Writeup on Liberty KJ discs on 8.25" Cherokee XJ Conversion

[lifted00]

I have been doing some research on doing a disc conversion for the rear of my 2000 XJ. I got a great deal on a 2006 Jeep Liberty rear end with only 16k miles. I was able to purchase this rear end from a guy I know for a low price of $200.00. The he even thru in the parking brake cables. He has a couple more floating around somewhere. The axle had 15" wheels on it when I picked it up account the factory wheels were sold so I knew there would be no clearance issues. So here we go:

Assuming you already know how to pull the axles.

A picture of the axle and brake cables:


The brakes removed from the Liberty axle The factory hardware kit still had paint on the springs:


The backing plate on the Liberty is about 3/8" thick vs. the 1/8" thick on the XJ. The mounting bolts are about 1/4" too short The bolts that hold on the backing plate on are no different than wheel studs. Just knock them out and put in the longer studs from the Liberty:



Apply the new backing plate from the liberty. Use a lock-tite on the studs to hold on the backing plate. It is a direct fit:


I took this time to install new axle seals to keep from doing this in the future.

Now apply your axle, rotor, and caliper I turned the axle after it was installed to make sure there were no clearance issues. Everything is going well so far:


There are a couple different ways to mount your brake line. It is your choice. I did keep it up above the axle to prevent damaging it while on the trail You will have to bend your factory steel line how you like to meet up with the new brake hose. Also attach the Libery parking brake cables as shown. You will have to attached the ends of the cables to the factory splitter that goes into the main cable out of the console:



Now put you wheel back on and bolt it on:


Now adjust your cable and bleed the brakes. So far the brakes are excellent. I didn't notice a difference in the pedal travel. I have a proportional valve from a Grand Cherokee and the one from the Liberty. I may install one of these and see how things go.

This was an easy install. It took about four hours total. Five including removing the brakes from the Liberty axle. I think the hardest part was trying to route the parking brake cables and brake lines/hoses. These axle are out there but you just have to find someone wanting to part with it.

Thanks for looking.
Justin

[emr1101]

Impressive, congrats on bein the first to do this!

[xtimmax]

Good write up.. Definately something to keep note of when Im ready to do rear disks.

[smccollamjr]

Nice work Justin!!

[GSequoia]

What axle was this done with?

[Boostwerks.com]

Looks great. Makes you wonder why Teraflex wants a rediculous $650+ for their kit.

[igotanxj]

Excellent writeup. Any ideas how big those rotors are?

[Ba-Riedo]

Originally Posted by Bryson

Looks great. Makes you wonder why Teraflex wants a rediculous $650+ for their kit.

Probably because that's what all those parts cost new.

-Alex

[gradysjeep]

Originally Posted by Bryson

Looks great. Makes you wonder why Teraflex wants a rediculous $650+ for their kit.

On summit racing I found the teraflex kit for around 330 or so. Seems wierd though because they also have it for around the 650 price. I dont know what the difference is. If you go check it out though you will see it on there for 330.

[asp]

wow, i was looking for write ups to see if anyone had done this earlier today, and i gave up. good info, details, and pics. i was leaning towards the zj conversion and still might because it's cheaper. not sure though. awesome write up either way

[jeep ride]

good writeup and pics thanks for sharing

[billyjp2]

wow thats easy

[garr]

Great job & Thank you,
This is exactly what I was Planning to attempt, Got cold feet & held off,
Now That I know it works so well I will proceed!

[igotanxj]

Nevermind, i looked it up. It looks like the KJ and ZJ both use 11.22 inch disks.

[garr]

Originally Posted by gradysjeep

On summit racing I found the teraflex kit for around 330 or so. Seems wierd though because they also have it for around the 650 price. I dont know what the difference is. If you go check it out though you will see it on there for 330.

You are correct, Here is the linK
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...533+4294839009

For $330 for all new parts, it looks well worth the price, I can't see the dofference between the $650 & $330 kits, Other than the photos of the $650 kit show brake lines included.