Jeep XJ Cherokee to WJ Knuckle and Brake Swap and your options.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video I go through the different options when doing the WJ front brake upgrade on your Jeep Cherokee XJ . I look at what will work and what wont as well as how to make things work.
Here is Iron Rock Offroad's knuckle swap kit.
www.ironrockof...
Really appreciate this video. I am slowly gathering all of the parts to do this mod and its nice to see a detailed video of it all. Thanks again foe filming this, must have been a lot of work.
Thanks for the compliment! I drove it to Moab for EJS and back and the brakes did amazing!
The combo I've been using for years is wj rotors, 00/01 hub bearing, and welding in the hub spacer. No need for any other goofy spacer combinations. SFR sells a cheap and easy to use drill jig for drilling WJ rotors to 5 on 4.5.
hello , can you send the link to the rotor drill jig.
thanks.
Can you use spacers and the wj hub and rotor to change to 5x5 along with the wj brakes
Who is SFR?
@@garyvanmeter4911 Stinky Fab Racing
Is the brake upgrade mandatory with wj knuckle swap?
I want wj knuckles and not do the brake swap
Yes it is mandatory. The XJ caliper will not mount to the WJ knuckle. You can still use your XJ hub and rotor so you can maintain your rims and tires.
Your eyeball in those spaces without having the rotor tighten down so it's probably fine with that
You put an extraordinary amount of faith in those little axle stands!
Thanks for the concern but they're rated at 3 tons each and the whole jeep is maybe 2.5 tons.
Wow, I've seen alot of tutorials on this but none so thorough and the largest part being with the explanations! I was wondering the why and how on the welds and alot of the other parts, thankyou for answering all my questions and more.
Do they fit with 15" steelies?
I didn't try but word is they will work with the right back spacing and maybe a little clearing of the calipers.
That was awesome. Thanks for the struggles you put into making this video! And the chips in your pocket. That was pretty funny
Thanks!!
Wouldnt it be easier to just swap the axle then to do all this ? Or are the axle mounts not in a good place ?
@@michaelengelhardt5296 If I remember correctly they’re in the same place. All the Cherokees from 2000 forward including the grand Cherokee (WJ) were all a low pinon Dana 30. Keeping the high pinon Dana 30 in my 1999 XJ is preferable. Keeps the pinion and front driveshaft out of the rocks.
@4HIGHGARAGE ik they are both high pinion d30 but the wj is 65 in mounting surface instead of 60 inch. But idk about control arm mounts, tracj bar mount or spring perches.
@@michaelengelhardt5296 Ah I didn’t remember that. Guess is the control arms line up it be a decent swap. I’m running spacers for the JL rims I’m running even though it’s the same lug pattern the wheel offset requires the spacer. So a wider axle would do the same thing.
Loved the video I'm doing the parts search now to this up grade and also letting us know where to get those hard to find spacers .. What was the brand of those chips 🍟 you were eating that was 😁 😂. Keep those videos coming XJ Fam.
@@ericgunnyporter8964 Thanks Eric!
I just swapped the entire front axle from a wj to my tj. I didn't have to mix and match brake and hub parts or weld spacers and the axle is slightly wider for better tire clearance. I'm doing other things to the Jeep so it's not back on the road yet, but steering and brakes are together and seem to work well so far
That’s a fantastic idea! Awesome to know it’ll go right in. Thanks for sharing this option!!
@@4HIGHGARAGE I measured everything multiple times before pulling the trigger on the swap. I think the spring perches were out slightly wider but all the link brackets lined up. Since the bolt pattern is now different, I could use gladiator/JL rims from ebay for correct backspacing with no wheel spacers
@@mackenzieclancy959 I assume this gave you 5 x 5 on the front, but rear was still 4.5 x 5. So did you use spacers for the rear to make them all the same? I like this idea as everybody with a JL sells their takeoff wheels and tires.
@@garyvanmeter4911 I also swapped the rear out of the wj. Unlike the front however nothing lined up, I cut off all the brackets and spring buckets and welded on new ones in the right place. Spacers on the tj axles would have worked too because they're narrower than the wj that I swapped into the front
Thanks for the video. It’s interesting how many options there are for upgrading these systems. I appreciate you doing the leg work and tutorial on making it work together.
Good luck finding a machinist that will do machine work on brake parts the liability is enormous
This is true!
You said your running 5on5 wheels what did you do for the rear axle since xj are 5on4.5
Since a spacer is needed to just the JL Rubicon rims anyway I just went with a Spencer/adapter.
On the Hub could you not Mill it and then you wouldn't need the spacer because you've taking away the portion that's hitting the backside inside and you're still giving now plenty of room for that outer surface to rest as well as the bolts?
What years is this good for I've got an 89
You could mill the hub. However, the bearing hub is a replacement part so the next time you need to replace the hub bearing you’d have to mill the new one. As far as years go I believe all Dana 30 axles this should work on with the exception of JK and up axles. I wana say at that point they changed the axle end or “C” end and the knuckle is different.
Is the sand hot? if not placing the knuckle in the sand is a waste of time as the sand will cool it down fast. I just put the knuckle back in the oven and slowly reduce the heat. I reduce it 50° every half hour. The knuckles are cast steel so you don't need any special welding wire.
In Texas everything is hot. LOL. If the sand was outside in the winter the shock of the cold sand probably would be a problem but the sand will take and hold the heat from the knuckle and then slowly cool it down. The casting was likely made in sand for the same reasons. However the oven sugestion is still a better idea. Could have saved me 40 bucks in sand! Thanks for the idea!!
@@4HIGHGARAGE If you use the oven I'd wait till your wife is out shopping. Mine wasn't impressed. 😉 When I was a young man a farmer I worked for showed me how to braze a cracked exhaust manifold using a coal fire. The pre and post heating was very similar but slower.
@@MatthewBerginGarage Thanks! My wife doesn't watch my videos so I'm good. Hahaha
How many amps did you use for welding the spacers? and no mention of the changes required for the swaybar link mounts, tie rod, drag link, and track bar?
I had my Miller 140 turned all the way up for welding the spacers. Couldn't say the exact amps, just all of them. I have a second video where I do the CavFab steering set up install for tie rod, drag link, and track bar. I also show what I did for the swaybar link mount.
Doesn't want to run a 3mm spacer on the inside but runs a 2 inch wheel spacer instead 🤦
Fair point.
Dude you had me up until you started chomping on them chips like a pig!
Hahaha. Just some stupid fun. You should check out my headliner video for even stupider snack time.
Thank you for this video, as it's very in depth and informative! Since you seem to know quite a bit about this, do you know if anything changes for converting a 2wd front beam axle from an 01' Cherokee? I'm working on building one to swap into my performance oriented Jeep Comanche and I'm having trouble deciding which direction to go with my brake upgrade. Thank you
Tim the knuckles should be the same between a 4wd or 2wd axle. So the brake upgrade should work. I'm not sure how the steering will clear the sway bar bracket on the passenger side. You'll have to just plan on doing some custom work there like I did. Just may not be the same. If you haven't watched the follow up video to this one it's on the CavFab steering instal. You'll see what I had to modify in that video.
thanks for the in-depth video. I've been planning on doing this upgrade in just a month or two and was planning on just getting the Ford explorer brake rotors because I was told they were a direct bolt on. thanks for showing the misinformation that is currently online.
very much thanks and keep up the good work will be looking forward to what else you do on your XJ.
My pleasure. I appreciate the compliments!!
Great video, but once you weld that flange to the hub, how do you replace the front bearings? In future?
It still bolts on and off like usual. At 14:53 in this video you can see me bolt it on.
@@4HIGHGARAGE ahh yea sorry you welded it to the knuckle not the hub! No worries! Cheers
Great video , but what’s with the chips in your pocket?
Just being silly. Gota come up with some new pocket snack ideas. LoL.
Great video, I like the info and the pace. Looking forward to more
Thanks CK!
The spacer kit you recommended has caliper spacers as well but you don't talk about those in the video? Were they not used?
Thanks Bryan. I do mention and show it in my conclusion. It’s at the 22:50 mark. They are also only used if you’re going to run the WJ hub and the 5x5 lug pattern. What I forgot to give is the specs on the longer bolt I used. I also have had a few other questions people have asked so I think I’ll shoot a follow up video stay tuned.
@@4HIGHGARAGE Thanks for the response. I am going to stay with the XJ hubs, and am going to drill WJ rotors instead of using the ford rotors. So if I understand correctly...I shouldn't need the caliper spacers? Thanks in advance I appreciate any help. Never mind I just watched the end of your video a little bit more completely and you answered my question and in your comment to I just noticed. Great video thanks again!
What fender flares are you using
Bushwacker
www.bushwacker.com/jeep-flat-style-flares/1999/jeep/cherokee
Is it work with stock xj steering or zj 5.9 steering upgrade?
I know it wont work for stock XJ or ZJ steering because those are a Y-link style steering. It might work with a stock WJ steering since they're WJ knuckles.
No. You're upgrading to WJ style steering.
Great video. Superb guide.
Thanks!!
I did this upgrade on my YJ, awesome performance boost. I also have the Yukon spin free hub kit, so that added some additional hurdles, there's basically no way to make the WJ rotor work in that instance. You have to use a CJ7 rotor and have the knuckle modified so the caliper sits farther inboard. There might be other rotors that would work with a Yukon/WJ setup and not require the knuckle to be machined, but I was unable to find one.
I had to google that, hadn't heard of that kit. Not cheap but very cool.
For sure not cheap, but worth it if you are doing enough highway miles. I was able to find mine at an unbeatable price, like half of what they usually go for. There are two kits, and WU07 and WU08. The 07 kit basically uses the hubs from a Ranger, so you get to keep your 4.5" bolt circle. The 08 kit uses a much stronger Ford half ton hub, but you also change to a 5.5" bolt circle. It holds up to bigger tires much better. I got tired of swapping out the unit bearings every couple years. The draw back is that you pretty much get stuck with the factory brake calipers, until now. Most sane ppl will just go to 1 ton axles, and then you solve two problems at once. Overall, I'm still below the cost of going with 1 tons, and the WJ brake works well on the CJ7 rotor, they are very similar in diameter and thickness.
@@7t2z28 That's awesome! I'll have to keep these kits in mind.
I just did this for bigger brakes and to go hi-steer eventually.
Right now I have a 30 spline chro-mo inner Dana 30, and 32 spline chro-mo JK outers. I used the weld on spacer, JK unit bearings with WJ everything else, and it works. I just needed a washer to get the rotor centered. I am running 5x5 w/spacer.
Future plans are a JK width housing with TJ knuckles so I can use all of this w/chro-mo stock JK length inners and no wheel spacers so ball joints won't be under as bad of a load.
OEM from Theo Ford explorer rotores, please.
Ford explorer sport track if I remember correctly.
OEM number- original manufacturer number.
@@pedrocastelar7524 not sure but i used Raybestos 680027 is it's part number. Hope that helps.
Great video, the "pocket chips" was a nice touch 😂
Good video thx
Glad it helped. Thanks for the comment.
Is there a benefit to running to ford rotors?
They’re the stock XJ lug pattern so you can use your same rims.
@@4HIGHGARAGE ok, but is there still a 2mm offset issue if you go with the WJ rotors and Xj hubs?
@@bmonden no. The WJ hat should have the right offset and be centered in the caliper.
Will 15in rims fit ? Or is caliper too big
I'll be honest I can't say. But this was a major question needed to be answer in my video. I just forgot about it since I was going with a 17" rim. I think I'll have to gather a few of these questions and do a follow up video. Stay tuned.
I did it using 15" rims and there is just enough clearance, but I think it also depends on the rim itself and the backspacing that it has.
@@gzrgldr8288 100% agree. Thanks for sharing!
No lo pueden dar en español ????????????
WY CAT YOU CUT A 1/4 IN OFF THE AXLE AND BE DUN