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I am in the middle of a closed knuckle 44 disc swap using 70s GM 1/2ton brackets, calipers, pads and hoses, everything except rotors which are 77-78 cj7 1 1/8 thick. Everyone claims it is easy but its been a major PITA. The clearancing portion with the grinder was easy. Aquiring the parts every writeup I ever read said to get was cheap and easy. The pads just do not fit. I sanded a good amount off of them and it still locks it up when assembled. To my knowledge you shouldnt have to modify the pads. I took the pads to Napa to compare with other years and they're all thicker. The centers of the rotors also had to be ground out to get them to seat on the back of the J-truck hub but they barely seat. Do I just need CJ hubs at this point? I took a short drive and it stops on a dime but I just about boiled the grease out of the hubs in the process. Obviously a repack is in order once I get this clearing correctly. I am not seeing how everyone makes this seem so easy. I've been messing with it for 2 days now and still cant get the rotors to spin without restriction once the pads are installed. Anyone else have these issues doing this??
Disregard. It was the hubs causing it. I had to remove a little more from the center of the rotor so they would seat better. Had a slight gap causing the rotor to cock. If I had to do it again, I would just use CJ hubs. Apparently I overlooked that part in one of the writeups. Realistically it would have been easy had I used the correct hubs. I made dumb, what can I say.
I made it work though. As little as I drive it, these brakes should last me plenty long enough until I build the new front axle. Truck stops straight as an arrow now and the difference between 11" drum and 11.75" disc is ridiculous. I should have done this years ago
I had the same problem, my hubs were only faced on the outside. I can't remember if I faced the backsides or swapped to earlier hubs. Either way works. Consider a "true-up" cut on the rotors once the wheel studs are pressed in (should be pretty close if the hubs were faced) just with like drums. Most of the magazine write ups going all the way back to Jimmy Nylund in the 80's are based on a Willys or early Kaiser rig which had internal mount drums.
I still haven't ordered the correct hubs but to my understanding late 70s CJ7 hubs are the ones to use. I have been too busy to mess with it lately though between my transmission going bad in my POS daily driver Malibu and then replacing the Malibu with my new 1990 Comanche that I drove less than 10 miles after putting the plates on it before the fuel pump took a crap on me. Of course the pump is still 2 days out and I just filled the tank. So now I am forced to drive the Gladiator with overheating brakes (it was parked and on the backburner for a while) *sigh* Story of my life.
Enough ranting. Here is the write up I went off of. http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/trans ... swap-plus/
All of the Jeep closed-knuckle front axles are the same in terms of the disk conversion. They are all the same from the knuckle out, so you can follow the parts list and instructions for a CJ or Wagoneer or J-truck or whatever.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
Blockchain the vote.
I did this very same conversion about the same time you were doing yours. I didn't have the clearance issue you had mentioned, but the issue I am having is, now my brakes lock up with the slightest bit past 1/8 pedal throw. Gets real sketchy if I need to stop in a hurry and I just end up sliding.. any ideas where I went wrong? Or whats going on with it? Any insight is greatly appreciated
Do you have the original master cylinder? If so you have to remove the residual pressure valve from it. Mine lock up only from heat expansion.in my case the pads cant float correctly due to the hubs not being machined so they have constant friction causing the brake fluid to heat and expand which locks them up. Wife got me the correct hubs for christmas apparently so i will have to wait until then to correct it. No big deal, i rarely move it during the winter. Removing the residual pressure valve on a stock master cylinder with drum/drum should correct your problem. Im running a XJ booster and master so mine is already a disc/drum setup. Try that and let me know how it goes
Sorry, I should have added what other parts I put into it. I had also installed the power brake booster, and master cylinder from a '78 Cherokee application. So the master is already set up for disc/drums. Also installed a new prob valve also set up for disc/drums. How was the fitment with the XJ booster/master combo? It got a little tight for me when it came time to install the clutch master on the firewall..
Had to drill two holes iirc. Moved my clutch master over and basically built a smaller version of the manual clutch bellcrank and mounted it under the dash. It works but the clutch pedal is pretty hard. Im used to it now though.
Do you have the part number for the CJ hubs? I really want to redo my disc setup with new hubs. Had my original drum hubs machined on the back and they work, but I still want new ones.
5358568H crown part number is what my wife ordered for me for christmas, haven't recieved them yet so I can not 100% confirm they are correct but I will definitely update when I put them on. They are for a 78-81 CJ with front disc so hopefully they will work properly. They come with races but I do not know if i can reuse my bearings or not. Hopefully they will just bolt on and give me the correct offset. For a pair its about $120 and its a gamble but I have done tons of research and believe they will work for this setup. Even after the cost of hubs I am still into the swap for less than half of what the conversion kit costs