Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum!
If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page.
Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.
read my name, no "c". and i as well have researched, experimented, documented, all that jazz on different things. but fact is fact. abs in jeeps suck. if you want to keep a crappy system, do all that work that one other user has done (all users mentioned are awesome actually). report back, see if it was worth all the work. we are just the people that tell you that something is going to be more of a pain in the ass. and there prolly is a reason that it hasnt been done again in the 5 years since that post. as far as being defensive, dont be a dick to me, i wont be a dick to you.
Point is we all modify our XJs to suit ourselves and our driving. In my case, I built what I consider a good compromise between street and my mild trail use. Would everyone want my setup? Of course not. That is the point. We all have different use and purposes for our XJs.
I need mine to be available for my wife and children, and in any weather. ABS was important to me as 95% of the time my Jeep is on the street. In addition, not all of my family drives with the same skill set. I think the late model XJ ABS is decent. Is it the ultimate system? No. Is it as good as my wife's 2009 Lincoln TownCar? In a word, No. I can tell you when you hit the brakes on that TownCar it is amazing how quickly it stops, even in the rain. I'd hate to be behind that car if it is in a panic stop situation.
That said, I am happy with the ABS working in my XJ equipped with Dana 44 drum brake rear end. You might want something else and that is fine. We all have ideas for the best way to setup a Cherokee. Lets share them here.
Never intended to come off as a dick, I apologize if anything I said sounded condescending. But if there's one thing I hate - it's searching, discussing, or brainstorming something and having "the majority" rant off topic about why not to do it. Everyone that said ABS sucks and ditch the system (not calling you out) has around 500 posts or less, and have been on the boards around 2 years or less. With the exception being Wolfpack, and he contributes a lot to this forum as well. To me that says something about the credibility of people's $.02. I'm not concerned about something being a pain in the ass, challenges don't shy me away from a project. You say the system sucks in Jeeps. I've owned both and I think it's worth the effort to keep. Agree to disagree.
Bwinter: great post, this is an example of what I'm talking about. You've done it. You like it. You're an opinion that is worth digesting.
Off topic: Austin Where in MoCo are you? I live in Damascus and work in Rockville. I'm sure I've seen your rig before.
I used the sensors and tone rings off a ZJ D35 along with the disc brakes. I had the tone ring opened up to clear the axle tube. A step was machined in the back of the axle flange. The adapter has a step machined on one end to attach the tone ring to (IIRC). Everything was pretty snug but I used some loctite and JB weld for extra security. Its not like its under a load. I can't remember the spacer size, but iirc It was about 3/4" thick. Just measure the location you need to put the tone ring. You will need to use a machine ship to machine the parts as you need a tight fit and precision cuts.
99% of the people may say it's a bad idea, but from what I've found from my years of broswing Naxja, the 1% that disagree are usually a lot smarter than the 99% that agree with each other.
This is a true statement. That being said, I stand by my statement that the early roll out of ABS in Cherokees and Grand Cherokees was pretty poor. The newer systems are pretty good though. The system in my new F-150 is great, I have never noticed it.
Have you considered swapping in an 8.8 with disk brakes out of a late 90s Exploder? You get disk brakes and perhaps a LSD if you dig a bit. I just did the swap. The 8.8 has a 108 tooth tone ring on the differential. My front Dana 35 has a 54 tooth tone ring on each wheel. I've read several posts on different sites indicating that you can splice your rear ABS lines and connect it to the 8.8 ABS sensor. You have to grind off every other tooth in the 8.8 tone ring so the sensor picks up 54 teeth. Apparently this has worked successfully. I personally haven't hooked up the ABS because I'm happy with the setup just by pulling the ABS relays. If you are re-gearing and/or installing a locker you'll have the rear diff already pulled apart so it sounds like an easy fix on paper.
When did they actually start implementing ABS on the xj's? Mines a '99, but I've driven plenty of older cars that feel like they only pulse a few times a second during an event. Of course compared to some of the 2012 cars the Cherokee system is total garbage, but it's also 13 years old in my case.
I have considered an 8.8, but I'd like to keep it as simplistic as possible. My welder has also been on the fritz for a while now too. If there's really THAT much more to gain from the 8.8 then sure I'd consider it, but from everything I've read they're about equal in strength. Just more readily available in 4.10's. I'll be doing 4.88's so that's not a big concern of mine. The tone ring sounds interesting though I'll have to do some more reading and look for some write ups.
Skidding is never good situation. Dry or wet. You're going to travel a lot farther than you would if you kept the vehicle right on the threshold of losing traction.
... And wow seriously 87? I've never seen one go back that far. I've driven a 94 with it but that was years ago and I don't think I ever really had a serious stopping event. I really don't like the way newer cars are headed with the actuator built into the "power booster", which isn't vacuum actuated. They're noisy, unreliable, and the pedal feel is the same no matter how hard or soft you brake. Not to mention bleeding is literally impossible. The 2010 Lexus LS460's have i believe 3 TSB's on the actuator, all which involve replacement. Cost of the actuator - just shy of $3500. I can only imagine this out of warranty...
Talyn were the sensors a direct plug-in or did you have to splice them into your old D35 connector (going from an older vehicle to a newer one).
Any way if u have the coin anty up for an xj 44 way easier to do the swap
U can use ALL the zj stuff
Trust me I know
My buddy Jeff (60anny) any I just finished a 44 abs disk brake swap and it works awesome......and I have all the specs
The purpose of ABS is not necessary to help you stop faster. It is so you can retain steering while stopping. Lock the tires up and you lose steering control.
That won't answer any questions in regard to the 8.25. In my previous thread I mentioned that you couldn't fit the tone ring on the 8.25 in that fashion.
Wow, two links have been provided to my write up and I hadn't even caught wind of your thread yet. I still can't figure out why everyone can't help but jump in on the ABS sucks bandwagon. It's the same story anytime you ask about ABS related stuff. All I know is that if I read a thread and don't have anything to say that contibutes to answering the question asked by the OP, I skip right on to the next one. I guess some people just like to hear themselves talk (er.. type?) and feel that you should appreciate their input, regardless of the fact that it does absolutely nothing to answer your question. :yap:
In fact, I prefaced my ABS write up knowing this full well:
All you ABS haters can just click on by and continue to hate anyone interested in maintaining their factory ABS when they upgrade their rear end. I’m not going to get into the pros and cons of ABS in different driving situations. I’ll leave that decision up to you ... I’m just going to show you how easy it is to maintain your ABS when upgrading your rear end to a stock XJ Dana 44. So if you’re interested, grab a cold one and be prepared to do a little reading.
Any way if u have the coin anty up for an xj 44 way easier to do the swap
U can use ALL the zj stuff
Trust me I know
My buddy Jeff (60anny) any I just finished a 44 abs disk brake swap and it works awesome......and I have all the specs
So after all that, what do I have to contribute? Encouragement I guess. I'm really not too familiar with how to do the swap on an 8.25, but you've already stumbled upon Talyn's info which should be of great help. The idea is pretty basic regardless of the swap you're doing; get the tone rings and sensors mounted in a way that lets them communicate with each other while the axle is rotating. There's no magnetic mystery or electronics voodoo involved, it's just a matter of figuring out the easiest way of mounting them.
I can tell you that after running my ABS swap for a couple of years now, I have no regrets about having put the time and effort into figuring it out. It has worked great both with my stock shafts and now with my Superiors. While I'll agree that the early Bendix ABS systems were sketchy at best, I think the late model systems (such as in your '99) are worth maintaining after an axle swap if you're not afraid of the small amount of work involved.
Oh, and I should also mention that I pull my ABS fuses and relay when I go rock crawling cuz it brings the suck fo sho... :shhh:
