[xjrrrdx]

Well today I converted my rear brakes to ZJ discs. It was a piece of cake job!! I had gregmondro get the parts for me since its been so cold here and every time I go usually something or another is missing or broken. Anyway, on to the pics!

Of course since the 8.25 is a c-clip you have to pull the diff cover, and the cross pin in the carrier.

Here you can see the cross pin:


Once you pull the pin:


You should be able to pull the drum cover off so you can see the axle shaft:


After you pull the pin you just push in on the axle shaft and it will move in towards the carrier, and the c-clips will fall out

Shaft pushed in for c-clip to be removed:


After that pull both your shafts:


Next you need a 3/8" flare wrench to pop the hard line off. Now you can remove the drum backing plate:


In order to fit the ZJ backing plate you need to dremel out the hub section a very small portion. And I did have to drill out the mounting holes a hair as well.

Here is the plate mounted up:


I used the ZJ backing plate bolts because they are a little slimmer and fit better IMO.

Now you can toss your shafts back in:


Greg gave me some discs but I decided since the price to get some now ones.


After that I put the calipers on and bolted those on:



After it was all said and done it was a piece of cake to install. I didnt use the e-brake so I just disco'd that for now. And another plus is all the hardware out back is the exact same size as it is up front so no need to have crap loads of tools around for 2 different sized sets of brakes.

Now onto my problem.

I bled the brakes twice. Once with the jeep completely off and once with the jeep running. I had my brother pump the brakes 10 times and then hold while I loosen the screw. I then did that 4 times on each corner. But my pedal is still mushy. I mean I can stop and feel safe, and in 4lo I can stay stopped as well. But the pedal is not firm. I know I have a small leak in the front drivers caliper but would that make the pedal that mushy that fast?? I cant buy a new caliper for like a week because I lost my debit card and the bank just sent one out. Any ideas??

[captain_ruggy]

You could always write a check.

Looks good. I have all the parts for this mod sitting in my basement. I got all the stuff I need at a pick and pull for a totla of 50 bucks. I think I will also get new discs when I do it.
Do they feel good other then the mushy pedal?

[xjrrrdx]

Bah on checks lol! I havent written one is years I need to actually find my checkbook .

It stops fine in regular driving, but if I slam brakes both fronts and rears will not lock up. More of a lurching halt.

[captain_ruggy]

did you do anything to the proportioning valve?

[xjrrrdx]

No I didnt. The proportioning valve is all stock. Would that make the pedal feel firmer though? Right now it goes almost all the way to the floor.

[HeavyMetal]

so whats the parts list for this little adventure so i can do this when it warms up a tad?

to my 44 of course

[sharpie]

Originally Posted by HeavyMetal

so whats the parts list for this little adventure so i can do this when it warms up a tad?

to my 44 of course

ZJ D35 Brakes, welded holes, redrilled, ZJ Brake parts.

Or, you could do like me and just get the Tera conversion, save yourself some hassle, and probably only spend 100 more dollars.

[xjrrrdx]

ZJ rear backing plates, ZJ calipers (or you can get new loaded calipers from advanced), and ZJ rotors. Thats all I used, and routing the hard lines is only the thing that had issues since I just had pliers and crap.

[captain_ruggy]

I don't know, but they say to get the valve off a zj so that the brakes will have the proper pressure to the front and the rear.

how about your new discs, did you clean them with brake cleaner before you used them? if not then they might be oily and that might make a difference.

[gregmondro]

different beast heavy.

8.25 uses c-clips, the d44 shafts have the retainier plate to hold the shafts in, because of this you need to do something about a spacer for the seal at the end of the axle I believe

Google search XJ d44 disc brake conversion, i found a ton of writeups there, i'm gonna attempt it myself here in a few when I get some motivation.

Hopefully you get the mushy pedal solved xjrrdx, sorry I couldn't be more helpful with that. I'm still looking around to see if I can find a solution though.

[xjrrrdx]

I think I will clean them again and maybe get new pads as well.

[HeavyMetal]

Originally Posted by gregmondro

different beast heavy.

8.25 uses c-clips, the d44 shafts have the retainier plate to hold the shafts in, because of this you need to do something about a spacer for the seal at the end of the axle I believe

Google search XJ d44 disc brake conversion, i found a ton of writeups there, i'm gonna attempt it myself here in a few when I get some motivation.

Hopefully you get the mushy pedal solved xjrrdx, sorry I couldn't be more helpful with that. I'm still looking around to see if I can find a solution though.

yeah ive seen a lot of articles about it but i figured id make a small attempt to be lazy haha. im gonna look into it

[Jeds Sr.]

Nice write up I wander if the parts would fit my d44? I hate dang drum brakes!

I don't know why the pedal would be mushy, maybe a air pocket hiding somewhere. You could try bleeding again in a few days.

How hard is it going to be to hook up the E-brake?

[gregmondro]

Originally Posted by HeavyMetal

yeah ive seen a lot of articles about it but i figured id make a small attempt to be lazy haha. im gonna look into it

pm me if you find anything good, I'm betting i'm right up there with you on the lazy scale

[Chris_Walker]

Originally Posted by sharpie1k

ZJ D35 Brakes, welded holes, redrilled, ZJ Brake parts.

Or, you could do like me and just get the Tera conversion, save yourself some hassle, and probably only spend 100 more dollars.

To do the swap on a D44 would I need to take the hardware off of a ZJ with a D35, or would the parts from a ZJ with a D44a work too?