Big Drum Brakes

[AmnDay]

I have been doing alot of reading on this subject of disk vs drum and seems everyone is going to disk in the rear. I already had a Police Package XJ with the 10in drum brakes but it had the D35 and I wanted to go to the 8.25 29 spline that I had on the garage floor. Disc brakes as a whole are a good choice for most places and situations but it makes more sense to me to have drums in this situation. Drums will give you more surface area therefore you would think they would stop better than disk, but disk have a positive and that is that the stay cooler and more consistant, but i average less than 5mph on most trails so cooling isnt a factor. So I went with the 10in drums and love them. I believe they have alot more power than disk in my case (33s) I can lock all four up at 35mph now on command and Im still on the fence to do the black magic pads and rotors for the front and the 95+ booster to further improve things. Drums are PITA to work on sometimes and water and sand will trash them faster but overall im happy with my choice, hell there is a reason why 3/4 ton and bigger still run drums in the rear.

 

[AmnDay]

As you can see i can fit the whole old drum inside the new ones and still have wiggle room. I also shortend the shock mounts and shaved the 8.25 down a little and installed a spartan locker in the rear.

 

[MoparManiac]

hell there is a reason why 3/4 ton and bigger still run drums in the rear.

Might wanna rethink that statement Dodge has used disc brakes in the rear of their 3/4 ton trucks since '02 and I don't think they were the first to switch over.

Most don't swap to discs because they have more stopping power, it's because they require no maintenance inbetween servicing. Drums oftentimes require adjustment (self-adjusters never work) which can be a PITA.

Nice job though!

 

[AmnDay]

Your right about the trucks, GM went to disk in the rear then back to drums around the same time that Dodge and Ford went to disk. The only benifit is cooler brakes, longer life and consistant brakes and who really wants that anyway... I dont mind doing maintance on my vehicles. And I dont want this to happen on a trail either.

 

[chedisme]

I noticed a huge difference when I went from the small drums on my 8.25 to the big drums on my XJ D44. then I went too Thunderbird rear disks and didnt like them. the pedal never felt as firm as I thought it should.

 

[Ronbo]

The only benifit is cooler brakes, longer life and consistant brakes and who really wants that anyway...

uh....I do.
And my disk conversion with factory ZJ parts stops way better than the XJ drums ever did - the key is setting up the proportioning valve correctly. But, if it works for you, that's all that matters.

 

[John__505]

You show a pic of a rotor broken, well I had a drum crack on the trails. Talk about fun. I myself cannot wait to get set up with rear disc on my D44. But that is why we all have our own thoughts and there is nothing wrong with that.

 

[crimsondragon]

Your right about the trucks, GM went to disk in the rear then back to drums around the same time that Dodge and Ford went to disk. The only benifit is cooler brakes, longer life and consistant brakes and who really wants that anyway... I dont mind doing maintance on my vehicles. And I dont want this to happen on a trail either.

The only time I see that happen is during autox and road racing or they're just shitty, cheap rotors in general. Looks like the first one developed a crack at the slot and worked it's way down. That's just poor machining although I do run slots on my car but never cross drilled. The second one looks like it's just been abused. What's with the dents on the other side?

 

[XJLI]

My rear drums fell apart in my 44 and I couldn't get replacement parts in three states. Discs are more better in every way.

 

[Jeepman401]

It looksto like the dents on the other side are from where somebody hit it with a hammer to remove it. It to most likely broke on removal, not from braking

 

[AmnDay]

Im not saying anything bad about disk, i would have went with disk if i didnt have the 10in police brakes already. My first trip to Raush I didnt have any rear brakes at all so these are a huge upgrade for me since they are better than none at all.

 

[D.I.T.A]

Another big reason for swapping to disc was that disc brakes self clean and when there is mud around and you can't avoid the stuff its nice to know they won't get packed with crap. I went zj discs in my green jeep best money I spent on my truck hands down and my truck is much safer to drive as well.

 

[clean4drxj]

Drums brakes suck and are useless as soon as you hit the first mudhole/puddle in the woods.

 

[johngus]

I have rear discs on my D44 and love them. I would never consider drum brakes again. Beyond the install labor and adjustment issues, is all the crap they suck up on the trail.