pappawtherodder

Bought my 87 Cherokee, AKA The Mony Pit, about three weeks ago. Always wanted one, love the body style. Anyway being 24 years old it has a few problems. It is a 4.0 with 4 speed automatic and 4x4. The current problem is with the brakes. Noticed right away that the pedal was soft. I could stop OK but if I had to stop in a hurry there would be a problem. Replaced the booster, front rotors and disc, rear wheel brake cylinders, shoes and replaced brake fluid (bled system). Problem still remains. It seems the only things left to replace are the master cylinder, proportioning valve and the front calipers. I need some suggestions on the next steps. Had my mechanic do this work because of time restraints but plan on doing additional work myself. From reading previous posts it seems that these vehicles came with crappy brakes to start. I bought this vehicle for a daily driver and to occasionally pull a small generator, on a trailer. At this point I would be afraid to pull a 1200 pound gen set. Do you suggest I go to discs on the back? Used or aftermarket? Thanks in advance for your help.

VTJeep

ive got all new (4 months old) breaks- rotors, calipers, drums, pads, discs... the works. they have been blead twice and work very well, but i still find myself using both feet on occasion. not becasue i have to, but cause ya gotta push so hard its nice to make it a little easier! haha... the issue i have is im wondering if its worth bleeding again. when facing uphill on a dirt road, if i back up and apply the breaks, it feels like only the fronts are working. its not like the rears are going to skid like the fronts, but it really feels pretty loose back there. so idk, could just be i need a bigger booster to lessen the force needed to work the breaks...

KevinJKing

Did u by any chance ever check the brake adjusters on your rear wheels? I had this same issue once and it was cus the adjusters weren't out far enough so when I pushed the brakes the pads were going out like there supposed to but not actually hitting the drums and it felt like the pedal was soft because there was no resistance.

freegdr

earl xj brakes were never any good the single stage booster cannot apply enough pressurte for good breaking i went thru everything you are figureing great gonna have good brakes .....NOT..... the only way to get great brakes is with the booster/master cyl up grade read this http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=970008

pappawtherodder

Thanks guys! I haven't checked the adjusters but my mecanich put the rear brakes on and I assumed he would have adjusted them. I will check. Can I assume that they are like other brakes and adjust by backing up and putting on the brakes? Also I question again could it be the proportioning valve not working?

pappawtherodder

The plot thickens! The Jeep just got home. I got in and was able to pump up the brakes. As soon as I started it the pedal went almost to the floor. Checked the fluid and it is full but murky in the rear resevoir.

blue_on_blackXJ

Id think about master cylinder. I almost crashed a customers truck at work yesterday twice because of a bad master cylinder. Needless to say I put a new one in promptly thereafter and it felt like a whole new car.

willz2152

i had the same problem with the brake pedal going down to the floor ... a tech at my work recommended new drums and shoes for the back brakes and when i went to have them installed by a friend, he called telling me all he needed to do was ajust the back brakes, now the brakes never worked better and i bought my jeep in dec 07