leo3000

did you remember to take the ebrake off?

edit* my gosh i didnt read the whole thing, you had to take it to the garage... geez.

and btw.. the disc brakes... :drool:

sanchezcruz_20

Haha.. I don't know about savvy, just enjoy sharing the info and pics are worth a 1000 words.

Good luck on your lift install this weekend, it's been a great time building this one. The good thing about these Jeeps is that you're never really done.

Yeah, I had the e-brake disconnected at the unibody. Also backed off the shoes with the adjuster screw. Nothin seemed to work so I gave in.

sanchezcruz_20

Didn't quite get finished up today like originally planned, but got some work done.

After mocking up the backing plate, I realized the factory studs coming from the axle flange were a little short for my comfort. I decided to upgrade the hardware with some grade 8 stuff from Lowes. Really, I'll take any excuse to upgrade hardware whenever I can. The studs are actually pressed in bolts with splines, as shown here:


Here's the flange with the bolts removed, I just pounded them out with a hammer. They actually came out with out too much trouble.


Backing plate torqued down with new grade 8 hardware:


Back side:


Axle reinstalled:




Passenger axle installed with c-clip not yet installed place:


Both axles installed, c-clips in place and cross shaft bolted back in:


Rotor installed next:


and the back... Startin to resemble that familiar disc bake set up now:


Next, the calipers get bolted into their respective brackets:




That's about it for tonight. Brake line brackets, lines and bleeding tomorrow.

leo3000

wow.. that looks so nice...

great job

96_xj

:drool: oh wait there is no icon for that

AUS XJ JEEP

G'day mate...Im from Australia and have just read through your thread/post... must say Im very impressed with your build and the written/pictorial information you have shown and provided...

Im in the process of buying my own jeep and like you am very new to the plat form but have been involved with 4wdriving for some time just finished modifying a toyota 1986 truck know as the Hilux here downunder....

If all goes to plan I will be the proud owner of the iconic XJ Cherokee Sport, built in 2000.....

The colour is like yours and its only done just over 100000 klms.. its been in moth ***** for some time ... as the original owners did not drive it due to health reasons...so yea will post up a pic of it soon....

But just want to say thanks for such a informative build on your XJ keep, up the great work, will be watching this one with much interest....


Steve (from Australia)

ebelizard

WOW! excellent job on your XJ thus far! I love the wheels/tires with that maroon color.

n_csmith

more more we want to see more..just inspired me to go look at my AC line to see if that is my ticking and not a lifter.

99Greenxj

Just Wanted to Say Ive Been Doing a 4.5 in Zone Lift on My 99 and I Feel All the Pains You Have Gone Through, I Was Wondering What Alignment Shop You Went to Cause Im Just Down in Clinton Twp and am Not Happy With the Job The Shop I Went to Did. Also I Heard No Mention Of The 95 Degree Days With 90% Humidity, Great Thread Hope I get to See the Truck on The Road Some Day.

sanchezcruz_20

Thanks for the kind words guys! Most of this wouldn't be possible without resources like Cherokee Forum at my fingertips I've been busting my butt out in the garage every free minute I have (which isn't much with work getting in the way). But I did get time for an update tonight.

Once the calipers were in place, it was time to install the new soft brake lines and bleed the brakes. Here's a couple shots of the new disc brakes with the brake lines hooked up:






You can see here that I don't have a provision for the brake line bracket yet. The manufacturers want you to weld the bracket, but I don't have a welder of course so I'll have to figure something else out. In the meantime, the hard brake line is supporting the soft line with no problems.




At this point, the brakes are done, so I moved onto installing the rear differential cover.

I laid a bead of RTV silicone gasket maker around the rim of the lid after scraping it clean and bolted it onto the differential. Here's the cover back in place with the fill plug removed.


While I was waiting for the gasket to set up a little (directions said give it an hour before final torquing of the bolts) I went ahead and installed the wheels to check for clearance.

First a shot looking through the REAR wheel, is that a caliper I see in there!?!?!!


With the tire in place, I checked to make sure clearance of the caliper was adequate. It appears to be a good fit.






After about an hour, I decided to come out and fill up the differential.

Pretty simple procedure, with the differentail level, just fill til the oil expels out the fill plug.

sanchezcruz_20

I took the Jeep to Midas on 23 Mile, near I-94. The primary reason was that it was the closest shop to my location and I didn't know what to expect since this is my first install. Figured, the less time I'm on the road the better, so closest = Midas.

I'm usually a little hesitant when going to large chains for things like automotive repair/maintenance, but I gotta be honest, these guys are GREAT. They did an excellent job on my alignment. The Jeep tracks down the road straight as an arrow. When I took it to them, the steering wheel was completely upside down while driving straight on the way to the shop, haha.

The cost was $100. Might sound a little high to some of you folks, but considering the amount of work I had them do, it was well worth it. They adjusted the upper and lower control arms, flipping one of them at my request in the process (for grease fitting orientation). They adjusted the track bar to the appropriate length and even got the cotter pin installed (I couldn't get it lined up properly). Obviously they adjusted the steering components and toe-in. Finally, they assessed the rear alignment which was spot on as well.

I was very happy with the outcome.

In addition, I took the Jeep over to them to get the drums knocked off, they did that free of charge! I tossed them a $10 spot for their trouble. The manager runs a tight ship, good guys and knowledgeable.

The weather....... Working out in the garage recently has been BRUTAL. My garage is rather deep, so it gets no breeze. I feel like I'm in a sauna all day!

I'll keep my eyes peeled for your rig.

AUS XJ JEEP

As usual awesome pics and description... love that rear D/Brake conversion.....well done !

n_csmith

jeep looks great i think i may have a disk break conversion in my future..will probably go your route cause i am NOT getting rid of my D44

sanchezcruz_20

Thanks, hope to see your own build thread soon! Did you get the the Jeep yet?

D44 eh? Beefy! Some of us are not so lucky... I'm happy with the Chrysler 8.25 for now though.

Just wanted to give my first impression of the rear disc brake conversion. I took her out for a test drive this morning. Went out to a nearby parking lot to do some figure 8's and distribute the new gear oil throughout the axle.

First thing I noticed, the brake light was on in the dash. I wasn't too concerned at first because I know when you're fooling around with brake line connections that this is common.

Got to the parking lot, brake light was still on... strange. But proceeded with the figure 8's. Brake light remained on. Had me a little worried, so I finished with the figure 8's and started doing some stop and go driving in the parking lot, trying to get a "feel" for the brakes. Then I did some stop and go in reverse and finally the light went out. Whew.... I hate having lights up in the dash.

As far as the braking is concerned, honestly my initial impressions are that there isn't any appreciable difference in brake power or pedal feel at this time. The brakes don't seem any better or worse than stock. Not exactly what I was hoping for so I'm going to toss the disc conversion in the trash and put new drums on.

Just kidding. No, I'm going to re-bleed the brakes, this time all 4 corners. Also, as Iant333 alluded to in an earlier post on page 7, I will be looking to upgrade the proportioning valve to one from a ZJ. Some of the reports on this swap seem to indicate much better braking performance with the Grand Cherokee's p-valve after a disc conversion.

96_xj

my heart stopped.... and yes the new ZJ p valve will work wonders. also there is a modification taht you can do to your current. there is a write up some where on google... its free it just involves manually doing the portortioning yourself is all