XJ Front Brakes, BIG Brake Options

[kastein]

I sure hope you're looking at putting better axles in because if you can run 37s on a dana 30 in the northeast you don't need 37s.

 

[bpas328xii]

I sure hope you're looking at putting better axles in because if you can run 37s on a dana 30 in the northeast you don't need 37s.

Depends on what I decide to do. I could put a set of RCV shafts and their warranty to the test in in a trussed d30 and c8.25 or look for a dana 44 front out of a TJ Rubicon and a dana 44 rear out of a Cherokee or do the Ford 8.8 swap in the rear. Or I could wait until I break the Yukon chromoly shafts that I'm throwing in the dana 30 along with a TruTrac diff (which is what I'm going to run with my 32s).

Axles are a nonissue since the sky is the limit and some of the options are a bolt-on affair.

 

[kastein]

Alright, 37s on a d30 with RCVs, now your carrier and R&P are the fuse instead of the shafts.

44 is going to be around the same, but won't break quite as fast with 37s on it.

Again, if you need 37s in the northeast, you are going to explode a 30 fast, or a 44 pretty quickly. I know people who have made entire statues out of broken dana 44 parts after wheeling on 35s and 37s. And they didn't have a supercharger.

 

[bpas328xii]

Fine then. d60 front and shaved 14 bolt rear. I HIGHLY doubt I'd ever break those.

I've also read threads where people have made the d30 survive under 35s doing some pretty extreme wheeling. It's all about wheeling style and knowing when not to "hammer down".

I'm also not going to be running lockers. Just helical LSDs front and rear. I'm hoping that will mean less stress on the axles, but idk. If it breaks, oh well. I can always fix it. There's a reason people carry spare shafts on the trail.

 

[rockclimber]

Alright, 37s on a d30 with RCVs, now your carrier and R&P are the fuse instead of the shafts.

44 is going to be around the same, but won't break quite as fast with 37s on it.

Again, if you need 37s in the northeast, you are going to explode a 30 fast, or a 44 pretty quickly. I know people who have made entire statues out of broken dana 44 parts after wheeling on 35s and 37s. And they didn't have a supercharger.

Talk to cal about d44s and 37"s. He loves them

 

[urban yan]

For a race jeep 17 and 18 rims probably have plenty of tires and for wheeling 17" is getting to the poiint were it has the best selection of tires and rims.

IMO, I wouldn't build anything that won't clear 17s. The law of diminishing returns will kick in with any rotor larger than 13".

 

[cal]

Talk to cal about d44s and 37"s. He loves them

I just took the dana 60 rear out of big bird and put in a dana 44, with 37's..


True fact.

 

[kastein]

Alright, 37s on a d30 with RCVs, now your carrier and R&P are the fuse instead of the shafts.

44 is going to be around the same, but won't break quite as fast with 37s on it.

Again, if you need 37s in the northeast, you are going to explode a 30 fast, or a 44 pretty quickly. I know people who have made entire statues out of broken dana 44 parts after wheeling on 35s and 37s. And they didn't have a supercharger.

Talk to cal about d44s and 37"s. He loves them

Learn to read a whole post before you bandwagon please. Your terrain is very, very different from ours.

Fine then. d60 front and shaved 14 bolt rear. I HIGHLY doubt I'd ever break those.

I've also read threads where people have made the d30 survive under 35s doing some pretty extreme wheeling. It's all about wheeling style and knowing when not to "hammer down".

I'm also not going to be running lockers. Just helical LSDs front and rear. I'm hoping that will mean less stress on the axles, but idk. If it breaks, oh well. I can always fix it. There's a reason people carry spare shafts on the trail.

I carry spare shafts... and balljoints, after my first fun time breaking a shaft and having it rip my balljoints out within a fraction of a second.

60/14 is going to be basically bulletproof on 37s if built right, but then you run into ground clearance issues and now you're on 40s like most of the people I know with one tons. Still pretty close to bulletproof if built right.

Also, sometimes hammering down is basically the only way something is happening. You aren't gonna crawl a steep rocky hill with mud and water and leaves and moss everywhere. Dry ground? Sure, it'll be fun. When shit gets wet in the northeast (or northwest for that matter) you quickly run out of ways to finesse things.

(the other benefit of 60/14 swapping is you get those massive brakes from the factory.)

 

[bpas328xii]

The terrain out here is the reason I have a Bubba rope and a receiver mounted winch. Also why I'm going to be mounting winches front and rear on my XJ so I can get rid of that sketchy (imho) receiver mount. A winch will get me out of just about anything I can get myself into. Lol

Granted, I'm not afraid of using throttle. Especially with the supercharger haha. I've throttled out of several mud pits where I thought I'd need a strap to get out of. Haven't broken anything yet *knocks on wood*. I've also throttled up steep hills with mud and leaves on the ground. It's surprising how little throttle is needed with this supercharger. I have yet to need to go WOT to get out of/through something.

I personally like doing recoveries more than I like getting stuck. Haha.

 

[cdawall]

Fine then. d60 front and shaved 14 bolt rear. I HIGHLY doubt I'd ever break those.

I've also read threads where people have made the d30 survive under 35s doing some pretty extreme wheeling. It's all about wheeling style and knowing when not to "hammer down".

I'm also not going to be running lockers. Just helical LSDs front and rear. I'm hoping that will mean less stress on the axles, but idk. If it breaks, oh well. I can always fix it. There's a reason people carry spare shafts on the trail.

I have seen more people break things with limited slips a wheel in the air brake torquing for lock up than just wheel on lockers...

IMO, I wouldn't build anything that won't clear 17s. The law of diminishing returns will kick in with any rotor larger than 13".

I could see that. Even new ford d60's clear a 17" just fine. Not like those have small brakes. ...

Learn to read a whole post before you bandwagon please. Your terrain is very, very different from ours.



I carry spare shafts... and balljoints, after my first fun time breaking a shaft and having it rip my balljoints out within a fraction of a second.

60/14 is going to be basically bulletproof on 37s if built right, but then you run into ground clearance issues and now you're on 40s like most of the people I know with one tons. Still pretty close to bulletproof if built right.

Also, sometimes hammering down is basically the only way something is happening. You aren't gonna crawl a steep rocky hill with mud and water and leaves and moss everywhere. Dry ground? Sure, it'll be fun. When shit gets wet in the northeast (or northwest for that matter) you quickly run out of ways to finesse things.

(the other benefit of 60/14 swapping is you get those massive brakes from the factory.)

I wouldn't even go 60/14, 60/60u or 70u has better clearance and similar strength especially running a 37/38" tire.

We have that finesse issue here as well slick rock or frozen dirt seems to be a killer, but still have guys surviving 37/38's on built d44's, but that's also guys running rcv's. Hell the guy who built alot of my wheeling truck runs 39.5" iroks on his d44 fullwidth front locked with chromo shafts and a healthy sbc. I have never seen him break a part, I imagine his 30+ years of wheeling keeps it intact.

Live and learn I guess. I love my 60/60u combo I doubt I will break the chromo front anytime soon, possibly the stock 32 spline rear, but even that...I only have 38.5's.

 

[markw]

Just got done with making a jig for my big brake kit.

 

[CobraMarty]

? Jig for drilling 5 x 4.5" on to a 5 x 5" WJ disc?

 

[markw]

5x5 to 4.5 WJ rotors. Used an old unit bearing. The single stud is on the 5" circle and it's hub centric so the holes will be correct. IMHO the WJ brake upgrade is probably the best bang for the buck you can get on the front axle of these things.

 

[kastein]

The real problem with going that route is that the WJ unit bearing bore is longer, so if you use an XJ axleshaft with one, you can't get the axle nut far enough down without eliminating the washer to get a cotter pin through the hole. Not really safe.

If you don't mind getting custom stub shafts, it'll work fine.

 

[MoparManiac]

If he's redrilling to 5x4.5, I'm guessing he's using XJ unit bearings.

 

[kastein]

Wait, why would you need to redrill an XJ unit bearing to 5x4.5? They come that way. :huh:

edit: oh I see what you're talking about, redrilling the WJ rotor to 5x4.5 and using it with an XJ unit bearing. Got it. :dunce:

 

[yossarian19]

JK stub shafts are 0.19" longer. Might that be long enough to put through a WJ hub? I'd thought about getting WJ U-joint stubs, but the only ones I could find actually used XJ outer shafts.

 

[XJEEPER]

:doh:

 

[CobraMarty]

Finally finished this project. Ended up with a couple of versions. By using the early XJ knuckles I was able to bolt on bigger front brakes. Didn't have to redo the track bar or steering, welding, etc. Uses all stock XJ parts- hubs, stub axles, ball joints, steering, track bar, etc.
From the stock XJ 11" rotors and single piston calipers to 12", 13" and 14" rotors and dual piston calipers.

Version 1 for 15" wheels bolts on 12" rotors and WJ akebono calipers.
Version 2 for larger wheels bolts on 13.2" rotors and calipers off Mustang.
Version 3 bolts on 14" rotors off GT500 and Mustang calipers.

All three are an incredible improvement from stock. Better stopping and zero fade.
Highly recommend upgrading the front brakes on any XJ with any mods, especially bigger tires and wheels and added weight from armor, winches, etc.

 

[Talyn]

Maybe you should make a blog about it and start selling them... you know.. because you aren't advertising or anything.