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For those wanting a complete WJ knuckle swap parts list

MoparManiac said:
To me half the benefit of the WJ setup WAS the steering.

Crossover steering is a much better setup than inverted Y.
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^^ This.

I ran the Vanco Big Brake kit for a year, before doing the WJ conversion, switching because of the WJ steering benefits. Zero regrets with the WJ setup.
 
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Brakes/hubs are easy for this setup. Just buy '01 XJ hubs and drill the rotors. What i did and it works fine. No you don't need a press. Yes it sounds sketchy but i'll let you know when i break a rotor probably never(i'm not doing autocross in an XJ). Long arms and WJ conversion was all done at the same time and is by far my favorite mod. Aside from my dual spartans. :D
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http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu218/jodykemper/20141013_175525_RichtoneHDR_resized.jpg
 
Bringing this back up. Started ordering up the parts to do this. Have been using this list as my reference for my parts purchases....was wondering why the astro van pitman arm is necessary, this is the only WJ swap list I have seen that says the pitman needs to be swapped, why is that?
 
Astro Van pitman arm?
Never heard of that one, I'm still using my stock pitman arm.
 
M1A1TankerTom said:
Bringing this back up. Started ordering up the parts to do this. Have been using this list as my reference for my parts purchases....was wondering why the astro van pitman arm is necessary, this is the only WJ swap list I have seen that says the pitman needs to be swapped, why is that?
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing. I was actually coming to this thread to ask. Glad to know the pitman arm doesn't need changing.
 
I ran a ZJ arm. Didn't notice any loss of steering radius and the 3/4" drop it gave me matched the 3/4" dropped tie rod location (I reused stock steering) well enough to eliminate bump steer.
 
The shoulder on the steering hub fits snug into the knuckle. It's not a press fit, mind you, but it will become load bearing with a *tiny* amount of movement. It is just a tad over 1/4" wide (the shoulder)
If you put the spacer between the hub and the knuckle, you have very little engagement of the shoulder on the hub to the hole in the knuckle.
The bolts are now left with a heck of a lot more responsibility in their job than what was probably intended.
So, you weld the spacer to make it a load bearing member - effectively to extend the knuckle outboard 1/4", and keep the hub from riding on the bolts so heavily.
 
Thx, yossarian19!!! That makes sense now. I have not seen an explanation anywhere. Andy at Iron man Offroad had told me once that he did not weld his on his race jeep but never explained why.
 
07-08 Dodge Nitro Rotors will work. I did not need spacers. 00-01 hub bearings. Does need the spacer welded on.
I did change to 5on5 JK wheels. Used WJ rotors, needed the weld on spacer and 1/4 spacers for the calipers.
 
First time poster - OK, I have read pages and pages of posts on the WJ upgrade for brakes and steering. My question is this. I picked up a 2WD Cherokee a few months ago, its in great shape and my son is driving it daily. He wants a 4WD but for now we are leaving it as is. I did put a 3" lift on it, and 17" rims w/ 31" tires. The rims are 5x5 so I have a set of spacers/adapters on all 4 wheels. I plan to convert the rear to disc brakes and I think I have all the data on that one, but my ??? are for the front.


OK, so since I don't have front axles, do i need to buy/weld the spacers. I think the answer is no. If i remove the entire hub w/ brakes and rotors and install it on my 95 2WD front end, the only parts I would need to buy "new" would be the upper/lower BJ, with XJ upper and WJ lower.



Since I wont have the need for an axle, if I leave it empty, wont the unit bearing "fall apart". In other words, do I need to keep just the end of the axle in place, to keep the unit bearing functioning?



Steering - I want to keep the stock XJ steering for now. Can I "cut" off the pass side stock WJ steering knuckle so that I don't have any turning issues. Finally, if I use the stock XJ steering, will the TRE from the XJ fit into the WJ ends, if not what do I need.


Remember, this is a 2WD jeep and will not see off road, I just want better brakes.



Thanks in advance and I look forward to my new "obsession" (first jeep)
 
qwikgta said:
First time poster - OK, I have read pages and pages of posts on the WJ upgrade for brakes and steering. My question is this. I picked up a 2WD Cherokee a few months ago, its in great shape and my son is driving it daily. He wants a 4WD but for now we are leaving it as is. I did put a 3" lift on it, and 17" rims w/ 31" tires. The rims are 5x5 so I have a set of spacers/adapters on all 4 wheels. I plan to convert the rear to disc brakes and I think I have all the data on that one, but my ??? are for the front.


OK, so since I don't have front axles, do i need to buy/weld the spacers. I think the answer is no. If i remove the entire hub w/ brakes and rotors and install it on my 95 2WD front end, the only parts I would need to buy "new" would be the upper/lower BJ, with XJ upper and WJ lower.



Since I wont have the need for an axle, if I leave it empty, wont the unit bearing "fall apart". In other words, do I need to keep just the end of the axle in place, to keep the unit bearing functioning?



Steering - I want to keep the stock XJ steering for now. Can I "cut" off the pass side stock WJ steering knuckle so that I don't have any turning issues. Finally, if I use the stock XJ steering, will the TRE from the XJ fit into the WJ ends, if not what do I need.


Remember, this is a 2WD jeep and will not see off road, I just want better brakes.



Thanks in advance and I look forward to my new "obsession" (first jeep)
Click to expand...
The 2wd still has a stub axle that goes through the unit bearing. You would still need the spacer to space it correctly. The unit bearing will fall apart if you run without the stub axle.

If you're attempting to keep the stock steering the WJ swap isn't the way to go. Just get some black magic brake pads with a centric rotor.
 
IslanderOffRoad said:
The 2wd still has a stub axle that goes through the unit bearing. You would still need the spacer to space it correctly. The unit bearing will fall apart if you run without the stub axle.

If you're attempting to keep the stock steering the WJ swap isn't the way to go. Just get some black magic brake pads with a centric rotor.
Click to expand...

Don't know why you would say that? I've been running the WJ set-up with stock(Currie-Correctlync) for 2 yrs now and love it.
 
I am with RCP Phx on this one. I ran my WJ knuckle swap with my Currie steering as well for awhile. I wheeled with it on a bunch of trips until I upgraded to the knuckle over cross over steering setup. One of the largest benefits of the setup is with how much bigger the brakes are in comparison to the stock setup. The WJ brakes stop my 37" Yokohama's easily!

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RCP Phx said:
Don't know why you would say that? I've been running the WJ set-up with stock(Currie-Correctlync) for 2 yrs now and love it.
Click to expand...

Why wouldn't you want hi-steer if you're going through all the work? Did you cut the arm off the WJ knuckle like he said he'd do?
 
IslanderOffRoad said:
Why wouldn't you want hi-steer if you're going through all the work? Did you cut the arm off the WJ knuckle like he said he'd do?
Click to expand...
Not on mine, I did remove/relocate the pass side sway bar mount.
 
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