Wj swap questions.

[Dragonlich1961]

looking for help deciding wether or not to upgrade to the wj brakes.

can't find a clear writeup stating if the old parts must be used, and whats the minumim needed to make the brakes work.

reason for swap. Front end is due for service, rotors(bad grooves and extreme rust build up,(presumed original), pads(one side wear), calipers(possible sticking caliper, need replaced. and front knuckles have the typical grooves from the oem style brakes. at 23 years the balljoint could do for replacement even if not completly toast.

i have a few questions regaurding what parts must be swaped vs what is ususllly swapped. reason. just installed new zj steering and new draglink, as well as two new unit bearings. all of which were replaced due to failure. The PO was not kind. replaced lots of other crap too, in a few short years i'll have a new "old" jeep

Must new 99+ unit bearings be used or can the old ones be made to work? heard it just spaces the rotor incorectly, which is correctable with spacers on the caliper mounts.
Can the original style sterring be used for now? i understand it's not the best but im not throwing away damn near new parts.

oem xj steel wheels won't clear the wj brakes so new 15's with 3.75-3.5 back spacing would need to be sourced.
I'm currently running the stock abs brake system from master to wheel, does anything need to be changed out. abs currently does NOT function.
next spring, the entire suspension will hopefully be replaced with new 4.5" lift stuff, i need new control arm bushings, new leafsprings(AAL sucks), and new shackele bushings.

future plans will use wj tierods with probrably jks links. mounted otk. shorted trackbar mounted ota. ford 8.8 rear. running 33x12,hopefully.
94 4.0 auto 4x4. 3" 30's

Thanks Chris

 

[mcguyver_xj]

There are tons of write ups on this swap with full parts lists even some very cheap ways to do it, youll need new steering, some new balljoints, you reuse your old hubs


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[srb531]

just google wj knuckle swap, martinbuilt on you tube has lots of info, yes you can use the steering linkage you have.

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

Buy the kit from stinkyfab if you want to simplify it

 

[Dragonlich1961]

Not looking to upgrade the steering since what I have is only a few months old. I wasn't able to find much about the use of the old steering. Everything said use the new stuff since it's better.

 

[dan1977p]

Old steering is fine.
Are you sure you want all the hassle of this? Either way, you'll want to source a new booster, master and combo valve from a non ABS (later model XJ or ZJ) since you're ABS doesn't work anyway. XJ front brake system is fine for my heavy 33x12.50's after I did the aforementioned upgrades and new rotors, calipers and ceramic pads up front. I also did the disc upgrade in the rear with the rear ZJ parts since it was so easy and that just made service on my rear brakes easier.

I could probably do the swaps above in a couple hours. The WJ swap will take a lot longer and be much more of a pain, as you've already seen.

 

[cal]

so much wrong information here.

yes, you need new hubs. the 94 hubs do not have the correct flange thickness and your caliper will be pinned into the rotor locking your brakes up.

yes, you need new steering. the tie rod arms on the WJ knuckles are shorter, and your geometry will be off if you don't use the correct steering with them. also, steering is more than 50% of the upgrade, and you're a fool to go through the work and not get the benefit.

the spacing is less for the rotors and more for the u-joints. without the spacer, your axle gets pushed 'in' a hair and the u-joint will not be centered between the ball joints, causing both to wear VERY quickly.

and yes, look at the stinkyfab kit. before you gawk at the price, make a list of all of the parts, price them out, and then consider his kit is only top shelf products and not the cheapest house brands. i can tell you that at the end of the day, he only makes a few hundred dollars profit on that kit, and that it is a bargain.