[NIB-98TJ]

I have a 1998 TJ with a factory Dana 44 rear axle.

Has anyone taken the disc brakes for a newer TJ Dana 44 rear axle and installed them on an older drum brake TJ Dana 44 axle like mine?

I know there are some aftermarket rear disc kits and front brake upgrade kits, but I would like to use D44 factory disc brakes from a newer TJ rear D44 if possible.

Thanks for any help,
NIB

[Coops]

If you can find a donor disk set up you'll need the hard lines that run across the axle, e-brake cables and new axle retaining plates because they are different; besides the expected like the brake mounts, calipers, e-brake shoes etc.

[2005X]

id rather spend the money on upgrading the front brakes rather than the rear

[Coops]

Originally Posted by 2005X

id rather spend the money on upgrading the front brakes rather than the rear

Probably your best bet. As long as the rear drums are set up right they work pretty good. Not sure if it would be worth it cost wise unless you can get the parts you need on the cheap. Probably wouldn't gain much in performance over set up drums to make it worth it.

Mind you I hear they clean better and are less resistant to fade when wet.

[RangerRick]

Originally Posted by NIB-98TJ

I have a 1998 TJ with a factory Dana 44 rear axle.

Has anyone taken the disc brakes for a newer TJ Dana 44 rear axle and installed them on an older drum brake TJ Dana 44 axle like mine?

I know there are some aftermarket rear disc kits and front brake upgrade kits, but I would like to use D44 factory disc brakes from a newer TJ rear D44 if possible.

Thanks for any help,
NIB

I have done this on several TJ's, including my 98 with disc brakes off of a 98 Grand 5.8 LE but any 95-98 Grand with D35 axle will work nicely as a donor for this conversion. TJ & LJ rear disc brakes were directly borrowed from the Grand platform so they are virtually identical in design. I have $280 in the whole conversion including re-manufactured calipers, retainers and parking brake cables. I've Re-drilled the rotor hats for 5x5.5 bolt pattern because that's what I run and all is good. Use factory Rubicon parking brake cables with 03 Ruby bearing retainers for the disc conversion. Then use a sanding drum on a drill press to "open up" the axle tube hole on the factory cast Grand caliper brackets "just a smidge" so as to clear the axle tube seals. I proceeded to steal all the brake lines off the Grand axle housing and swapped them over to my 98 factory D44. You could use a double flair tool and just use the rubber ends that connect to the calipers using banjo bolts (so make sure to clip the hard lines with the flair nuts attached to the rubber hoses and get the spring bucket mounting tabs for the lines from the donor if you go this route), but it was just as easy while I was there to thieve everything. I priced factory Ruby brake lines and they are prohibitively expensive. They are also one piece so if you break a rubber hose, snap a banjo fitting or kink a hard line on the housing, you're forced to buy a whole new line. The Grand's lines are two piece and hence you can buy the rubber caliper lines new for much less than a whole assembly. BTW the later D44's have friction welded axle tube ends on them and the earlier ones have swedged tube ends. Dimensionally they are the same and this conversion works for both but the later D44's tubes are welded.

Parts cost:

$100 for Grand parts out of a junk yard including the calipers for cores
$105 for 2 exchanged re-manufactured calipers at auto parts store
$15 for paying a shop to turn both my rusty rotors to like new
$58 for 2 Rubicon disc brake cables from another junk yard, axle was already picked but they left two very important parts behind

6-8 hours of your time tracking all this stuff down and working it out


Bob's your uncle! 4 Wheel Discs on the cheap!

[Stu Olson]

Originally Posted by NIB-98TJ

I have a 1998 TJ with a factory Dana 44 rear axle.

Has anyone taken the disc brakes for a newer TJ Dana 44 rear axle and installed them on an older drum brake TJ Dana 44 axle like mine?

I know there are some aftermarket rear disc kits and front brake upgrade kits, but I would like to use D44 factory disc brakes from a newer TJ rear D44 if possible.

Thanks for any help,
NIB

If you want all of the above broken down into more of a step by step approach, try this write-up.

http://www.stu-offroad.com/suspension/d44brake/bc-1.htm

The above could be done with regular D44 parts too, such as from a Rubicon.

[NIB-98TJ]

Originally Posted by 2005X

id rather spend the money on upgrading the front brakes rather than the rear

Having good brakes on two wheels is no substitute for having good brakes on 4 wheels.

NIB

[NIB-98TJ]

RangerRick and Stu,

Thanks for the helpfull responses, that is just the kind of info I have been looking for.

I currently have stock brakes and 35" tires. They work fine for most situations, but where they are terrible is stopping on a steep hill going up a in 2wd. As you know in that situation the rear brakes are doing most of the work and the rear TJ drum brakes suck going backwards and the front tires lighten up/lock up and just slide. I need some real rear brakes.

Thanks again,
NIB

[2005X]

Originally Posted by NIB-98TJ

Having good brakes on two wheels is no substitute for having good brakes on 4 wheels.

NIB

talk to jerry, having the correct brakes up front far beat having disk in the rear

[mrblaine]

Originally Posted by RangerRick

TJ & LJ rear disc brakes were directly borrowed from the Grand platform so they are virtually identical in design. I have $280 in the whole conversion including re-manufactured calipers, retainers and parking brake cables.

They are virtually, but not identical. There are also some differences in the two models available from the Grand.

The biggest differences between the TJ and Grand stuff is the pads ride on Stainless steel over riders or abutment clips like the Explorer's rear pads do. That means the distance between them is shorter in the pads.

The parking brake shoes are different between the early and late Grands.

Just minor stuff, but try and get the year of the Grand you pulled the parts from to make your life easier at the parts store.

Also, the Liberty uses the exact same part numbers for it's rear disc brakes as the TJ and Unlimited, so if you see one of them in the salvage yard, pull 'em.

[mrblaine]

Originally Posted by 2005X

talk to jerry, having the correct brakes up front far beat having disk in the rear

As long as he's trying to get the discs for the correct reasons, what difference does it make? The rear disc swap is easy and if you like to tinker, quite entertaining.

[emev0l]

Originally Posted by NIB-98TJ

Having good brakes on two wheels is no substitute for having good brakes on 4 wheels.

NIB

Drum brakes are good brakes, rear brakes are only 30% of your stopping power, the fronts are 70%.

If your upgrading the drum to disc in the rear and leaving the fronts stock it's not going to do much.

Disc brakes are nice if you play in the mud a lot, they clean themselves off, there easier to change the pads. Just don't spend a lot of time or money on them.

[mrblaine]

Originally Posted by emev0l

Disc brakes are nice if you play in the mud a lot, they clean themselves off, there easier to change the pads. Just don't spend a lot of time or money on them.

Don't forget they never need adjusting. The maintenance is much easier, fewer parts to mess with outside of the parking brake. And, the parking brake is actually more effective than the drum brakes. Plus, if your parking brake does fail with rear discs, it won't bother the normal operation of the rear brakes.

[servozn]

Originally Posted by emev0l

Disc brakes are nice if you play in the mud a lot, they clean themselves off, there easier to change the pads. Just don't spend a lot of time or money on them.

As someone who does play in the mud, my rear drums are close to useless within 10-15 minutes. I then have an hour job cleaning and adjusting after each trip. A royal PITA that rear disks would alleviate. Once the weather cools down to below 100, I've got parts from a GC for the eventual swap.

[NIB-98TJ]

It’s funny how it has become the fad on this forum to jump on anyone trying to add rear disc brakes to a Dana 44 and tell them to just upgrade their front disc brakes. I would think that more people would actually read posts before responding in such a Pavlonian manner. Did some ring a bell?

Mrblaine, thanks for understanding my problem and contributing some helpful information. I really would like stronger rear brakes. I’ve been in two situations in the last couple of years running up hills in 2wd, didn’t make it and found myself coming back down the hill backwards with the front tires locked up and the rear brakes not strong enough to hold. Neither situation was remotely “extreme”. But I also worry about breaking a front driveshaft u-joint on a very steep hill and loosing the front brake contribution to the rear axle.

The first time was on Cinnamon Pass near Lake City, Co. I was running along on easy stuff in 2wd drive high, rounded a sharp corner and encountered a steeper part of the trail. I though I could made it; almost did, hit some loose stuff, then found myself coming back down the hill towards a couple of thousand foot drop off with the front brakes locked up and very little rear brakes.

The second time was last New Years Day. We had just gotten to a local offroad park (Wheelin’ In The Country). I was still in 2wd high and hadn’t even locked my hubs in yet. We were driving down easy roads to the back corner of the park. Once again, I round a sharp corner and up a steeper part up the road that I always go up in 2wd. What I did not know was the ground was still frozen under the leaves. I got almost to the top, couldn’t make it and again found myself coming back down the hill backwards with the front brakes locks and the rear brakes doing very little. I was also trying to dodge a barbed wire fence on the left, trees on the right and my buddy parked at the bottom of the hill while I was also on the CB telling him to get the hell out of the way because I couldn’t stop.

Based on someone’s suggest on this forum (maybe yours), I have spent a lot of time keeping my rear brakes adjusted. That does make a big difference going forward. But going backwards, those rear drums just don’t seem to be very effective; I assume it’s due to the automatic adjustment feature. I’ve turned the drums and replaced every part in the rear brakes.

I hate to even bring another issue up in fear of bringing out the D60 Pavlonians, but I have looked at the Vanco big brake upgrade. It looks like a well thought out product with very good reviews from all who have tried it. But, I am about to go to 37” or 38” tires and replace my front D30 with a D44 out of a grand wagoneer. It does not appear that the Vanco kit will fit a GW D44; is that correct?

NIB