new.

Do the dealers have a core charge?

Just some confirmation notes. I finished putting my stuff back together with the new hubs and this is what I found in regards to spacing:

2001 TJ Hubs, Akenobo calipers, Sport Trac rotors

The rotors DO need to be spaced out by a one washer thickness. They sit too far inboard just bolted up. You might be able to get away with it as the pistons float, but having the rotor centered in the caliper is probably more ideal. I do not think spacing the rotor out will be an issue.

In case others are wondering about steering: I did lose a little bit a turn radius with the stock XJ pitman arm. The WJ arm is a bit longer, but has less drop. To keep my angles correct, I ended up getting a Waggy dropped pitman arm. It is longer like the WJ and has the same drop as the stock XJ arm. I got mine through PORC and they had the best price I could find.

How much of the WJ steering should I grab from the WJ? Also what was the thickness of the washer used to space the Sport Trac rotors?

seanyb505 said:

How much of the WJ steering should I grab from the WJ? Also what was the thickness of the washer used to space the Sport Trac rotors?

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It depends on how you are going to set up your steering. I would say grab all of it, but it depends on what kind of shape the tie rod ends are in.

I used some 1/2" grade 8 washers that were about 1/16" thick to space out the sport track rotors.

Isn't the WJ steering too wide to use on an XJ?

also, something to note, explorer rotors seem to be in general about $10 more each... so if you can get WJs redrilled for around that...might be worth the simplicity to get them and not have to worry about weird caliper spacing issues.

Also, has anyone used your stock XJ steering linkage with these knuckles? (I kinda want to, mainly want them for the brake upgrade). That 4x4wire site talks about issues hitting hte stock track bar, I don't want to have to deal with relocating the mount or anything like that.

decathect said:

also, something to note, explorer rotors seem to be in general about $10 more each... so if you can get WJs redrilled for around that...might be worth the simplicity to get them and not have to worry about weird caliper spacing issues.

Also, has anyone used your stock XJ steering linkage with these knuckles? (I kinda want to, mainly want them for the brake upgrade). That 4x4wire site talks about issues hitting hte stock track bar, I don't want to have to deal with relocating the mount or anything like that.

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I think you hit the stock track bar when you get away from the stock drag link, but I may be wrong. I think one of the JCR guys ran stock steering on WJ knuckles with no problem, he may have mentioned it in this thread.

Will somebody tell me if I have the information right, here?
1.) Spacing the unit bearing outboard from the knuckle is always necessary, 1/4" spacers like JKS sells do it.
2.) Pre 1990 unit bearings will work with sport trac rotors without having to space out the caliper bracket or drill rotors. You may have to space the rotor with a washer on each stud.
3.) After 1990 (up to 01) unit bearings will work better with redrilled WJ rotors. If you use sport tracs with 90-01 bearings, you have to space out the caliper bracket a bit. Some people use washers, some people think that's a bogus fix - but it will "work".
4.) Akebono and Teeves calipers fit identical for our purposes though Akebonos warp rotors less commonly AND fit fewer 15" wheels, though many people clear them on stock steelies or 16" alloys just fine.
5.) Wj steering linkages are too wide. XJ stock stuff will run on a WJ knuckle just fine, though if you take advantage of the knuckle to knuckle tie rod and higher drag link you'll need to go OTA with your track bar as well.
6.) Ruffstuff covers are hard to clear, requiring WJ tie rods with the offset and even then it's iffy.
7.) The MC bore is the same between WJ and XJ stuff of all years. The late model XJs had a double diaphragm booster, the early ones didn't. WJ booster is a good swap for the old XJs but not the new ones. A 98 Durango master cylinder (1 1/8" bore) will help with a firm pedal feel in a WJ / ZJ equipped XJ.

Is this all good? If so... sticky it... I get dizzy with all the WJ swap threads and don't have the short-term memory or the paitence to keep it all straight!

I think you've nailed my understanding after reading this thread.

Does anyone know if i use the wj pitman arm i can leave the track bar where it is. I only have 2 inches of lift so i'm going to have contact problems. It is my understanding that the wj arm has less drop then the factory xj one. I was just wondering if anyone tryed it.

offrd3 said:

Does anyone know if i use the wj pitman arm i can leave the track bar where it is. I only have 2 inches of lift so i'm going to have contact problems. It is my understanding that the wj arm has less drop then the factory xj one. I was just wondering if anyone tryed it.

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I am running the WJ knuckle swap with an RE HD trackbar and bracket in the factory location on the axle with very little if any bump steer. For a pitman arm I am running a YJ I believe, definitley flatter than the drop one I was running. With the axle end of the drag link running into the bottom of the high steer location of the knuckle.

At 2" you should be fine running the drag-link and trackbar in the factory location.

Carts, what steering setup are you using?