Full Width HP44/9" Build-Up

[baseballneal86]

I've been working for a week and a half on swapping axles from a 1979 Ford F150 into my XJ. So far on the front high pinion Dana 44 I've got it completely torn down and started cleaning it up. The rear axle has been stripped, cleaned, painted, and started getting put back together. I'm swapping the 9" rear axle in first so that the Jeep wont see a whole lot of down time.

I decided on disc brakes for the 9" after seeing a simple writeup for the conversion on http://www.projectxj.com. I ended up using rotors off of a 1989 Suzuki Sidekick and calipers off of a 1990 Nissan Maxima. The zuki rotors are 11.5" in diameter which should be plenty big enough.

The Nissan calipers have a built in mechanical parking brake which I'm hoping to be able to adapt to the XJ parking brake cable.

To mount the caliper onto the axle, I first tried the bracket that was listed on the projectxj site, but in the end my father and I came up with our own design. We cut these brackets out of 1/2" thick aluminum.

Our design utilizes all 4 bolt holes in the axle end flange which should hopefully make for a stronger setup.

I've got the brackets and calipers all bolted onto the axle, but haven't gotten the axle brake lines on yet. For the soft line from the body to the axle, I'm using one off of a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500. It is 7" longer than the XJ line and is a direct bolt on replacement.

 

[Menzenski]

:thumbup:

Looking very forward to your buildup; I've got the same axles (out of a 79 Bronco) in my driveway.

 

[baseballneal86]

For shock mounts, I cut up the sway bar mounting bracket off the 9" since it had the perfect radius already cut on it.

I drilled a hole through the bracket so that I could plug weld the shock stud onto it.

I then welded a 5/8" nut to some 5/8" rod and washer to form the stud for the shock to mount to. I then welded the stud onto the axle bracket.

A small plate will get welded onto the top of the shock mount in order to give the bracket more weld area on the axle.

Here's what it will look like once it's welded onto the axle tube. No more low hanging shock mounts to get hung up on!

 

[Wil Badger]

make sure to use a sleeve when you install the shocks.if you don't the thread will just cut its way right through the bushing.thats why its better to use a 3/4 bolt with a proper length should then just cut the thread area down to size.

 

[tealcherokee]

make sure to use a sleeve when you install the shocks.if you don't the thread will just cut its way right through the bushing.thats why its better to use a 3/4 bolt with a proper length should then just cut the thread area down to size.

x2

 

[baseballneal86]

Thanks for the tip. I'll make sure to do that.

 

[fatwreck]

Nice job on the caliper brackets. I like yours better than mine.

For the ebrake, I just wrapped the cable around the lever and clamped it back to itself. The ends of the outer part of the cable fit pretty well into the cable holder once you trim off a prong or two.

 

[baseballneal86]

Nice job on the caliper brackets. I like yours better than mine.

For the ebrake, I just wrapped the cable around the lever and clamped it back to itself. The ends of the outer part of the cable fit pretty well into the cable holder once you trim off a prong or two.

Thanks for the compliment! Your rig was/is a huge inspiration to me. I can only hope that mine will turn out as nice as yours.

 

[baseballneal86]

Today I finished the last 2 caliper brackets and got all the brake hardware (except the lines) bolted on.

I also fully welded my shock mounts and cleaned them up with the grinder. All they need now is some paint.

Here's a pic of the 1998 Ram 1500 rear brake line. It measures 21" in length and bolts in place of the stock XJ line.

One last pic of the axle as it currently sits.

I'm waiting on spring perches from http://www.rockcityfab.com. Once those come in I'll be able to weld them on and the shock mounts as well. Then all that's left is the brake hardlines and e-brake cables. party1:

 

[tealcherokee]

those welds on the shock mount look scary....

the caliper mounts make me nervous too, but i think theyll be ok

 

[baseballneal86]

those welds on the shock mount look scary....

the caliper mounts make me nervous too, but i think theyll be ok

They're not the prettiest welds, but I trust them enough for shock mounts. Care to elaborate on your problem with the caliper brackets?

 

[XJ_ranger]

Im not a big fan of aluminum for the caliper brackets...

Id like to see steel there...

Why aluminum? not much weight being saved there... not that hard a piece to form...

The bearing stress from the caliper bolts WILL egg out thoes holes in aluminum...

for the shock mounts - The plate on top that you added - yes it adds weld area, but it doesnt add to the strength much - all the loading is on the side pieces...

I run the HP44 and Ford 9 as well - and droped probably 1500 into putting them into my rig (yellow paint included) and if there is one piece of advice - Dont skimp on things that make your rig stop...

 

[tealcherokee]

yeah, id get some 5/16 or 3/8 steel for the calipers, and not make them 2 pieces, but thats just me

 

[baseballneal86]

We used aluminum to save some time during machining and because it was just laying around. Plus it gives me the shiny bling factor that the girls love! :sunshine: I guess I'll make some out of steel so the holes don't wallow out. I don't know why that possibility didn't cross my mind before. :doh:

tealcherokee, how would I make the brackets into 1 piece? There would be no way of getting it on that I can think of.

XJ_ranger, any other helpful tips for this axle swap? I'll take all the advice I can get...

Keep the comments coming.

 

[baseballneal86]

Well I didn't get a whole lot done today, but I was able to get some 15x8 steel wheels for $10 each at the local u-pull-it yard.

Also, my spring perches arrived. These are way beefy and should handle alot of abuse. I had to grind the corners a little to get a nice fit on the axle tube.

One positive thing about the perches that I wasn't expecting is the amount of lift they give. Also they offer an inch of forward/backwards adjustability for mounting the axle.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get my tires mounted on the new wheels. Also I need to set the pinion angle so I can weld on the shock mounts and spring perches.

 

[tealcherokee]

cut like that

slide on here

 

[baseballneal86]

XJ_ranger, what driveshaft setup did you use in the rear? I'm thinking the PORC SYE kit with an XJ front shaft and a conversion U-joint. Any opinions?

 

[BRIANHO13]

XJ_ranger, what driveshaft setup did you use in the rear? I'm thinking the PORC SYE kit with an XJ front shaft and a conversion U-joint. Any opinions?

I have the same set up as ranger, and I have tw shaft with hd sye. When I swapped in the 9", the shaft was barely long enough. I need to get it lengthend about 1", but I am waiting until I get my doubler in so I don't have to lengthen it twice. Moral of the story is I doubt a stock front will be long enough.

 

[EZridaz]

Baseballneal86:...What did you all come up with for the caliper mount?Pics?Thanks!

 

[XJ_ranger]

XJ_ranger, what driveshaft setup did you use in the rear? I'm thinking the PORC SYE kit with an XJ front shaft and a conversion U-joint. Any opinions?

Advance Adapters 231 Fixed Yoke Convertion
Tom Woods custom driveshaft made for my application - but I didnt need a convertion u-joint as my F9 centersection had a 1310 u-joint...

but my rear shaft ended up at like 36" where the stock front driveshaft that everyone uses is like 33" static...